Apologies

As you may have noticed, there was a lack of post yesterday. This was due to what I shall label as preparation and early celebration of the Winter-een-mas season.

Side note: If you are unfamiliar with Winter-een-mas, it is a holiday that lasts the entire last week of January, but the season begins with the new year. It is a holiday entirely dedicated to video games and those who play them made up by Ethan of Ctrl+Alt+Del.

With luck, this lack of posting will soon be remedied.

Once again, my apologies.

~ Entropy

Synopsis for Week 6

Greetings and Salutations,

Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Years, and what not.

On Tuesday, Entropy continued discussing the benefits and downsides of college, and the blessings of reliable internet connections in Unrelated Title is Unrelated.

On Wednesday, the King of the Blog finished discussing Cons for the time being in Back to Scamming.... Cons....

Also on Wednesday, Defender of the Blog posted about the webcomic How I killed your Master by Brian Clevinger in [insert kung fu pose here].

On Friday, The Professor of the Blog ranted about the destruction of internet memes by television and the separation that must exist between the two in Thank Goodness, Lava.

As always, feel free to go back and read these incredible posts if you missed them, to comment on them (please do, whenever you want) and to argue over things as commenting people are wont to do.

Live long and prosper,

King of the Blog

Merry Christmas from TBCRH!!

Enjoy your holiday~!

Thank Goodness, Lava.

So, The King of the Blog and I were playing the original Super Smash Brothers yesterday (On the N64, which is his forte) and I accidentally fell off the side in the Brinstar map. Lucky for me, the lava was there, so I hit the lava, took a lot of damage, and flew up into the sky, hence the title.

Enough about random inside jokes. On with the post. Today, I will be discussing something very dear to me; something that may also be dear to you: The Internet. More specifically, I'm going to be talking (ranting) about how TV ruins the Internet's memes and cultures. For reference, here is a video on Youtube that I'm sure you all have heard/seen (Bed Intruder) and here's a recently remade version sponsored by 'Lopez Tonight' (Chimney Intruder).

Are your ears bleeding yet? Good, then explaining this will be much easier. That was awful. Like seriously, television, stay away from mai interwebs!!! lol, but seriously, they really tried hard to make a funny parody, but it just didn't work at all. Herein lies the fundamental problem that businesses, television stations/programs, etc... have: they don't know how to branch out into the internet. Here's the other problem: no one who uses the internet cares about them unless they specifically search for their site. If I'm just browsing the internet, I don't care about your television program. Moreover, if you shove it in my space by spamming ads, I'm going to hate your show/product, which is the opposite of what they want. No one cares about their Facebook pages either. Really, there are two types of people that become fans of these people online: their hardcore fans, who they don't need to reach out to, and people that 'like' their page in order to win a prize or something (occasionally fan pages on Facebook offer prizes to random fans of their page). And, a lot of the updates are just annoying, so people 'hide' them from their newsfeed.

This is a huge problem for businesses because the Internet is possibly the single greatest way to advertise and expand one's user base. The problem is, no one knows how to use the Internet to accomplish this. The end result is that the business spends a bunch of money that results in a little attention and a lot of frustration.

Sorry about the short post, but it's Christmas Eve, and I have things I want to do. I promise next week's post will be better.

Hide yo children,
The Professor of the Blog

[insert kung fu pose here]

Oh hey, it's Wednesday. I was supposed to do a post last Thursday. xP Apologies to all, I was enjoying the first day of Christmas break. Aaaand after that, it slipped my mind. Anyway, posting today, and hopefully I'll remember to post in two days as well. Anyways, enough excuses. On with today's webcomic plug: How I Killed Your Master.

HIKYM is a fantasy webcomic written by Brian Clevinger, of 8-Bit Theater and Atomic Robo (which is a print comic book, not an actual webcomic. I unfortunately don't have the funds to buy the issues and review them, but I'm impressed by what I've seen) fame, and Warbot in Accounting infamy. Set in medieval China (is medieval the right term?), we follow the path of Liu Wong, a young orphan who becomes the greatest martial artist of the century.

HIKYM is still a rather fledgling comic in its own right, with only 70 pages under its belt. So far it's got a solid storyline and the scripting shows a level of skill we've come to expect of Brian over the years, but most of the characters are rather two-dimensional. Granted, there hasn't been much time for character development, but so far I'm not seeing a whole lot of progress in that direction.

The main character, Liu Wong, is the son of Liu Fang, a renowned martial artist, and former member of the 5 Dragons, a peace-keeping organization consisting of 5 combat prodigies. After he has mellowed out and settled down, an old nemesis tracks him down and poisons him, seizes his land and his wife, and throws his son out on the streets. Liu is taken to Master Fei, an old friend of Liu Fang, with the intent that Wong should learn Fei's family style: the Five Mantis Fist. After proving his worth and natural potential to Fei, Wong is taught the art and sent on his way to the Tiger Knuckle school of martial arts in the desert. In the course of his training, Wong has learned that his father's inimitable style was a composite of his own style, as well as the styles of his four compatriots. Wong is currently trained in two of the five schools of martial arts... it will be interesting to see how he fights when he has mastered all of them.

I'd say this comic is PG overall. A bit of blood, lots of action, but minimal swearing, and no sexual content. It's a great webcomic, and maybe I just haven't given it enough time, but I'd have to give it a B average. The story is great, but the characters are rather flat, and the art... takes a bit of getting used to. It's not bad by any means, but it's a stark contrast to the cleaner styles of Atomic Robo and Warbot in Accounting. Still, very nicely done, Brian.

-Defender of the Blog, RTB

Unrelated Title is Unrelated

Hello, everyone! Here I am with Part 2 of the "Things I Learned the Value of at College". For some reason, the internet gods have decided to give my laptop power again, but I cannot leave this post half-completed. Onward to the list!

Sleep

I must make a slight change to my comments on sleep. If you, like me, have friends that are somehow more nocturnal than yourself, sleep over the break is also impossible. All thoughts to the contrary were just futile hopes that will be smashed when you figure out that no day of hanging out will end before midnight. Seeing as leaving the fun is out of the question, just learn not to need sleep. In the end, it will help you in college as well.

Not Paying For Utilities

A large positive point to dorm life is that the amount I pay is constant no matter how much hot water I use or how high I set the AC. Our heater doesn't work there, but we also have people to come and fix it for free. If we weren't so busy studying and being lazy the past week or so, we could've been very comfortable. Laundry is also factored in to the housing costs. At home is a different story. I don't want to waste any money here and, as such, I'm doing a very accurate impersonation of a popsicle.

Dorm Life

My college has very nice dorms aside from the windows that don't open. I may have the smallest room of all 4 in the suite, but I have my own space that, by necessity, is actually cleanish and lockable. In that room, I am able to roll over and work on my laptop without ever getting out of bed much less going downstairs. Up to twenty feet from my room is the kitchen that is filled with things I bought so I always know what I have and, most importantly, what I can make in the least amount of time. It's all the cheapest food to be found, but college makes it a challenge to live on as little money as possible and I enjoy coming up with rather inventive ways to accomplish that. Without doubt, the best feature of dorm life is freedom (no offense, parents). I am infinitely thankful for being able to do what I please, invite people over, and eat and sleep on whatever schedule I feel best suits my class schedule -- often times meaning I get up, eat, go to class, take a nap, eat, do homework, eat, and go back to sleep to repeat the process the next day. Now, I'm not one of those people to have huge parties, get in trouble, or do any number of things "normal" college kids do, but it's nice not to have to explain your plans to anyone particularly because you don't really have any until minutes before you execute them.

Home Life

The good thing about being home is being able to get a little farther away from everyone in those times I do want to be alone. I don't have someone living in the room next to me, so I can turn up the music as loud as I like (which is not always loud, but is always accompanied by some sort of singing which can get very loud). I also like not having to hear what my roommates are doing especially when those things include blasting game shows and shouting out all of the answers or vacuuming from 9-11pm. Along those lines, I like having my own TV that I can watch in peace. Of course, family is also a positive point, but, seeing as I live with my cousin at college, family is never far away anyway.

Living On Little Or No Money

As much as this sounds like a terrible thing, I sometimes like the challenge and getting to exercise my creativity to fill basic needs. I once survived 4.5 days on the leftovers from the previous weekend and a sandwich. If that isn't skill, I don't know what is.

Having Money

I don't exactly have a lot of experience with this in or out of school, but I hear it's a nice thing. I can only hope that the lab pays me soon and I can sell my textbooks in order to get the ones I need for next semester, get presents for friends, and *gasp* maybe have a little left over for me and my growing list of things to buy. If anyone knows of any scholarships or money giveaways, now is the time to tell me.

I have a mission for you this week: comment on this post. If college has changed the value of something for you, taught you something, given you advice to share, or scholarship information to give out, comment about it. If you aren’t in college yet, look for the advice and maybe even take some of it.

Until next Tuesday!

Note: my post may be a bit late due to circumstances and activities that have yet to be verified.

~ Entropy

Synopsis for Week 5

Greetings and Salutations,

Happy holidays, Merry Christmas and what not.

On Tuesday, Entropy discussed the benefits and downsides of college, and the blessings of reliable internet connections in Et tu Internet?

On Wednesday, the King of the Blog explained some more why Nerds are persecuted and some of the divisions of Nerddom in My life for Aiur!

On Friday, The Professor of the Blog discussed the different types of apocalypses and how to best survive them in You, the Apocalypse, and How You Can Survive.

As always, feel free to go back and read these incredible posts if you missed them, to comment on them (please do, whenever you want) and to argue over things as commenting people are wont to do.

Live long and prosper,

King of the Blog

You, the Apocalypse, and How You Can Survive.

Let's face it; the world is going to end eventually (or at least degrade into a global dystopia). We need to prepare for this inevitable outcome, yet no one really seems concerned. Well, look no farther, because this post will guide you on what you should do for 10 different Apocalypses. That's right: 10!!!!

Zombie Apocalypse: Ah, this is a classic. Zombie infection starts and slowly takes over 99% of the human race. If you happen to have survived the initial infection, here's what you're going to want to do.

• Secure/build a fortress of some kind. Needs to be strong and easily defensible (i.e. no blind spots).
• Gather survivors. They might betray you when things get rough, but if you're worried about that, you can use them as zombie bait.
• Collect supplies. Food and Ammunition are very important for survival (duh).
• Repeat until you either A) Secure a long term location, B) Die

Vampire Apocalypse: And you thought the zombie apocalypse was bad. This is just awful. Vampires are superhuman beings that feed on you, which spreads similar to the zombie infection. Basically, unless your a complete BAMF, you'll die pretty quickly. If you do manage to survive, here's what you can do to survive:

• Lay low. For real. Ideally, you can live in an secret underground chamber, but that isn't always plausible.
• Develop insane martial arts/weapon skills. Guns probably won't help you that much against them. Swords, axes, and the like are probably the best bet for a weapon.
• Stay alert. Vampires, unlike zombies, can be very stealthy and can easily kill you if you don't practice CONSTANT DILIGENCE!!

Hostile Alien Invasion: This can vary so much because of a couple factors. Use this quick quiz to determine your course of action:

1. Do they have mind powers?
2. Do they have advanced weaponry?
3. Do they stay in their ships/vehicles?
4. Do they speak English?
5. Are they interesting in dominating Earth?

Results: 

0-1 Yes: Okay, they aren't too powerful, so with some military might and disease, you can probably take them down.

2-3 Yes: Though buggers aren't they? Probably very intelligent compared to humans, but don't let that scare you. Shoot 'em down.

4 Yes: Super strong. It's a long shot, but if you have a brave soul who is willing to suicide bomb the mothership with a weapon/disease/etc..., you can do it. Good luck.

5 Yes: You're screwed. Find another planet.

Global Pandemic: Like a zombie apocalypse, except you can't defend yourself. Isolate yourself from humanity. Then wait (Alternatively, head to Madagascar).

Machine Armageddon: If there's one thing that we have that machines don't, it's stupidity. Machines predict the obvious or intelligent choice, so the stupid choice catches them off guard (Unless it is systematically used). Here are some tips on how to survive:

• Take down the mainframe. This should be your primary objective, as it provides the machines with direction.
• Gun 'em down. Lucky for you, machines are not invincible, so it's just a matter as finding a weakness/weak-point and fill 'em with lead.
• Keep your secure information off of computers if at all possible.

Asteroid Impact: Great. An asteroid is en route to Earth. Determine a course of action based on the size of the asteroid.

• Impact would drastically change surface: Build a fallout shelter for the time of impact, lay low for a few days, and come out when it's safe.
• Impact would destroy the Earth: Build/steal/board a spaceship and get away!!

Global Anarchy: All of the world's governments have collapsed. It's a dog eat dog world where the toughest rule and the weakest crawl away and die. You have a few courses of action:

• Be one of the strong: Take over a place and establish your dominance. This makes you a primary target for others who want your property, so it's not the best option.
• Create a closed and mutual/equal settlement: Get some friends, and develop a free and fair society. Beware of conquers.
• Go into hiding.

 Nuclear Holocaust: Build/inhabit one of the new nuclear fallout shelters (These actually work, and only cost a couple hundred-thousand dollars! A worthy investment (I'm not kidding here)). Go into the shelter during the holocaust and stay there indefinitely

Ice Age: The world froze over. Well, at least your food will be well preserved.  Well, develop a shelter and keep it as warm as possible. Stay there unless it is necessary to venture out. If it is, dress warmly and go in groups.

Natural Disaster: Nature decided to give you some payback for all the crap she put up with. Yeah, this is the apocalypse as predicted by Revelations. Basically, natural disasters will tear up the world. All you can do is build a shelter and hope it holds.

That's all for this week. Enjoy your winter break~!

Professor of the Blog

Et tu Internet?

Welcome, all, to another edition of Posts by Entropy. Today is going to be a little bit different because I’m not at college anymore. While this should be incredibly exciting after the months of work I’ve put in, it only means that I have SERIOUS INTERNET CONNECTION ISSUES that I didn’t have before. As such, the only connection I can get is on a computer with a broken sound card. Now, this creates a little bit of a problem for talking about music. Generally, being able to analyze it involves actually hearing it. Thus, I’m going to have to switch up my topics this time.

For your entertainment, I am going to make a list of things the value of which college has made me truly aware.

A Reliable Internet Connection

The lack of reliable internet causes a variety of problems. For example, at my house there are three computers. If the internet doesn't work with mine, I'm forced to use another one. The other two are ancient and just barely above useless. Both are slow, one has a broken sound card, and the other one is too buggy to even know what the real problem is. For some reason, the internet gods have decided that only the one I'm on shall work for any extended period of time. This not only makes it difficult to post on time or on the right subject, but it keeps me from playing any internet-based games on my laptop (which is all of them). I am now in the painful situation of being a gamer cut off from the games I have become accustomed to playing for the past few months (aka Minecraft which does not work offline for some reason and would be futile to attempt on a laggy computer such as this one, and DDO) as well as being cut off from skype which is a major medium of communication for friends.

A Computer That Doesn't Automatically Skip A Line Upon Hitting Enter No Matter What You Set It To

This annoys me to no end as I have a very specific format I wish to write in and I'm not able to do so.

Sleep

Sleep is good. College is not conducive to sleep for three reasons: working in the lab kept me in class/work from 10-6pm some days, homework takes time that sleeping might ideally occupy, and my friends do not go to my college meaning that every weekend is a series of nights even later than during the week. Now that I'm out for a bit, I have a chance at getting sleep once in a while if I can pull myself away from other projects.

Projects

I haven't been back for a full day yet and I can already think of a million things I want to do over the next month. I've started one so far and it's difficult to keep from jumping to all of the others in an attempt to do all of them right now. My only hope is that I'm able to remember them all long enough to finish them.

Video Games

College has fed my addiction. I know few people there to hang out with, so my computer gets a good deal of attention. In addition, friends in other places can easily join in via skype or in-game chat. It's a solid form of entertainment. The only problem is that my laptop is not a gaming computer. It can't handle a good deal of games that I'd like it to *COUGHCOUGH*PORTAL*COUGH* while one, admittedly terrible and laggy, computer here can. It's worth playing around the issues on this prehistoric machine and I finally have the chance to again. Portal, Spore, one simply called Pirates!, and, dare I even attempt it, The Sims are all on my list for this break. Granted, Portal is really the only one I'm interested in, but I've gone without the others for so long I'll probably end up playing them as well.

Nerds/Nerdy References

My college is painfully devoid of nerds. I have found four and am friends with two though I don't hang out with them often (which should be remedied). I never knew how, little by little, I had gotten used to having extreme nerdiness around me. I've always been a nerd, but it was well repressed until I found others like me. Now, I need it to breathe and I feel like I'm in a vacuum.

Here I shall end. This list is by no means complete, but I believe I've gone on for long enough today. I will pick up at this point next week. I hope you enjoyed my post and it gave you some things to think and be thankful about. To all of you on break, have fun and get some much-needed rest. To all of you still taking finals, I wish you luck and that the days until break pass quickly.

~ Entropy

Synopsis for Week 4

Greetings and Salutations!


For whatever reason, The King of the Blog has not yet posted the synopsis. I'm assuming that he is quite busy with finals and such, so I'm going to do this week's synopsis for him.


On Monday, T100, in an attempt to make up for not posting last week, gave a great explanation on what Fibonacci numbers are, how to write numbers in base Fibonacci in  A Look into Math Part Two. Are Belong to Fibonacci.


On Tuesday, Entropy, once again, discusses some of the new and interesting songs on her "favorites playlist", including the only rap song she has ever enjoyed, in Musical Moment.


On Wednesday, The King of the Blog introduces the concept of "cons" and some well known examples as well as foreshadowing his next posts in Dragon*Con and More.


On Thursday, The Defender of the Blog discusses a webcomic 8-bit theater by Brian Clevinger, which only uses Final Fantasy sprites for the characters, in Warriors of Light.


On Friday, The Defender of the Blog, making up for his lack of posting last week, posts an interesting chain letter concerning the Air Force in Penance.
Additionally, The Professor of the Blog (ACRONYM) explained some of the most common types of poetry and why poetry is important in HLS - High Level Swag.


Feel free to go back and read any of these incredible posts if you missed, comment on them (Please do), and argue manically as we so often do.

May the force be with you,

The Professor of the Blog