Christmas

Christmas is almost here! Instead of my usual type of post, where I give my biased opinion about a subject, and then question the intelligence of anyone that doesn't agree with me, in honor of the season, I will simply give you this: Merry Christmas!

I will be going to visit relatives in Manitoba, Canada for Christmas, so don't expect a new post for at least a week or two.

Winter

This year, I've been avoiding winter. I don't know exactly why, in the past I have had loads of fun making snow forts, sledding, making snow angels, ice skating, and having snowball wars. Yet now, even though it's almost Christmas, I have hardly been outside. Instead of seeing the weather with joy, I just huddle closer to the heater. I'm Canadian, so I'm supposed to have winter in my blood, right? Then why am I wimping out this season? Maybe part of it is that I'm not dressed for it. Most of my sweaters are either too big or too small, so I wear T-shirts most of the time.

I hate to see that I'm growing old. I don't feel a need to go outside and frolic in the snow anymore. I'm a sophomore,  so in three years I will be off to college. I'm sure everyone goes through this, but I really wish time would stop. It's not that I'm not excited for college, it's just time is going by to fast. 

My Thoughts On Crude Language

 I don't swear. Ever. I even have careful consideration before I say "darn". Now I don't shun profanity because it could offend someone; after all, it's impossible to go through life without offending the easily offendable. Instead, I believe that the only people who swear, are the people who are to stupid to think up of proper words to explain themselves with. Now I know I just insulted the great majority of North America yet again, but I really dislike the unspoken notion that if you use dirty language you are cooler. Because that is in no way, shape, or form true! In reality, when I hear vulgar words they sound like gibberish that a newborn made up. Now this might be because I hadn't heard a lot of swear words until a few years ago, so they sound foreign. So if you say crude language around me, please don't think it offensive if I don't pay attention to everything else you say; after all, how do I know that isn't gibberish too?

Now I hope that everyone reading this doesn't get the wrong idea, I don't want you to think I'm a little innocent white rabbit that can't take profanity. I don't want you to sensor yourself around me. I would prefer that you just stop swearing altogether, but you shouldn't live a double life.

Laminin

My Sunday School class recently watched one of the Louie Giglio videos. Now to start off, I have nothing against Louie Giglio. I think he is a fantastic speaker. But, that doesn't mean he always gets his facts straight.

While looking at Dr. Jay Wile's blog, I stumbled across a post that informed me of this mistake Louie Giglio had made. Now I'm not a big fan of writing a whole post just to redirect you to another blog, but I really can't explain it any better.

Oh, and I hope you all have a very nice Thanksgiving!

Technical Difficulties

You might of noticed I haven't posted for a while. Unfortunately, this is because I was experiencing some computer problems. Everything thing should be as right as rain now though, so I would expect a new post very soon.

Tech Series, Part Three: The 3DS

3DS

 I have devoted this entire post to this console, so what is so amazing about this 3DS? It has glasses free 3D! This amazing new technology allows the viewer to see 3D on the top screen, although the bottom screen, the touch screen, is still in 2D.

The 3DS is backwards compatible, so you can still play all your favorite DS games.

The device has a total of three cameras: Two cameras on the outside of the 3DS work together to create a 3D image, and there is a 2D camera in the inside.

The 3DS has the capability to create Miis. You can import Miis from your Wii, or make them by a picture taken by one of the cameras.

The system has several announced games, including the highly anticipated return to the Kid Icarus series with Kid Icarus: Uprising. Not to mention several remakes of exceptional Nintendo 64 games such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, and StarFox 64 3D.

The 3DS will be released in Japan on February 26, 2011, and in North America sometime in the month of March.

Now this system has not come out yet; so nothing I have said is for certain. Although anything said on the official site is pretty much for certain. See you next time for the fourth part of this series!

Halloween

It's a idiotic culture where people use fear for entertainment. Now some people might not like me questioning the intelligence of anyone who has went into a haunted house, but I believe it is true, none the less. Horror films, Haunted houses, Halloween, all of those things are dumb. Now don't get me wrong, I have absolutely nothing against dressing up and receiving candy on the 31st of October. What I don't like is the fact that around Halloween time everyone seems to embrace everything scary and frightening.

Why does our culture like fear so much? Maybe it's pride. If you watch a horror film and you don't get scared than just maybe your really someone. Possibly it has to do with the adrenaline rush you get when your scared out of your socks. I don't know for sure, I just think it's stupid.

Despite the fact I don't have anything against getting candy, I have never went trick or treating. I think it is because my family didn't want to become attached to a holiday centered on fear, and I appreciate that.

Tech Series, Part Two: Video Game Systems

In the first part of this series I discussed a few do's and don'ts that will hopefully help you a lot. But, what system do you want to buy? I have lined up a few choice ones so you can make an informed decision, along with a few short reviews of popular games.

Wii

More of a family system, the Wii utilizes a motion sensing wireless controller. The Wii supports Nintendo Wi-Fi so you can play multiplayer games online.

1. Super Smash Bros. Brawl: One of the besting multiplayer games of all time, this game pits up to four people against each in a mad battle with there favorite nintendo (and a few third-party) characters. So whether you want to brawl with Link from the Legend of Zelda, Fox from Starfox, Samus from Metroid, or Pit from Kid Icarus, you can in this wild fighting game. Although the game focuses on mulitplayer with its 35 characters, there is a short, but enjoyable single player mode too.

2. Wii Sports: A enjoyable game with a diversity of sports where you can use the wii controller in a variety of ways. The first game most people play, it does a good job of getting people used to the motion controller. It can get boring after a while though.

3.  Kirby's Epic Yarn: In his brand new adventure, Kirby is turned into, wait for it, a piece of yarn.  It's true, everyone's favorite super tough pink puff is now in a world of, fabric. Kirby lost his copy ability, but now he can transform into a variety of objects.

PC

Although there are many more uses for a personal computer than gaming, their are quite a few high quality PC games.

1. Sam and Max: As said in my previous  review, Sam and Max is an extremely enjoyable point and click adventure.

2. Knights of the Old Republic: One of my all time favorites, Kotor is an exceptional game. With a variety of dark jedi, aliens, solders, and droids to destroy, this 30+ hours adventure is magnificent.

3. Portal: Another of my favorite games of all time (did you notice I have a lot of them?) , because it is so original, unique, and crazily fun. In this game you have the ability to create portals, when you step into one, you come out the other side. The physics are just amazing, so you really have to think to get past the puzzles. Unfortunately, its downfall is that it is quite short.

DS

The DS is a handheld console made by nintendo. While there have been several versions (DS Lite, DSi, DSi XL, and one more that will be the focus of a later post), the DS always has two screens, the lower one being a touchscreen operated by a pencil-like "stylus". The DS has a lot of puzzle games, due to the fact that the touchscreen makes it possible to try out a variety of brain teasers impossible for other systems. I mentioned several puzzle games in first part of this series (Scribblenauts, Hotel Dusk: Room 215, Professor Layton).

1. New Super Mario Bros.:  This is the old fashioned goomba bashing side-scrolling Mario adventure that we all love; with the added twist of mega mushrooms which can transform Mario into a colossal giant.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass: Ah, Zelda, one of my all time favorite gaming franchises. And Phantom Hourglass doesn't disappoint. You control Link, the hero, as he sails from island to island defeating dungeons and gaining new weapons.

3. Super Scribblenauts: I talked a little bit about the first Scribblenauts, but Super Scribblenauts does everything the first did, plus everything is polished and you can use adjectives now too.This game has a dictionary of thousands and thousands of words that you can summon at will to solve interesting puzzles.


Now, you might be a little disappointed because I did not the Xbox 360, or the Playstation 3. I don't have much experience with those consoles, so sadly I can not tell you much about them.

The next part of this series will focus on the next type of DS: The 3DS

Well, What Do You Know?

I will be taking a break from my series for today. Remember my old post about the one-to-one laptop initiative in Lisbon Public School? Well, after reading Lisbon's school paper, The Lion's Roar, I can see some students share my criticism. One student, Cameron Sizer, wrote an article with things in it such as how the computers could cause one to actually to do worse in a class; because apparently they are prone to random crashes causing the computer to shut down, destroying unsaved work. Another student, Taylor Sprosten, discussed how the students were often getting on other sites such as Youtube, Skype, and Facebook.; often when they weren't supposed to. Of course, the students still like the laptops, and believe they are positives out way the negatives. Perhaps they are right. I don't know. What I do know is that the whole project was over hyped, and didn't meet everyone expectations.

Tech Series, Part One: Advise For Novice Gamers

Now let us say that you just entered the gaming world. You might of received a system for a gift, or you found a great deal at a garage sale. Or perhaps you want to spend quality time (yeah, right) with a sibling or friend. It doesn't matter, It doesn't matter, I have advise, and you need it.

First off, gaming is NOT limited to shooting at unending hordes of lifeless zombies. I'm not a big fan of M games by the way, so this series will be written with that perspective. There are tons of genres of games: Action, Adventure, Strategy, Sports, RPG, Shooter, Puzzle, etc. Quite a few games appeal to casual gamers, especially sports and puzzle games. Now a sport game is pretty straightforward, but what about puzzle games? There are a plethora of unique puzzle games. Like scribblenauts, where you can type (basically) ANY word and it will appear so you can use it in puzzles.Yes, that is correct, any word. So monkeys, swords, monsters, jetpacks , dragons, small kitchen appliances, they are all there. And then there is interactive storybooks, like Hotel Dusk: Room 215. This particular game plays like a extremely indepth mystery novel. Or maybe you would like a game from the Professor Layton series. Professor Layton games have you solve many, many, different types of brainteasers utilizing the ds's touchscreen, with a refreshing European  influence to boot.

Except if you read a exceptional review about it, never buy games made from movies, especially disney movies. Why? Because the game is an afterthought. A companion to the movie. They don't devote the time and effort necessary to make a good game. Now, there are exceptions to this rule, such as many star wars games. Now think why this is different, the games were made because of the movies, sure, but they didn't have to hurry it up so the game came out at the same time as the movie. Occasionally it goes both ways with terrible television shows/movies made from a game. Ever heard of the The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! ? I hope not...

Also, never buy games on impulse. Always check a review sit like IGN or Gamespot. Once you have confirmed that you want the game, check out a online auction site like eBay. You can often get a very good deal if you buy a game without the case or instructions. Just watch out that if it is a disc that it doesn't have scratches that might cause it not to work.

 Next time I will continue the series with a short look at a few video game systems.

New Series!

Hey, I'm going to start a new series! It will feature two areas of my expertise: Video games and the Internet. Now before you rush off before you can say "geek", this will hopefully be able to help almost anyone. I will probably cover such topics such as How To Be Cool Online, Advice For Novice Gamers, and The Decline Of Free Online Gaming Sites.

I am definitely not hardcore, and I might know some things more than others, but beginners might find out a new thing or two. It also at times might be boring,  but I will do my best to avoid that.

Thoughts

If you have known me for a while, you might know that at times I can be really random. And because I really need to do a new post, I have decided to type basically whatever comes to mind. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

At times I feel it would be kinda nice to have no emotions: When I wasn't studying, I would be exercising, when I wasn't exercising, I would be sleeping. Eating would be done while I was studying or exercising. With no need for companionship, entertainment, or laziness I could get a lot done. Because I could never be bored, happy, sad, or angry, I could keep to my rigorous schedule. I would only eat the cheapest, healthiest foods, saving my family tons of money. And the things I would accomplish, with all the knowledge from my constant studying, I would be a genius. But then there would be a dark side; I would be stuck in a cycle where I only kept going for the next achievement, I could possibly become one of the most important people on the plant, but I could never be happy. Not only because would I have no emotions, but because in such a state people would stay away from me, thinking of me as a freak. Except the ones that wanted my money, which I would have a lot by then. But that is another point, I would never do anything with all my cash. I would be programed to go for the next achievement, which I would probably do until my old bones snapped and I would die a slow death, all alone. Not that I would care, because I would have no emotions.

That was kind of weird, but I only just started, so why stop now?

Wouldn't the world be simpler, if everything was made out of lego? If we were lego people, we wouldn't have to eat or sleep, so everything we did would be fun; from extreme spaceship fighter battles to western gun fights, it would be a blast. You would never get hurt; all you would have to do is put yourself back together. And you would hardly ever get made fun of because of your size or looks, becuase everyone else would look basically the same as you. Except for the midget lego people, but they could just stick together. But just like my last hypothetical situation, there would be drawbacks. Sure you would look like everyone else, but that would mean that your the same as the next person. Your not original, your just the next piece of plastic off of the assembly line. Plus, it would be really hard to make things out of lego, with the pathetic hands you get, anyway.

I know, I know, my first two thoughts were somewhat similar, but I'm not done!

We humans can't seem to learn from the past, can we? For example, we all know Miley Cyrus can't act, yet Hanna Montana still rears its ugly head on Disney channel.

Well, actually that's all I can think of on that topic, but that doesn't mean it isn't true!

I have numerous pet peeves, as I am sure you already noticed, but one of them I have noticed recently is that in game after game, movie after movie, book after book, If the person making the book/movie/game can't think of a good message, he/she just puts in "Follow your heart", and expects for it to be accepted as a important message that all kids should know. But what does it even mean to "follow your heart"? My guess would be that you are ruled by your emotions. If everyone did what their heart told them, the world would probably be a worse place, instead of a better one. So following your every emotion is probably as bad, or worse, than having no emotions at all (like the first section for this post).

I think that's it for today, I hope you enjoyed it!

Still Alive

This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.
It's hard to overstate my satisfaction.
Aperture Science
We do what we must
because we can.
For the good of all of us.
Except the ones who are dead.
But there's no sense crying over every mistake.
You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.
And the Science gets done.
And you make a neat gun.
For the people who are still alive.
I'm not even angry.
I'm being so sincere right now.
Even though you broke my heart.
And killed me.
And tore me to pieces.
And threw every piece into a fire.
As they burned it hurt because I was so happy for you!
Now these points of data make a beautiful line.
And we're out of beta.
We're releasing on time.
So I'm GLaD. I got burned.
Think of all the things we learned
for the people who are still alive.
Go ahead and leave me.
I think I prefer to stay inside.
Maybe you'll find someone else to help you.
Maybe Black Mesa
THAT WAS A JOKE.
HAHA. FAT CHANCE.
Anyway, this cake is great.
It's so delicious and moist.
Look at me still talking
when there's Science to do.
When I look out there, it makes me GLaD I'm not you.
I've experiments to run.
There is research to be done.
On the people who are still alive.
And believe me I am still alive.
I'm doing Science and I'm still alive.
I feel FANTASTIC and I'm still alive.
While you're dying I'll be still alive.
And when you're dead I will be still alive.
Still Alive, Still Alive


I just want all of you to know that despite my recent blogging hiatus, I am in fact still alive; as the lyrics from the credits song for Portal told you. Life has been rather busy lately, but I will hopefully be back and blogging very soon!

Sam and Max

Sam, a anthropomorphic dog and Max, a hyperkinetic rabbity thing are the protagonists of the hit point and click adventure videogame series. It is developed by Telltale Games mostly for the PC, but the games can also be found for Wii, Xbox 360, Ipad, and Playstation 3. The duo the operate as the Freelance Police, trying to save the world almost every other episode from a harebrained scheme that a wacky villain thought up.

Although they are best known for their video games, this lovable pair also starred in a animated series, several comics, and another game (one not made by Telltale). The way the current series is set up is that every individual game is a episode, and five or six episodes make up a season. Each season has a theme, such as mind control or psychic toys. Even though the graphics can be shiny, and the plot is cool, the part where the franchise really shines is their trademark humor. The first season was pretty good, but the second and third season were hilariously funny as the developers tied together events that occurred in previous games. A kind of humor that you don't find nearly enough these days. Their "unique" adventures include; Rampaging as a giant monster around the city of New York, destroying the internet, and selling the U.S. government to Canada (Max became president first, of course). As you can tell, this makes for a very fun time.

 Now despite their cute and fluffy looks, this is not a little kids game. I can not recommend Sam and Max for younger players; There is minor profanity (very minor, most people wouldn't even consider it profanity), violence, and (very) small bits of more mature content. Anyone who has played the games know these parts are very few and very far between. I'm just saying this so you don't you don't give it to a preschooler. Thus, slightly older players will relish the challenging puzzles and goofy gags.

Homeschoolers Aren't Always Anti Social

As I said earlier in this blog, I'm homeschooled. Now I believe in my case the best way for me to receive my education is at home. Now I know that not all families have this opportunity, and  homeschooling might not be the best option. So, I am here here merely to inform you that the misconception that all homeschoolers are socially awkward is false.

Homeschooling, by definition, is being educated at home. The student is usually taught by a parent. But often the parent has additional resources, such as the Marion Home School Assistance Program (MHSAP).

MHSAP, for example, provides classes in fields that a parent might not be able to do easily. Such as music, art, science labs, and drama.

Homeschoolers seem to be associated with an antisocial stereotype, but on average, that is not the case. As Thomas Smedley, who, used the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scaleto to rate students who were homeschooled said:

"In the public school system, children are socialized horizontally, and temporarily, into conformity with their immediate peers. Home educators seek to socialize their children vertically, toward responsibility, service, and adulthood, with an eye on eternity"

According to his results, when the average homeschooler is compared to the rest of the nation in socialization,  the average homeschooler is in the top 27%. If that didn't convince you, this video will.

Now whether or not a homeschooler is "socially superior" is debatable. But I can guarantee that not all of them are misfits.

Title Unknown

I decided that this particular post was a pathetic excuse for writing. I'm sorry, I only made it because I was busy and I really needed a new post

If Only They Followed The Book

You know what one of my biggest pet peeves is? When after reading a awesome book, I decide to watch the movie, which is hardly ANYTHING like the book. Then I spend most of the movie grinding my teeth and growling whenever the actors do something that contradicts the book. One of the best examples would be the book Eragon. Now this is one of my favorite books, I think Christopher Paolini is a genius (He was a homeshooler by the way), but the movie was an utter disgrace. The funny thing is though, I probably would of liked the movie (despite the bad acting), if I had never read the book. So it makes me wonder, is it better to read the book, or watch the movie first?

If you read the book first, and the movie doesn't follow the book, you will be angry at the people who made the movie, and you won't have a very fun time at all. (Except if you enjoy pointing out the numerous errors in the movie. Which I kind of do.)

If you watch the movie first, you will probably enjoy the movie, but when you read the book you can't imagine what the characters look like. They are already set in stone in your mind. Plus you will get mad that the book wasn't what you were expecting.

So I think the best thing would be if the director followed the book as closely as possible. I understand that the movie has to be a little different. And in the case of books like Eragon or Lord of The Rings the movie can't be quite as long as the book.

But in Eragon they rushed through several chapters in a couple of minutes. You can't enjoy a plot like that when everything is happening so fast.

Everyone I have met so far has agreed with me, directors really should pay more attention to the finer details of the book. Then everyone is happy. So, do you agree, or disagree? Please comment and give me your opinion

Free Laptops Maybe Not The Best Option?

If you live in the Mount Vernon/Lisbon IA area you have probably heard of the One-to-One computer initiative that Lisbon School is implementing for grades 6 through 12. What does this project do? It simply gives a free Apple Macbook to every student in grades 6 to 12. Now you have to wonder if this is a joke, a free laptop? Surely there are better uses for that money, right? I talked to several of my friends who go to Lisbon (That would be about, two), and they all said that even though they thought there was much better uses dollar for dollar, they wouldn't complain because of the free laptop. Didn't anyone consider the laptop's would probably be more of a distraction then a learning tool?

When I was younger, being a homeschooler, I always thought that computer labs were neat. The school lets you do stuff on a computer? Cool! But apparently Lisbon wanted to go farther. Why in the world would Lisbon want this? Maybe a big reason would be that over the last couple years Lisbon Public School District has made a big fuss about all the students open enrolling into a different district. If a kid has a choice between a better education and a free laptop, which do you think they are going to choose? And of course, Mount Vernon isn't very far behind, although for the 2010-2011 year only 8th graders will receive laptops. Now I might be wrong, the district supplied laptops might be a great thing. Or it might not. The 4 year lease is $140,000 a year. Which makes you think, 140k a year? You can buy a lot of pencils with that much money.

Blog

So, I finally made a blog. Now, you might wonder why I need a blog. Well, I don't. But you do.

Now, I'm wondering what I should blog about. After stalking a couple facebook friends, *cough* , I have no idea what to do. Some blog about every week, month, year, or some older ones, century.

Some make really small blogs, that are a couple lines.

Others don't have a blog. No lines

One blogger recapped about the last months events

I figure I will just write about anything that comes to mind. It might be stupid, outdated, and wholly insignificant in regards to other things I could say. But because you could do better, why don't you?

Now I don't know how long I will keep blogging, I will probably do it a lot at first. Then I will get bored, busy with school, or have my Mom find this. Then, well, I can't tell the future, can I?

Please comment, follow, or tell me how right I am. I like attention. Like a 4 year old. (Others might argue a lot of other things about me are 4 year old like)

Update: I think I have somewhat decided to devote this blog almost entirely to my opinions. They might be the same as yours, or they might not. But always remember, my opinion is always right. Even when it is wrong.