I decided to create a list. This list is my list of Metroid games. I wanted to rate all the Metroid games for myself and give others an insight into why I chose what I chose. Alright, here we go.
1. Metroid Prime. Everyone always picks Super as number one. I do not deny it is a good game; however I cannot place it as number 1. Putting it in that position seems to stem from a nostalgia point of view. For nearly 10 years fans of the series had only Metroids 1 2 and super available to them so obviously Super would be considered the best. But now I feel Metroid Prime should be considered top. The game is solid. It keeps the classic feel of “here’s the world. Figure it out” that the original games had, but it still included the hint system Super lacks. There were times in Super that just felt hopeless when you weren’t sure what to do. In Prime, you do this for long enough, the game chimes in with “ok, we’re not gonna tell you what to do when you get there, but go here.” Prime also gives a good classic fight with Samus’s nemesis: Ridley. Overall, I fell this game hits the most good points under the Metroid flag.
2. Super Metroid. It still needs to go near the top. Many common elements that are now complete staples in the Metroid series: Charge beam, grapple beam, beam stacking, etc. all came from this game. It sent gamers back to the original world to see how it had changed and to see what else there was that had never been revealed. There is so much good in this game, but it didn’t feel quite as solid to me. Certain items were hardly used. The SNES controller was completely wasted. So many buttons to choose from and we still had to cycle through items with select? Come on! I also felt the reserve tanks were a waste and should have just been replaced with more ordinary tanks. But still, a great game and one of the best in the series.
3. Metroid Fusion. There may be bias in my heart for this one’s position as it was my first game. But that is where it’s true beauty lies. It is the perfect first game in this series. When I talk to people who haven’t played a Metroid game but are interested in the series, I always tell them to pick up this one. Yes, there isn’t a lot of self done exploring. But by having Adam guide you through the game, you can learn the exploration techniques necessary to better yourself in games like Super and Zero Mission. Also, this game gives insight into the true nature of Metroids themselves and almost makes you feel bad about what you’re doing when you get to Metroid 2. But this title is incredibly linear. You have little freedom to do as you wish throughout the game. The controls also seem extremely clunky if you play and get used to Zero Mission.
4. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. This title shows how to bring Metroid to a wider audience. The voice acting, the communication with others, the betrayal of the hunters; it all gives a show much more like modern gaming. Another thing that shines is the way it took the repetitiveness of Prime 2, tweaked, and made it seem very not repetitive. The energy cells were also an amazing way of taking the whole “items needed for final boss” artifacts/temple key thing and making it seem not like that. The Valhalla was revealed early on in the game and by the time you absolutely had to travel there, you had already gotten most of the cells by chance. There were maybe 2-3 you might have missed along the way. I was genuinely surprised to find that these were the artifacts of this game.
5. Metroid Zero Mission. This was a good review of the original game for those of us like myself who kinda missed the boat of the original 3 (either cuz we hadn’t been born yet, or had just never heard of it). It also gave new insight to the planet Zebes and the Chozo presence there. However, it was short. 2 hours was your goal for the best playtimes, so without even being a speed runner you could beat it in less than 2. I played through it a lot, and it is really a very easy game. Looking back, even my first time was only 5 hours to get through it. Quite a waste.
6. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Really fun the first time, but its replay drops like a rock. It feels like Prime 1, but it’s just the same thing over and over. Go the temple, get the 3 keys, go to the dark temple to recover the energy, oh look a boss, repeat 2, then get 9 keys for the 4th go around. Just really repetitive after a while. And if you missed a key when you were originally “supposed” to find it, it was so much backtracking to go back and find that stupid thing. All in all, a game that had potential, but fell short.
7. Metroid 2. Probably what bothers me most on this game was simply due to the lack of power on the original gameboy. Plus, my least favorite feature of Samus’s suit, her giant shoulder things, was introduced in this game, ruining an otherwise excellent suit for all time. Metroid 2 avoids being lower than this on the list because it gives insight into what makes a Metroid and how diverse they can be.
8. Metroid Prime: Hunters. Oh what a disappointment. This game along with Prime 2’s multiplayer spawned what I call the “Adventure vs. Multi Shooter Theory” (Halo also confirms this). The theory states that a first person game can have a well made single player adventure, or a well made multiplayer system, but rarely does it have both. Prime 2 got the adventure and Hunters is the multi. Everything about the adventure seems to say “get this over with so you can play with your friends.” And that’s what happened. Heck, my friends playing this is why I purchased a DS. Although they soon grew tired of it after I finally could join in…. oh well, no matter. That’s life.
9. Metroid. Finally we have the original. Being the original, you’d think it’d be higher on this list. This is not true. Why? Because I never want to touch this game again. Even Hunters I’ll play with friends. But Metroid 1 was so annoying, so difficult, and so frustrating that beating the Mother Brain didn’t make me happy because I won, I was happy because I didn’t have to play anymore. And that pretty much sums it up.
And thus ends my Metroid list. The only gaming series that has a history older than myself which I have completely decimated. And I’m darn proud of that!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Work and Jobs
Well, as usual by this time of the month I can hardly stand my job. And this year more than others. Previous years I just got sick and tired of cleaning rooms over and over again, and I hated doing "projects" even more. Projects are no fun at all. This year we have the added drama of a feud of sorts going on. Basically our crew has divided into different factions. The faction I don't belong in blames us for goofing off too much and not working as hard as they are. They, however, are not working as hard because they are valuing the quantity of their work over their quality. Case and point, they did a job that in the past has taken the same number of people most of the morning in 2 hours. However, when our group inspected the job they had done, we found something wrong with every single thing they "cleaned." One of us even remarked that one of our projects could be going around and picking up their slack.
Anyway, this rant about custodial work leads me to this thought: I cannot work another summer at that school. And, if things go as planned, I never will. Next 2 summers will be spent on my mission and when I get back I plan to spend that summer taking classes to catch back up to where I wanted to be school wise by fall of 2012. Then by summer '13 I'll have 3 years of school under my belt which should be more than enough to get an internship of some sort for that summer or even a research job. I can actually spend my time working on engineering. I absolutely cannot wait for that because I can finally get paid to do things that I love doing instead of cleaning a school. I really hope all goes according to plan. I really do not think I can take another summer of custodial work. I truly do not understand the type of person who can make a career out of this.
Anyway, this rant about custodial work leads me to this thought: I cannot work another summer at that school. And, if things go as planned, I never will. Next 2 summers will be spent on my mission and when I get back I plan to spend that summer taking classes to catch back up to where I wanted to be school wise by fall of 2012. Then by summer '13 I'll have 3 years of school under my belt which should be more than enough to get an internship of some sort for that summer or even a research job. I can actually spend my time working on engineering. I absolutely cannot wait for that because I can finally get paid to do things that I love doing instead of cleaning a school. I really hope all goes according to plan. I really do not think I can take another summer of custodial work. I truly do not understand the type of person who can make a career out of this.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Culture
What is culture? What defines a culture? What happens when the culture that you're supposedly a part of does not feel like who you are?
There are a lot of questions and thoughts that can come from/go into American culture. Our pattern has often been to define each decade of the past century or so based on the prevalent culture at the time. In fact, we do this so much that the popular genre of music from the 1980s is simply referred to as '80s music.
This current decade seems to be going towards a definition of hip hop. This gets me thinking that "great, this is what my generation is going to be known for. Utter garbage." Although most people would agree that previous generations tend to feel that the current generation's culture is a load crap, at the moment they are most certainly correct.
So what about the rest of us? If we don't feel like we were part of this strange hip hop culture, then what culture were we a part of? Are we un-American?
This leads to the next point in my thought: the subculture. American culture, while usually divided by time, can further be divided into many subcultures. Many of these form the cliques of high school. These "cliques" are the focus of my writing today. While I cannot go in depth to each subculture, there are a few from my generation I would like to comment on.
First and unfortunately foremost comes pop culture. The most popular and widespread way of behaving and interacting with others. This culture tends to become the one the decade is "defined" by. Pop culture seems to decide what is normal, what is acceptable, what is entertaining, what is fashionable, etc. In high school, these are the cheerleaders, the jocks, the student government, and everyone who wishes they were one of the other 3. In college, they become sororities and fraternities. These are the people who care more what some air headed celebrity did last month than what the leaders of the free world are doing today. These are the people buying into popular music at the time.
These are those who listen only to the radio. They let someone else tell them what is cool and what they enjoy. I have seen it in people I know and even my own family.
The pop culture generation tends to eventual grow spines and stick to what they truly enjoy once they settle down and grow up. However, they still retain their sense of what is "normal" and, as will be the focus later, what constitutes "having a life."
Next comes the gamer. Now, what is it that makes a gamer? Is it anyone that plays games? Is it someone who is dedicated to games? Do you have to grow up a gamer to be one now?
Scott Ramsoomair does a pretty good job of summing it up here *language warning*
Now, I usually define a gamer as a person who plays real games. What's a real game though? Well, first of all, I immediately eliminate anything on Java or Flash you find on the internet. Or anything similar to this as there are many DS and Wii games that feel like Java or Flash ones.
Ultimately, being a gamer is about dedication. Does it sound crazy to you to play a game for 5 hours and have nothing but a blinking "The End" as your reward? If so, you are not a gamer.
A true, or hardcore, gamer has this kind of dedication. Gaming isn't just for passing the time, it is a full blown hobby.
This brings me to my next thought.... Many of the first subculture I mentioned would tell me people with that kind of dedication have no life. My question: what else do you suggest they do? If it is done in their freetime and does not interfere with other aspects of their life, how is this not having a life? Is spending money on dinner and movies with other people really "living" that much more? Everyone has times they wish to spend alone. Why are you a "lifeless loser" if you choose to play a video game in that time? And my other question, with all the self esteem promotion that our society is obsessed with these days, why is it still ok to tell gamers they have no life? As much self esteem as we try to push on people, the gamer (and geek/nerd) stereotype is still allowed to be picked on. Everyone expects the teenage kid to "grow up" and replace the games with something else. And at times this will happen and can be a natural occurance. Careers and families are undeniably more important than any hobby. Why is this feeling not agreed upon when the hobby is some form of sport or athletic activity? Every man is supposed to enjoy football well into his old age. This is mind, what then is wrong with a 30 year old man playing Zelda or Halo in his free time? It should be nothing, but the mainstream media still plays it as pathetic. In any mainstreamers head, they've subconsciously added "living in his parents' basement" to the description. There is so much hypocrisy when a 9 year old kid is considered to be wasting his time playing a video game and succeeding, but is rewarded for "participating" in a baseball league which consisted of standing in the outfield, sweating, and doing nothing.
This inevitably leads to the nerd/geek persona. First and foremost there is the need for a defining differene between the two. While both show dedication to fantasy and sci fi subjects and are well connected with the gaming culture, the distiction is still key. A nerd leans more towards the academic strength as well as the non mainstream hobbies. Due to this classification, I find myself as more of a nerd. That is not to say geeks don't also excell in school and such, they just tend to move their lives in less of a learning and more of an application direction.
Distictions of nerd/geek subculture include but are not limited to: a love for fantasy and science fiction, computer aptitude, love of reading both novels and comics, scientific trivia and facts, activities involving manipulation of scientific facts and technological capabilities.
This once again leads me to the thought of why is it not "normal" to be interested in these things. Why is it considered normal and ok to have entire channels devoted to watching as many sporting events as possible but to strange and unhealthy to buckle down for a Star Wars or Lord of the Rings marathon? Comic or sci fi conventions are strange and unusual places when far more expensive sporting events are not?
So the question is this: Why is the mainstream, a single subgroup in a much larger set, the group that defines our thinking and what is "normal?" As much as I do not consider myself a part of that group, I often think as they do. But why? What makes them right? What makes theirs the ultimate authority? They aren't the ones doing the studies. That's the nerds. Most of what makes mainstream culture possible are the contributions of nerds and geeks that form the technological backbone of our modern age.
Anyway, this far too long post that I originally tried to write from a nonbiased stand point (epic fail there) needs to come to a close. A close with a thought from a friend concerning the film Revenge of the Nerds. That movie catered to the very people who were portrayed as the bad guys. When we, the nerds, truly have our revenge (discounting of course the money we make while the jocks are getting our orders wrong) it will be far more epic than a pathetic greek festival in college.
There are a lot of questions and thoughts that can come from/go into American culture. Our pattern has often been to define each decade of the past century or so based on the prevalent culture at the time. In fact, we do this so much that the popular genre of music from the 1980s is simply referred to as '80s music.
This current decade seems to be going towards a definition of hip hop. This gets me thinking that "great, this is what my generation is going to be known for. Utter garbage." Although most people would agree that previous generations tend to feel that the current generation's culture is a load crap, at the moment they are most certainly correct.
So what about the rest of us? If we don't feel like we were part of this strange hip hop culture, then what culture were we a part of? Are we un-American?
This leads to the next point in my thought: the subculture. American culture, while usually divided by time, can further be divided into many subcultures. Many of these form the cliques of high school. These "cliques" are the focus of my writing today. While I cannot go in depth to each subculture, there are a few from my generation I would like to comment on.
First and unfortunately foremost comes pop culture. The most popular and widespread way of behaving and interacting with others. This culture tends to become the one the decade is "defined" by. Pop culture seems to decide what is normal, what is acceptable, what is entertaining, what is fashionable, etc. In high school, these are the cheerleaders, the jocks, the student government, and everyone who wishes they were one of the other 3. In college, they become sororities and fraternities. These are the people who care more what some air headed celebrity did last month than what the leaders of the free world are doing today. These are the people buying into popular music at the time.
These are those who listen only to the radio. They let someone else tell them what is cool and what they enjoy. I have seen it in people I know and even my own family.
The pop culture generation tends to eventual grow spines and stick to what they truly enjoy once they settle down and grow up. However, they still retain their sense of what is "normal" and, as will be the focus later, what constitutes "having a life."
Next comes the gamer. Now, what is it that makes a gamer? Is it anyone that plays games? Is it someone who is dedicated to games? Do you have to grow up a gamer to be one now?
Scott Ramsoomair does a pretty good job of summing it up here *language warning*
Now, I usually define a gamer as a person who plays real games. What's a real game though? Well, first of all, I immediately eliminate anything on Java or Flash you find on the internet. Or anything similar to this as there are many DS and Wii games that feel like Java or Flash ones.
Ultimately, being a gamer is about dedication. Does it sound crazy to you to play a game for 5 hours and have nothing but a blinking "The End" as your reward? If so, you are not a gamer.
A true, or hardcore, gamer has this kind of dedication. Gaming isn't just for passing the time, it is a full blown hobby.
This brings me to my next thought.... Many of the first subculture I mentioned would tell me people with that kind of dedication have no life. My question: what else do you suggest they do? If it is done in their freetime and does not interfere with other aspects of their life, how is this not having a life? Is spending money on dinner and movies with other people really "living" that much more? Everyone has times they wish to spend alone. Why are you a "lifeless loser" if you choose to play a video game in that time? And my other question, with all the self esteem promotion that our society is obsessed with these days, why is it still ok to tell gamers they have no life? As much self esteem as we try to push on people, the gamer (and geek/nerd) stereotype is still allowed to be picked on. Everyone expects the teenage kid to "grow up" and replace the games with something else. And at times this will happen and can be a natural occurance. Careers and families are undeniably more important than any hobby. Why is this feeling not agreed upon when the hobby is some form of sport or athletic activity? Every man is supposed to enjoy football well into his old age. This is mind, what then is wrong with a 30 year old man playing Zelda or Halo in his free time? It should be nothing, but the mainstream media still plays it as pathetic. In any mainstreamers head, they've subconsciously added "living in his parents' basement" to the description. There is so much hypocrisy when a 9 year old kid is considered to be wasting his time playing a video game and succeeding, but is rewarded for "participating" in a baseball league which consisted of standing in the outfield, sweating, and doing nothing.
This inevitably leads to the nerd/geek persona. First and foremost there is the need for a defining differene between the two. While both show dedication to fantasy and sci fi subjects and are well connected with the gaming culture, the distiction is still key. A nerd leans more towards the academic strength as well as the non mainstream hobbies. Due to this classification, I find myself as more of a nerd. That is not to say geeks don't also excell in school and such, they just tend to move their lives in less of a learning and more of an application direction.
Distictions of nerd/geek subculture include but are not limited to: a love for fantasy and science fiction, computer aptitude, love of reading both novels and comics, scientific trivia and facts, activities involving manipulation of scientific facts and technological capabilities.
This once again leads me to the thought of why is it not "normal" to be interested in these things. Why is it considered normal and ok to have entire channels devoted to watching as many sporting events as possible but to strange and unhealthy to buckle down for a Star Wars or Lord of the Rings marathon? Comic or sci fi conventions are strange and unusual places when far more expensive sporting events are not?
So the question is this: Why is the mainstream, a single subgroup in a much larger set, the group that defines our thinking and what is "normal?" As much as I do not consider myself a part of that group, I often think as they do. But why? What makes them right? What makes theirs the ultimate authority? They aren't the ones doing the studies. That's the nerds. Most of what makes mainstream culture possible are the contributions of nerds and geeks that form the technological backbone of our modern age.
Anyway, this far too long post that I originally tried to write from a nonbiased stand point (epic fail there) needs to come to a close. A close with a thought from a friend concerning the film Revenge of the Nerds. That movie catered to the very people who were portrayed as the bad guys. When we, the nerds, truly have our revenge (discounting of course the money we make while the jocks are getting our orders wrong) it will be far more epic than a pathetic greek festival in college.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Desk
I have come to a realization: I am a person who needs a desk. I had a desk in my apartment up in Logan. I was always at my desk. My computer sat on it, I ate all my meals at it, and I used my chair to watch TV or play video games. And I really preferred it. I definitely like using a mouse more than the track pad on the laptop. That's the whole reason I purchased a wireless USB mouse in the first place. It's really hard to use a mouse on the couch. I also enjoy having drawers to keep folders and papers in and more importantly pens and pencils. The drawers is why using a table with my laptop just doesn't seem to cut it. It's not going to be much of a worry in a few weeks, but when I've finished college and am ready to find a place to live I will need to definitely need to have some sort of office with a desk that I can use. I won't be able to do much if I don't.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Lunchables
I bought a Lunchable for lunch today just for kicks and giggles. Good old pizza kind.... or so I thought. Turns out that sometime in the last few years when I stopped having these regularly they decided not to include the little plastic spreader for the sauce. Maybe it's just me, but it is a pain to try and make these little pizzas without a tool with which to spread the sauce. The best I could do was use the packet itself to spread what I had already squeezed onto the crust. This was crude work and it made the packet a mess so I had to be careful of where I put it down. It's disappointing because for me the spreader is essential. It was probably discontinued because of some "it's a waste of plastic. Let's look like we care about the environment!" angle that they decided to take. There are better ways to save resources than making the product just a little bit more frustrating.
In other news, those pizzas are still really good. That's very surprising considering how poor quality you would expect it to be. I vaguely remember still when they first made the pizza ones. When I was really young, we always had the cracker, meat, and cheese Lunchables. Then the pizza came and it was heavenly. Screw those stupid crackers, I can have 3 little pizzas! And I can eat them raw! Well, other than the crust at least. I always loved them and pretty much still do.
In other news, those pizzas are still really good. That's very surprising considering how poor quality you would expect it to be. I vaguely remember still when they first made the pizza ones. When I was really young, we always had the cracker, meat, and cheese Lunchables. Then the pizza came and it was heavenly. Screw those stupid crackers, I can have 3 little pizzas! And I can eat them raw! Well, other than the crust at least. I always loved them and pretty much still do.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Final Week of Classes
As the title says, this is the final week of classes. I can't wait to be done with this semester as I am getting really tired. Certain classes, such as manufacturing processes, could not possibly end soon enough if they tried. Although I remind myself that I still have one more assignment to complete in that particular class. I should get on that.
Speaking of assignments, half of my remaining assignments are all due during finals week. That seems a little odd considering that finals usually is the last thing we do and for either of these assignments, we could honestly hand them in after the final. It's a bit different from what you might normally expect. I should get to work on those assignments too....
In other news my mission papers are into my bishop so he should be sending them to whoever he sends them to next on Friday (tomorrow. Exactly 3 months before my birthday). Hopefully I haven't forgotten any information that would prevent those papers from going through as soon as possible. I need to get my call as soon as possible so that I can leave as close to my birthday as possible so that I get back in time for school in two years. I trust all will go as planned.
Which reminds me again! I need to make an appointment to meet with my adviser before I leave so she can tell me what to do when I am getting ready to come back. Goodness it's going to be a busy week....
Speaking of assignments, half of my remaining assignments are all due during finals week. That seems a little odd considering that finals usually is the last thing we do and for either of these assignments, we could honestly hand them in after the final. It's a bit different from what you might normally expect. I should get to work on those assignments too....
In other news my mission papers are into my bishop so he should be sending them to whoever he sends them to next on Friday (tomorrow. Exactly 3 months before my birthday). Hopefully I haven't forgotten any information that would prevent those papers from going through as soon as possible. I need to get my call as soon as possible so that I can leave as close to my birthday as possible so that I get back in time for school in two years. I trust all will go as planned.
Which reminds me again! I need to make an appointment to meet with my adviser before I leave so she can tell me what to do when I am getting ready to come back. Goodness it's going to be a busy week....
Sunday, April 5, 2009
I guess this is growing up.....
Depressing post time! This weekend, my grandpa had a screening of his digestive tract because he's been having trouble eating and lost a lot of weight because of it. The doctors' findings were not good. There was a tumor in his colon. He went in for surgery to have the tumors (also ones in the fatty tissue between organs and on his diaphragm) removed. When analyzed, the cancer was revealed to be at stage 4. Things were not looking good last night so they took him into surgery again. This time they learned he was bleeding internally from the first operation so they stopped that and at last I've heard he was doing better. Obviously, things are not looking good overall.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Wasting Money
Man I've been doing this a lot lately. The most obvious example is going out to eat way too much. This could probably be fixed if I were to find some more interesting things to make rather then ramen. I eat out because I'm getting sick of ramen, PB&J, and ham & cheese (although I did get smarter and started buying deli ham and cheese rather than the prepackaged stuff. Overall the better deal honestly). I also bought Dr. Horrible on DVD, but that is definitely worth it. I can't wait to watch it with the singing commentary. either way, yeah, wasting money. I need to stop. And yet as I type this I'm thinking of what I'm going to get for lunch and want to spend money on it.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Monday
Blah, I hate Mondays. Don't think I've ever said that I here so I think that I will. Technically I hate Monday mornings, but if the morning is bad, that basically ruins your whole day. Hmm, what days do I not enjoy and why:
Monday- Have to get up after sleeping in all weekend. Not a good way to start it.
Tuesday- Tuesday's are extremely busy. Including institute it's the longest day of my week. And it's still pretty long without institute.
Wednesday- I don't really have any consistent complaints about Wednesday.... although I do have to get up early but the same as Monday and Friday too.
Thursday- So close to the end and yet still so far. Thursdays have always bothered me.
Friday- Definitely a good day. Even if it's the 13th I still love it. Although I still get up too early but there is nothing that can be done about that.
Saturday- It is WAY too short. Unfortunately.
Sunday- I don't like 9:00 church. I don't like getting up that early on the weekend. I get up that early or earlier the rest of the week and need to weekends to recover.
And I guess so that I don't seem like quite the pessimist, I'll list good things about each day of the week:
Monday- The Big Bang Theory!
Tuesday- um.... Daily Show? Colbert? That's Monday-Thursday though
Wednesday- Important things?
Thursday- The Office!
Friday- End of the work week
Saturday- EVERYTHING.
Sunday- Church and awesome dinner if I were to be at home.
My goods are rather pathetic aren't they?
Monday- Have to get up after sleeping in all weekend. Not a good way to start it.
Tuesday- Tuesday's are extremely busy. Including institute it's the longest day of my week. And it's still pretty long without institute.
Wednesday- I don't really have any consistent complaints about Wednesday.... although I do have to get up early but the same as Monday and Friday too.
Thursday- So close to the end and yet still so far. Thursdays have always bothered me.
Friday- Definitely a good day. Even if it's the 13th I still love it. Although I still get up too early but there is nothing that can be done about that.
Saturday- It is WAY too short. Unfortunately.
Sunday- I don't like 9:00 church. I don't like getting up that early on the weekend. I get up that early or earlier the rest of the week and need to weekends to recover.
And I guess so that I don't seem like quite the pessimist, I'll list good things about each day of the week:
Monday- The Big Bang Theory!
Tuesday- um.... Daily Show? Colbert? That's Monday-Thursday though
Wednesday- Important things?
Thursday- The Office!
Friday- End of the work week
Saturday- EVERYTHING.
Sunday- Church and awesome dinner if I were to be at home.
My goods are rather pathetic aren't they?
Saturday, March 14, 2009
A&W
A&W is a wonderful fast food restaurant. Good burgers, good fries, and fantastic root beer. Having lived in Logan, I've gone to one of the oldest A&W joints in Utah. When most of the others closed down, this one stayed open (or so say my parents). Now others have started to re-open, but a lot of the new ones are part of gas stations. So now I'm considering a difference between the Logan one and this one here in Layton connected to a Conoco (?). Overall, the Logan wins hands down. Faster service, higher quality ingredients, and even more special offers. In fact, there was only a single positive difference in the gas station one. That difference is that the draft root beer (A&W's signature item) was self serve rather than behind the counter. While I'm sure that you COULD get a refill at the Logan one, you can definitely get the refills here at the gas station. And if you're crafty enough, you can keep getting one since the A&W staff usually are more worried about the drive through than they are about the dine in area (another con of the gas station vs. the Logan version).
Friday, March 13, 2009
Wasted Break
I've wasted a LOT of time this break. I've played Half Life, Guitar Hero, and Assassin's Creed. I have NOT done any homework. Which is not good. Most of my classes had some form of homework over the break (all except one). And guess what? I haven't touched a single thing! That's really not good. I should start getting to work. Physics is due first on Sunday night. I'll probably do that tomorrow. Then math and half of Engineering Graphics is due Tuesday so I'll do those Sunday/Monday. The other half of Engineering Graphics is due on Thursday. So that on Tuesday and Wednesday. Will I follow this schedule? Honestly, probably not. Physics will probably been done Sunday night. Math/graphics on Monday night/Tuesday morning and the other half of the graphics stuff will likely get done late Wednesday night. I'm such a fool when it comes to those things. *sigh* oh well
Thursday, March 12, 2009
The Future
I just realized my 19th Birthday is a little more than 4 months away. Holy crap. It is so hard to believe that a mission is so very close right now. I still have a month and a half of school left and then I have no idea what I'll be doing until my mission. I've thought about going back to Layton High but I'm not sure I want to go back for 8 hours a day Monday through Friday. I don't know what kind of activities I'll be engaged in to prepare for my mission, so I don't want work to get in the way of that. Although unless Rod and Ryan changed significantly this past year, they'd probably be ok with it. Either way, while summer work is much more enjoyable than daily during the school year work in public school custodial work, it is still extremely tiring. But the money would help. I'll have to think about it.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Spring Break
Today is the first official day of USU's spring break. It is also coinciding with a university furlough that is supposed to make up for the budget cuts that happened earlier this year. While obviously there's nothing that can be done about it, I can't help but think that there would be a nice sized pot of money available to the school next year if they had not fired the current football coach before his contract was up thus making it so they have to pay another coach next year and the old coach. They'll be paying for two coaches next season! They'll only be getting one! I'm sorry, but a one for two deal just does not have the same ring as a two for one deal. I guess I'm just bitter about all that money going towards a vain attempt to improve the games next year with a new guy when the old guy did a pretty good job in comparison to previous years. And he did this good job before he was hired. I just though more money at a research university would actually get devoted to research that can have years of importance rather than a football team that is only the same for one year at a time.
Anyway, back to the actual break. I've enjoyd being home with no responsiblity although I've already spent just as much money as I do during a week at school. Shaving supplies are so dang expensive. At least I only have to buy them every once in a while. I think this is the first time I've needed blades since moving to Logan and I didn't even purchase them IN Logan. Ha ha, irony. Gotta love it.
Anyway, back to the actual break. I've enjoyd being home with no responsiblity although I've already spent just as much money as I do during a week at school. Shaving supplies are so dang expensive. At least I only have to buy them every once in a while. I think this is the first time I've needed blades since moving to Logan and I didn't even purchase them IN Logan. Ha ha, irony. Gotta love it.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Things I Don't Understand
There are a few things that I really don't understand that I wanted to get off my chest.
1st off is a bit more light hearted than the rest. What's up with the slipper shoes that are popular among girls these day? They're possibly less of a shoe than flip flops. But since they "cover" some of the foot, girls are wearing them in the winter. But these "shoes" ridiculous. They are very thin, so feet must be sore from walking around all the time. No foot support at all. So these shoes fail at the two main purposes of shoes. The only thing left is how they look, which is objective, so I can claim that it really "fails." However, I don't think they look that good, so I just don't understand them.
Next, why do people seem to think that open mindedness equals accepting all new ideas? Disagreeing with an idea is not close mindedness. Often times, it is intelligence! There is no good reason to accept a bad idea. How is that close minded? If I don't agree with a lifestyle, that isn't close mindedness. Close mindedness is prejudice. It is refusing to change view points with new information (global warming activists come to mind). If there is a good reason to change my position on an issue, then I will change. People seem to define not changing period as close mindedness, which is obviously not true. You can be open minded and still maintain relatively identical beliefs. I believe the cliche goes "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Being open minded means figuring out if it is broken or not and acting accordingly.
3rd thing: Why is racism from minorities tolerated? Especially when said racism is against whites? I say this thinking back to Obama's inauguration and the comments made in the benediction (here it is if you've never heard/read it). That prayer angered me for two reasons: 1st, the blatant racism. Yeah, it might seem all nice and humorous, until you get to the white part. While I did not see the inauguration when it happened, every repeat of that event I did see cut out before the white part. If everyone was taking it in such good humor as the wikipedia article claims, why not show it? Also, the fact that everyone in attendance seemed to take it in "good humor" is biased. Most people in support of Obama seem to have the "Oh look at how far we've come in electing a black man" mentality. Not taking the statement in good humor means admitting we haven't come that far at all, but even possibly in the wrong direction. I'm not saying we've taken steps backwards. More that the destination is in the North and we're headed Northeast. The 2nd reason the prayer bothered me was that is was a prayer. Racist or not, a prayer is not a time for jokes. You should not be pausing in a prayer so everyone can laugh. That is disrespectful, a mockery of religious principles, and downright rude. I know that even the church tries to teach that people can't offend that I can only take offense, but that doesn't make what he said ok. Tolerance of wrong doing only leads to greater wrong doing (boiling a frog).
While this is not a thing I don't understand, but it is rather odd, I must say that the only new source I trust these days is direct feed of events, or The Daily Show. Jon Stewart may not seem to take things seriously, but he has the least biased "reporter" I've ever seen. If people are being stupid, he's gonna make fun of them. Doesn't matter who they are.
1st off is a bit more light hearted than the rest. What's up with the slipper shoes that are popular among girls these day? They're possibly less of a shoe than flip flops. But since they "cover" some of the foot, girls are wearing them in the winter. But these "shoes" ridiculous. They are very thin, so feet must be sore from walking around all the time. No foot support at all. So these shoes fail at the two main purposes of shoes. The only thing left is how they look, which is objective, so I can claim that it really "fails." However, I don't think they look that good, so I just don't understand them.
Next, why do people seem to think that open mindedness equals accepting all new ideas? Disagreeing with an idea is not close mindedness. Often times, it is intelligence! There is no good reason to accept a bad idea. How is that close minded? If I don't agree with a lifestyle, that isn't close mindedness. Close mindedness is prejudice. It is refusing to change view points with new information (global warming activists come to mind). If there is a good reason to change my position on an issue, then I will change. People seem to define not changing period as close mindedness, which is obviously not true. You can be open minded and still maintain relatively identical beliefs. I believe the cliche goes "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Being open minded means figuring out if it is broken or not and acting accordingly.
3rd thing: Why is racism from minorities tolerated? Especially when said racism is against whites? I say this thinking back to Obama's inauguration and the comments made in the benediction (here it is if you've never heard/read it). That prayer angered me for two reasons: 1st, the blatant racism. Yeah, it might seem all nice and humorous, until you get to the white part. While I did not see the inauguration when it happened, every repeat of that event I did see cut out before the white part. If everyone was taking it in such good humor as the wikipedia article claims, why not show it? Also, the fact that everyone in attendance seemed to take it in "good humor" is biased. Most people in support of Obama seem to have the "Oh look at how far we've come in electing a black man" mentality. Not taking the statement in good humor means admitting we haven't come that far at all, but even possibly in the wrong direction. I'm not saying we've taken steps backwards. More that the destination is in the North and we're headed Northeast. The 2nd reason the prayer bothered me was that is was a prayer. Racist or not, a prayer is not a time for jokes. You should not be pausing in a prayer so everyone can laugh. That is disrespectful, a mockery of religious principles, and downright rude. I know that even the church tries to teach that people can't offend that I can only take offense, but that doesn't make what he said ok. Tolerance of wrong doing only leads to greater wrong doing (boiling a frog).
While this is not a thing I don't understand, but it is rather odd, I must say that the only new source I trust these days is direct feed of events, or The Daily Show. Jon Stewart may not seem to take things seriously, but he has the least biased "reporter" I've ever seen. If people are being stupid, he's gonna make fun of them. Doesn't matter who they are.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Rant Time
Alright, time for a quick little rant:
A very common form of cursing in this day and age is taking the names of deities in vain. In America, this is commonly done in the form of God or Jesus Christ. Many people are of the opinion that this is not a form of swearing at all (likely due to the shift towards atheism in our mainstream culture). This has never sat right with me and here is why:
If you don't believe that taking the Lord's name in vain is swearing, then you don't believe in the commandments.
If you don't believe in the commandments, you don't believe in God anyway.
If you don't believe in God, then what is the point of using his name for cursing?
This paradox really bugs me. If it's not swearing to you, then why say it? No one has ever has ever given me what I felt was a satisfactory answer. And that pretty much bugs me.
A very common form of cursing in this day and age is taking the names of deities in vain. In America, this is commonly done in the form of God or Jesus Christ. Many people are of the opinion that this is not a form of swearing at all (likely due to the shift towards atheism in our mainstream culture). This has never sat right with me and here is why:
If you don't believe that taking the Lord's name in vain is swearing, then you don't believe in the commandments.
If you don't believe in the commandments, you don't believe in God anyway.
If you don't believe in God, then what is the point of using his name for cursing?
This paradox really bugs me. If it's not swearing to you, then why say it? No one has ever has ever given me what I felt was a satisfactory answer. And that pretty much bugs me.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Manufacturing
I've been really bored in my manufacturing class throughout the first few weeks that I've had it. Even what should have been interesting, a tour of a manufacturing plant just west of town, wasn't. Granted it was not interesting because the only person in the company who knew we were coming forgot so we wasted 45 minutes of the hour we had available since people had classes they needed to get to. So we got to see one machine that was not running. It was an impressive looking machine, but it would have been more impressive to actually see it do what it was supposed to do.
Anyway, I'm really not sure what I supposed to get out of this class. So far not much, because there's not much information to worry about. He lectures most class periods, but there is no test or assignment that actually has to do with the information he lectures about. It seems it's supposed to be building up to the big team project he has planned, but even the plan for that is horribly vague. I just really don't know what I am supposed to do.
Anyway, I'm really not sure what I supposed to get out of this class. So far not much, because there's not much information to worry about. He lectures most class periods, but there is no test or assignment that actually has to do with the information he lectures about. It seems it's supposed to be building up to the big team project he has planned, but even the plan for that is horribly vague. I just really don't know what I am supposed to do.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Inauguration Day
Today Barrack Obama is sworn in as our new president. I can't help but ask one crucial question:
What is the big deal?
I can understand that people had their issues with Bush. He wasn't perfect. But he did what I'm sure he felt was the best he could with the cards he was dealt. Look at Iraq objectively. Any conflict on a global scale, the US is going to be criticized for it. Either we poked our noses in where it didn't belong (Vietnam, Iraq) or we didn't stop something that we could've stopped (Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and various other African conflicts). From what I can see, Bush felt Iraq would turn into the latter, when in reality it became the former. But with the war in Iraq we tend to forget one crucial thing: the President of the United States does not have absolute power. If the majority of Congress wanted to prevent the troops from originally entering Iraq, they could have. So why does the President get all the blame when it goes wrong?
Also, Bush was definitely not the ideal man for the job. But in each election, he was vastly superior to the alternatives. Gore and Kerry would not have done any better in Bush's stead. If the Democrats really wanted to get rid of Bush in 2004, they should've picked someone better. And all you have to look at is the Inconvient Bullcrap of Al Gore to see what kind of job he would have done.
Next, there is no reason to assume things will get better under Obama. It's a coin toss really. There is no evidence or reasoning to suggest how that man will do in the position of President. Without the administrative experience, it could go either way. It could turn out fantastic and a few years down the road I could end up being proud of having Obama as a president. I genuinely hope that it does. However, it could also go downhill from here and only get worse. Granted, odds are it will get worse before it can get better, but will that really be the doing of the President? Everything is based on his wonderous speeches. But right now, that's all they are. Words. Nothing more. It is time for Obama to prove that he can walk the walk as well as talk the talk because even though the country is expecting great things from him, this faith is based on his words alone.
I'm not naive enough to think that by next year he will have proven himself. But if there has not been significant progress towards the kind of change that our country needs by the next election (4 years), I seriously urge voters to reconsider their faith in that man.
Anyway, that's my inauguration day rant. I know few people actually read this, but I welcome comments, critiques, corrections, etc. Please be civil if you do.
What is the big deal?
I can understand that people had their issues with Bush. He wasn't perfect. But he did what I'm sure he felt was the best he could with the cards he was dealt. Look at Iraq objectively. Any conflict on a global scale, the US is going to be criticized for it. Either we poked our noses in where it didn't belong (Vietnam, Iraq) or we didn't stop something that we could've stopped (Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and various other African conflicts). From what I can see, Bush felt Iraq would turn into the latter, when in reality it became the former. But with the war in Iraq we tend to forget one crucial thing: the President of the United States does not have absolute power. If the majority of Congress wanted to prevent the troops from originally entering Iraq, they could have. So why does the President get all the blame when it goes wrong?
Also, Bush was definitely not the ideal man for the job. But in each election, he was vastly superior to the alternatives. Gore and Kerry would not have done any better in Bush's stead. If the Democrats really wanted to get rid of Bush in 2004, they should've picked someone better. And all you have to look at is the Inconvient Bullcrap of Al Gore to see what kind of job he would have done.
Next, there is no reason to assume things will get better under Obama. It's a coin toss really. There is no evidence or reasoning to suggest how that man will do in the position of President. Without the administrative experience, it could go either way. It could turn out fantastic and a few years down the road I could end up being proud of having Obama as a president. I genuinely hope that it does. However, it could also go downhill from here and only get worse. Granted, odds are it will get worse before it can get better, but will that really be the doing of the President? Everything is based on his wonderous speeches. But right now, that's all they are. Words. Nothing more. It is time for Obama to prove that he can walk the walk as well as talk the talk because even though the country is expecting great things from him, this faith is based on his words alone.
I'm not naive enough to think that by next year he will have proven himself. But if there has not been significant progress towards the kind of change that our country needs by the next election (4 years), I seriously urge voters to reconsider their faith in that man.
Anyway, that's my inauguration day rant. I know few people actually read this, but I welcome comments, critiques, corrections, etc. Please be civil if you do.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Working....
...is something I usually feel like I should be doing these days. I dunno quite how to explain the feeling. I mean, it's not like the "I'm procrastinating this and should really just get to it"* type of feeling, but more of a wanting to do something truly productive. This feeling is somewhat relieved when I work in Solid Edge on my engineering design class. I really enjoy this because it's a type of busy work that I can actually use for something at some point in my life. I dunno, I feel like I should really be working on something else but I just don't know what. If only I could put my finger on it.
On another note, it is extremely cold in my parents house in Clearfield when compared to my apartment in Logan. Although I'm sure a lot of people agree that even though it is pretty cold outside in Logan, those apartments are ridiculously hot. Not even kidding.
Anyway, that's all for now!
nar out
*This is not to say I don't have homework that HAS been procrastinated. I could name physics and differential equations homework as examples right now. The physics is online so I actually have to do that by midnight Sunday night, so I should really get to work on it.
On another note, it is extremely cold in my parents house in Clearfield when compared to my apartment in Logan. Although I'm sure a lot of people agree that even though it is pretty cold outside in Logan, those apartments are ridiculously hot. Not even kidding.
Anyway, that's all for now!
nar out
*This is not to say I don't have homework that HAS been procrastinated. I could name physics and differential equations homework as examples right now. The physics is online so I actually have to do that by midnight Sunday night, so I should really get to work on it.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Lack of Alarm Clock
When I got back up to Logan after Christmas break, I found out I left my alarm clock back home in Clearfield. Thus I have been in need of an alternative form of waking myself up. I've tried my phone and my DS. The 2nd day of using my phone, it somehow fell underneath my bed and thus failed to wake me up. I decided to avoid that happening and tried the DS. 1st attempt at that failed because the DS isn't loud enough. I've since plugged it in to my computer speakers through the headphone jack. That has worked until this morning, when the alarm went off. I heard it and knew it was going off, but since it was not the piercing sound I am used to from an alarm so it was not registering in my mind. It was however, registering in Cody's mind and it was his shout at me that got my attention to reality and that my alarm was going off. So it seems I need to make a trip back to Clearfield, just to get back my stupid alarm clock.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
It's a Brand New Day
Today is Saturday on the first weekend since the semester started. This semester is going to be a lot different from the first one. Namely, I get up earlier and it appears I will have fewer easy As in comparison. I have space between my classes now, except on Thursdays when I will head straight from my Design class to Honors Inquiry, both of which will likely bore me before too long.
One thing I've noticed about college that really sets it apart from high school is that classes here always dive right in. After the first week of all brand new classes in high school, you still had not done a single thing regarding the classes themselves with the possible exception of having gone over the disclosure. Some classes you hadn't gotten that far. Especially seminary. When the school started beginning on Wednesdays for same inane reason, if you had seminary on a B day you wouldn't have actually gone to class by the time the week was over thanks to the first day assembly that they always had. Up here, first day of class you get handed the syllabus and then here we go. I've already learned actually subject material in all my classes, even the ones I've only had once. Not to say I'm enjoying all of them. My manufacturing class was a bore from day one. I so wish that was not a required course for my major otherwise I'd be dropping it faster than..... Ok, I don't really have a dropping analogy. You'll just have to think up your own.
Speaking of my manufacturing class, I'm really annoyed about the book I was required to buy for it. It's called "The Goal" and if it doesn't get here soon I'm not going to have enough time to read it before I'm supposed to have it done by (I have to finish by Friday and the estimated arrival date is not until Tuesday.... at the earliest.... ugh) so I may end up spending Thursday combing the city for a copy and then staying up all night to read it. *sigh* what really annoys me about it was that the book was not on the list of books we would need for the class before Christmas break started. I order all my books online back then so that I would not have the kind of problems I am now of needing a book that has not arrived in the mail yet. What further annoys me is that I paid for the expedited shipping on half.com for this book, hoping that would get it here faster. That cost me $5. I paid normally shipping on amazon.com (about $1.50) for a flash drive for my design class that I ordered the day after I ordered the book. I got the flash drive today. That really pisses me off. It seems my desire to get a better deal price wise by ordering off of half.com might result in costing me even more by having to find for, pay for, and read in far too short a time an additional copy of the book. So much for trying to be thrifty. Oh well I suppose. Not much else I can about it for the time being. Maybe I'll check for Sparknotes, just in case.
EDIT: Sweet, got the book. My roommate came in at 9:30 saying I had a package in the Lundstrum (sp?) center. I have no idea how long it had been there but I least I have it now. I'll have to read about 60 pages a day in order to finish it in time though. If I had known I needed before Christmas break I could have ordered it then and read it during the break which would have been the much preferred option.
EDIT 2: Oh my gosh. Professor just moved it back a week. Great. All that stress for no good reason.
One thing I've noticed about college that really sets it apart from high school is that classes here always dive right in. After the first week of all brand new classes in high school, you still had not done a single thing regarding the classes themselves with the possible exception of having gone over the disclosure. Some classes you hadn't gotten that far. Especially seminary. When the school started beginning on Wednesdays for same inane reason, if you had seminary on a B day you wouldn't have actually gone to class by the time the week was over thanks to the first day assembly that they always had. Up here, first day of class you get handed the syllabus and then here we go. I've already learned actually subject material in all my classes, even the ones I've only had once. Not to say I'm enjoying all of them. My manufacturing class was a bore from day one. I so wish that was not a required course for my major otherwise I'd be dropping it faster than..... Ok, I don't really have a dropping analogy. You'll just have to think up your own.
Speaking of my manufacturing class, I'm really annoyed about the book I was required to buy for it. It's called "The Goal" and if it doesn't get here soon I'm not going to have enough time to read it before I'm supposed to have it done by (I have to finish by Friday and the estimated arrival date is not until Tuesday.... at the earliest.... ugh) so I may end up spending Thursday combing the city for a copy and then staying up all night to read it. *sigh* what really annoys me about it was that the book was not on the list of books we would need for the class before Christmas break started. I order all my books online back then so that I would not have the kind of problems I am now of needing a book that has not arrived in the mail yet. What further annoys me is that I paid for the expedited shipping on half.com for this book, hoping that would get it here faster. That cost me $5. I paid normally shipping on amazon.com (about $1.50) for a flash drive for my design class that I ordered the day after I ordered the book. I got the flash drive today. That really pisses me off. It seems my desire to get a better deal price wise by ordering off of half.com might result in costing me even more by having to find for, pay for, and read in far too short a time an additional copy of the book. So much for trying to be thrifty. Oh well I suppose. Not much else I can about it for the time being. Maybe I'll check for Sparknotes, just in case.
EDIT: Sweet, got the book. My roommate came in at 9:30 saying I had a package in the Lundstrum (sp?) center. I have no idea how long it had been there but I least I have it now. I'll have to read about 60 pages a day in order to finish it in time though. If I had known I needed before Christmas break I could have ordered it then and read it during the break which would have been the much preferred option.
EDIT 2: Oh my gosh. Professor just moved it back a week. Great. All that stress for no good reason.
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