Nuclear Explodey.

Last night, as it seems has become my evening ritual, I was watching the History channel. At some point, a program came on detailing the steps that would be taken by the American government should a nuclear device of at least ten kilotons be detonated in a major American city (in the case of the show, Washington D.C.). It detailed all that it could on the DEFCON and COGCON systems that have been enacted in order to keep the government from falling into anarchy, and to preserve as much life as is possible. While that's all fine and good, I couldn't help be compare the COG (Continuity of Government) system to the system used to preserve humanity in the anime Blue Gender; consider those not of governmental importance to already be dead, and shoot through them if it means accomplishing your goals.
It's rather sickening how the elected officials get top priority over the people who actually elect them. Kinda makes you wonder if people who vote realise that basically all they're doing is deciding which people's lives take priority over their own. This is not, however, the reason why I bring this particular program up. From the very beginning of this (and other History Channel specials on relatively awful things that could befall the human race), I couldn't help but wish that it actually would happen. Call me insensitive, but I think a massive catastrophe such as a nuclear detonation would add some interest to this otherwise mundane world in which the government wallows in their own paranoia that something disastrous might happen that would prevent them from being the high and mighty power they are. If anything else, at least a nuclear weapon would actually be getting some use; as they are currently, a nuclear arsenal is merely a way that a country can proclaim that their dick is bigger than some other country. They're not being used, there are no plans for them to ever be used, and human "morality" has otherwise proclaimed their use to be taboo. There is no conceivable reason for any military force to have them, other than to provide extra leverage when they feel like waving their stick at another nation.
So, in my opinion, either blow some city to kingdom come with them (because, lets face it, that's all they're really good for), or dismantle them and get off your high horse already. As they are currently, sitting in silos gathering dust until the alleged governmental equivalent of the Easy Button is pushed, the only thing coming of them is paranoia that another nation that isn't the United States is going to acquire them. And why would they want to do that? Because they don't like the idea that people can sit there and point an atomic bomb at them, and all they've got to fight back with are a few outdated guns and maybe a stinger missile or two. And people wonder why America is hated...
So, I will sit, and I will wait for the "inevitable" point in which America gets attacked with a nuclear weapon. At least then we'll finally get to see our fears realised.

And now, I leave you with some words from Jack the Ripper as heard in the movie From Hell:

"No man amongst you is fit to judge the mighty art that I have wrought. Your rituals are empty oaths you neither understand nor live by. The Great Architect speaks to me. He is the balance where my deeds are weighed and judged... not you."

Gravitational Field Equation, Near Light Speed, and the G.U.T.

Astronomy this semester, coupled with several nights spent watching doomsday scenarios on The History Channel, have started to get me interested in the physics behind it all. This is not to say that I want to run off and take a physics course (in fact, I failed physics in high school, but that was due to lack of effort), but I would like to start getting a better handle on it.
My astronomy instructor mentioned that Einstein's notes for his Grand Unification Theory (G.U.T.) are available in book form at most book stores, so I figured while I was online, I might see if I can see how much such a piece of literature would cost. Seeing as how even Einstein couldn't figure out what his notes were telling him, I don't expect to understand it in the slightest, but I'd still like to see what he came up with before he died. But, I digress; while my initial search didn't really turn up what I was looking for, I did stumble across an article published back in 2006 that mentions a new exact solution for Einstein's Gravitational Field Equation (something I also don't know in the slightest), and the possibility of near-light-speed travel by the end of the century. While I realise that "the end of the century" is beyond my lifetime, it's hardly the millenia I would've figured it would take to get anywhere close to light speed.
The physicist who came up with this solution also mentioned something about changing our perception of exploring the "far reaches of our universe". This I don't quite believe, as something travelling the speed of light would take something like a hundred-million years to even get from one side of our galaxy to the other, so something going near light speed isn't showing too much promise of getting very far in that aspect, but it may allow people to see new solar systems, which is in and of itself pretty cool.
Anyhow just thought I'd mention something about this because I found it interesting. Now back to my hunt for the published version of the G.U.T.

edit: I found it... s' in three volumes and is one-hundred and sixty shmuckers... maybe for Christmas xD

If The World Were Black and Grey...

So, I was in the middle of editing Nixie's History paper, and I was listening to the song "Day After Day" by Inward Eye, and there's a part towards the beginning that sounds like it says "what's black and grey" (I've since learned that all the lyrics websites put it down as "what's black and gay"). I found it to be a bit inspirational, as most of the time the world is viewed as largely black and white, with a grey area for middle ground. And so I thought to myself, how would the world be if it were only black and grey?
- Bright white printer paper would be a figment of your imagination
- There wouldn't be a spectrum of colour that you could reveal by passing white light through a prism
- White supremacy would seem rather foolish
- Children wouldn't get their PB & J on white bread
- There wouldn't be a whole lot positive, what with only the negative and middle ground covered
- Sin City would be a non-fiction documentary ('cept for the coloured bits)
- Oz would look the same as Kansas, just lots more overly-dressed little people
- Colour television sets would make about as much difference as whether a burned out light bulb is turned on or off
- All photography would be what is considered "artistic" nowadays (even though "artistic" photography is just how people who can't draw it justify themselves as being artists)
- Rainbow Brite would've never come to save the Color Kids
- For that matter, Murky and Lurky would still be terrorizing the countryside in the Grunge Buggy
- I'd probably be too miserable to come up with all this crap

Until next I get inspired while I'm supposed to be doing something else...

I have no idea.

I was in the middle of watching an episode of Heat Guy J when a peculiar advertisement thingy caught my attention:



With something like this, you're bound to be curious what the right answer is, so I did a Google image search and came back with this as the result:



Seeing as how there's a "Worth 1000" watermark in the lower corner, I can only assume that this is a photomanipulation and not an actual living animal. That being the case, I think it's safe to say that MOST Americans have been had.

Cedar Point and Some Good News in Gaming

This past Saturday I got to go to Cedar Point (again... this is like the third time in three months), except I think I only went on about five rides the entire time. This was due to two circumstances; we got there late, and it was a Halloweekends weekend. Getting there late isn't so much a reason why we didn't get to ride on much, though, as the line lengths kinda prevented getting on any of the good rides with any sort of haste (hell, the Mean Streak had a half-hour line, and that's rare). We were also there to experience the haunted houses that are only open a few times a year, also; what with Halloween not being a year-round thing and all. I went in one of the haunted houses years ago when I went with my family, and I remember being outright terrified by them, so I was a little bit skittish about going in them again, but I figured that I knew well enough that it was going to just be a bunch of people in costumes that I wouldn't really have too much to worry about.
Turns out they're a lot cheesier than I remembered; most of the people are right out in plain sight, and don't make much effort to scare you, and the ones that do are usually conveniently hidden by a strobe light or a wall and jump out shaking a can of beans or something; Nixie wasn't much impressed. Of the four we went in, the one that was themed like a toy factory was probably the best (and not just because it had a long hallway of dolls urinating that you had to avoid). I also learned that Nixie makes it a point to try and best all the people in the houses; this gets annoying after she stops to have a conversation with one of the people in costume for about the umpteenth time, and you're really not in the mood for her antics.
So, after a day of that, I was sitting around yesterday having a look at the new Game Informer, and I noticed two previews that caught my eye. The first was a short glimpse at the upcoming Fable III (frak yeah, Fable III), which is once again set in the future of the past game, and looks like you'll have to be a king this time (not really my thing, but the Fable series has been good for me, so I'll get it for the sole reason that it's Fable). The second is one that I didn't expect to come out at all, let alone for the 360: Magnacarta 2:

Which had originally come out for the PC eons ago. It doesn't look like Calintz is going to be in this one, but as I didn't really expect a new one to come out, I'm just glad to see that the franchise isn't dead. There's also a pretty innovative battle system contained in it, so I'm all in all quite pleased with these few future offerings.
And, as I won't generally voice any enthusiasm for upcoming gaming releases, this is big news.

Lotta Weird Dreams Lately...

So, it seems like ever since I posted about having a dream a while back, I've actually been having dreams I can remember, it's a little odd. Not sure if something in my head just clicked into "save mode" once I decided I should record my dreams, or if I just never noticed before, but for the past two nights, I've remembered my dreams.
The previous night was another school-based dream, once again probably high school, and my math teacher was Duff Goldman from Ace of Cakes. There wasn't really much to it other than I couldn't get this one math problem (in fact, seemed no one in the class could), but I was the only one who had copied the problem right, so the fact that I got it wrong still made me feel like an idiot when I reflected on it later. Anyhow, the problem was explained to me, I got it, and then I woke up.
Last night was a little different; this one was more of a movie-based dream (a space-horror movie, to be exact), and I'm pretty sure it was a recent film, because I knew that something bad was going to happen if they did certain things, so I was doing my best to try and prevent it. I think it had Jodie Foster in it (though the actual movie probably didn't) and maybe Morgan Freeman... Some big name actor, anyway. Anyhow, they found this cassette-looking thing on this abandoned space ship in the cargo hold, I think, and I knew that if they tried to force it into the player, it would break and all hell would break loose, so I kept trying to keep them from putting it in the player. I knew that the tension over the whole thing was building, but it didn't seem like a dire situation, and I finally snatched the cassette away and threw it someplace where I figured they wouldn't be able to find it, which was probably a lousy idea in retrospect, because I think that ended up breaking it, and now I couldn't get to it to use it to solve any problems.
Luckily, right then I woke up and didn't have to worry about any weird alien things or whatever was going to come out of it. Oh, and I think Jodie Foster was running around video-taping ghosts before the whole thing happened... doing her usual "I'm obsessed over something to a fault" routine.
I'm starting to hope I forget my dreams again soon, otherwise I might actually believe Khira when she tells me I'm losing touch with reality...
In the meantime, Lego bricks for eyes:

French Toast!!

It would taste a lie to say that I haven't had The Toast Song stuck in my head all day. I also learned that, according to my sister, people need to have a valid reason for taking a picture of their food. I was not aware of this; I figured that chocolate milk was a valid reason for doing anything.

A Dream I'm Likely to Forget Unless I Write It Down

It's rare that I have dreams that I actually remember, so when I do have one, I'll probably stick it in here so I can remember it later.
It started out with me taking some sort of a skateboarding class that was likely being taught at my high school. I say this because it was taught by one of my high school gym teachers, and it seemed too small to be a college course (the fact that skateboarding generally isn't taught in school at all is irrelevant, as this was a dream). Anyhow, the goal of this class seemed to be to come up with four different skating runs (I think that's what they're called, I'm not much of a skater in reality), which were demonstrated to us at the beginning of each class, and then everyone in the class took turns trying the run on the course (which, oddly enough, was just a straight line with ramps and rails). If I remember correctly, this took place within the span of four days, which really didn't seem that short while I was dreaming it, but it seems kind of weird now that I think about it. I was able to do each run perfectly the first time through, so the class itself was sort of an "easy A".
After the conclusion of the class, there was a time lapse of sorts (don't you love when your dream skips over the unimportant parts?), and suddenly it was the next semester and I was taking the class again for whatever reason. I'd done the first two runs fine, and I could remember the fourth, but I was at current required to do my third run (which was referred to as "run 29" in the dream), but I couldn't remember what it was for the life of me, and I actually started to realise I knew nothing about skating. So, for some reason, I was able to stall to try and remember while my instructor proceeded to explain that your level of skill on a skateboard was directly proportional to how well you skated on the Golden Gate Bridge. According to him, a beginner can skate across the side railing over the entire bridge, intermediate can go up one of the cables, experienced can go up and over one of the support towers, and advanced could do the whole thing and then grind a cloud. That's some hardcore skating, if you ask me, and I'm kinda glad my alarm went off just then so I wouldn't have to prove that I was of beginner level.
Upon half-consciously oozing out of bed and turning my alarm off, I promptly returned to bed (which I always do), and fell back asleep. The dream continued, only I was now in some sort of martial arts class and the instructor and all the other students were all anime-styled animals. The current lesson was to punch a punching bag (which was really just a big cylindrical bag filled with what looked like the juices that come in shrink-wrapped steak, only blue), and then to let the bag come back and hit you. The punch itself was actually more of a side-chop with a padded hand-guard, and I think the actual point of the lesson was to get pissed off at the punching bag. I was standing in line waiting (I really wanted to do this for some reason... I guess I wanted to get pissed off at a punching bag), but the class was coming to an end and it looked like I wasn't going to be able to take my turn.
Suddenly, some sort of villain burst into the room and did something unfavourable and then dashed off, leaving the instructor (who was some sort of a bear or raccoon or something) to tell us to calm down and not do anything rash. Seeing as how this was me, I immediately flew off after him and was suddenly dressed like a Shinigami from Bleach, though I don't think I had a sword. Several other students followed me and we began trying to shoot the villain out of the air. After some time, the very unhappy instructor came flying after us yelling to calm down and get back to class, but I was too focused on shooting this guy down, so I kept right on going. That is, until the instructor did some sort of attack in which a big green energy wall shot up between me and the villain, in which case I was reluctantly forced back to the ground. This did not, however, deter Uryuu Ishida (the Quincy, for those not familiar with Bleach) from using some sort of spirit-particle bladed weapon to smash through said wall and continue the pursuit.
At this point I woke up, and realised I should probably watch less anime before I go to bed.

... nah.

Some Reasons Why Guidos Would Make Good Zombies

I actually came up with this idea last night whilst talking to Nixie. She brought up one of the trailers for the movie "Zombieland" (which looks amazing), and then mentioned that if there was a midnight premier, that we ought to go dressed as zombies. This is nothing new, of course, because to Nixie, a midnight premier is just yet another excuse to get all gussied up as someone else and try to act in character (she's more enthusiastic about that sort of thing than I am). Regardless, I was adamant about the idea because the last two midnight premiers we attended at the theatre that's closest that offers a student discount is, unfortunately, overrun by rich high-school-age kids who probably don't understand what "work" is. A large portion of these are Guidos, which I said I didn't feel like dealing with after the Harry Potter premier, to which she said "Yeah, but we'll be zombies, we can eat their brains."
"Maybe," I said in reply, "But I highly doubt your teeth are sharp enough and your jaw strong enough to gnaw through a skull that thick."
And thus I began to realise how similar a zombie and a Guido are, and so, here are some reasons why Guidos would make good zombies:
1. As stated, the skull of a Guido is quite a bit thicker than that of your everyday citizen. This means that they're less likely to just be killed by zombies, because no zombie is going to want to go through that much work to get so little brains as a result.
2. Guidos travel in groups, anyway, so the need to form a seething mass comes naturally.
3. Guidos like to "juice" themselves up, which makes for a relatively fit zombie; and fast, strong zombies are scarier.
4. Those spray-on tans would probably have a temporary preservational effect on their decaying skin, making them last longer (not to mention their heads are harder to blow off due to the thick skull).
5. Guidos are mindless, blathering idiots to begin with, so becoming a zombie isn't much of a stretch for them; they'll adapt right away.
6. A Guido has a need to see himself as superior to others, and as such will likely become a zombie pack leader, allowing the other zombies to kill and assimilate more effectively.
7. Because all those trashy, brainless girl zombies need to have someone around that they can relate to.

That's about all I can come up with for now, but as I think up more, I'll definitely add them.

In Other Harry Potter Related News...

So, Nixie wanted me to go to Wal-Mart after we left Meijer this evening, and I said I wasn't going to because it was out of the way and I didn't have enough fuel to be wasting on a trip to that god-awful place. So, with an "aww", we pulled out of Meijer and started heading back to her house.
Now here's where things become unfortunate: I somehow managed to pull out behind a minivan (not an SUV, Nixie) which had the ominous glow that can only come from a vehicle with flip-down movie screens. Whoever designed those things should have gone a step further and either a) thought to frost or otherwise tint the back window so as to not announce to other vehicles that you're watching a movie, or b) made the thing project directly on the back window, complete with a station other people can tune into so they, also, can enjoy this movie. The second one has been taught to us since grammar school: "Did you bring enough to share with the rest of the class?"
That being said, I'm always drawn to pull closer to try and identify what movie they're watching. This is unfortunate, as these vehicles are usually family vehicles, and they don't need a glorified go-cart seemingly riding their ass like any other obnoxious driver. Regardless, I pulled closer, and soon saw what looked to be a Harry Potter movie. Upon mention of this observation, Nixie's curiosity shot through the roof and it was suddenly "Get closer! Get closer! A red light! Stop close behind! I want to see! Dammit, get CLOSER!!!" and so it continued, with some poor family probably mortified that they were about to be gunned down by some drunken, adrenaline-crazed teenagers.
Long story short, we followed that van all the way to Wal-Mart... funny how these things just happen sometimes.

Pop Rocks and chocolate milk taste horrible together.

Also, there's a troll in the dungeon.

Thought you ought to know.

Four hours of Algebra is bound to take its toll

It's not like me having four straight hours of Algebra is an unusual thing; the class is scheduled from 6:00 to 9:55. However, our professor usually gets the lessons done pretty quickly and lets us go early (because I don't care what I paid, four hours of math is friggin' long). Anyhow, we had four sections to cover tonight (all on graphing equations... yippideedoo), and by the time we got around to the final lesson, the numbers on the paper made less sense than the doorknob mounted on one of the cieling tiles. Here are my notes:

And, in case you missed it, my own little contribution to mathematics:

Note to self: You should probably eat something at some point in the day before a four hour math class, and sleep might be useful, too.

The Nixian - English Dictionary: Word of the Day

Today's word: derk
Meaning: a combination of the root words "dork" and "jerk", this word is used when neither sufficiently describes an individual's behaviour on their own, and there's no time to say them both.

Lookie What I Finally Got Around to Getting...

Oh yes, that's the Collector's Edition of Batman: Arkham Asylum for the xBox 360. Now, I wish I could say that it was all mine, but Nixie has decided she's paying for half of it, so I guess I have to share...
Ah well, not much that can overcome this sort of majesty.

Nixian - English Dictionary: Word of the Day

Today's word: oxagonalish
Meaning: 1. something vaguely eight-sided i.e., "The main part of that building is kinda oxagonalish.
2. a somewhat off-the-wall middle name when giving a stray cat a full name i.e., "Tumbles Oxagonalish Galazka

The Nixian-English Dictionary: Word of the Day

My girlfriend sometimes slips up when she's talking and from that we get new words that I like to call "Nixian".

Today's word: Speakle
Meaning: used when referring to a language being spoken by a group of people i.e., "Americans speakle English."

Brickshelf Updated [finally]

I uploaded two new exos to my Brickshelf gallery this morning, first was the Blue Lightening HM, a mass-produced high-mobility exo:
The second one I haven't really come up with a good name for yet (I've been bouncing back and forth between Banshee and Wasp), but it's meant to be a highly modified obsolete lifting-oriented industrial exo, with more points of movement, and the modified fork-lifter arms have been converted to swing up and down and can be used as melee weapons. I also tried to make it look like it had a SHO (super high output) fusion reactor added to its back to increase mobility:

More pictures can, of course, be found at my Brickshelf gallery, which can be found here. I don't update it as often as I probably should, and I've got two other exos that I haven't taken pictures of yet, but I'll be getting those up eventually.

A Little Out of the Blue, But...

At about 1:30 this morning I got pulled over for the first time in my four years of driving, and I made a few very interesting observations that I probably never would have if I were still able to say that I'd never been pulled over. Before I go into these, let me just state that I am not going to complain about the police system, being pulled over, ticket prices (I didn't get one anyway), or any of the other things that normally make people roll their eyes or sigh heavily when the topic of being pulled over is brought up.
Firstly, I always thought I'd be extremely panicky and maybe even be shaking slightly when I got pulled over for the first time (I also hoped that I'd be able to go my entire life without having to go through this, but that's not really possible, as far as I know); this turned out to not be the case. I guess I've read and heard enough tips on what to do when pulled over that I knew what to do by instinct, and so things went smoothly and overall it wasn't an entirely bad experience, overlooking the fact that I was, indeed, pulled over.
Secondly, you get this undeniable feeling that your proverbial driving "wings" have been clipped after the officer drives off and you slowly pull out of the church parking lot you decided was the best place to be stopped in. I'm not sure how long this feeling of paranoia is going to last, but I hope it's not for very long, because driving is a lot more enjoyable when I don't have the unfortunate feeling that my every move is now being watched. It's a heck of a lot less fun when you realise that driving isn't meant to be fun anymore.
And so, at least for the next few nights, I won't be darting around the usual winding back streets clearing my head and improving my driving skills (something I think everyone should really do; the majority of drivers are horrible), but will instead be sitting at the computer sulking because I'm afraid I'll get pulled over again.
... I don't expect this slump to last for more than a week, though xP

Never Blogged Before

As it clearly states, I've never written a blog before, and I don't suspect anyone will follow it, but the concept has been around forever, and this seems much more productive than creating a MySpace or a Twitter account, so here we go.
As this is my first posting, there's not going to be a whole lot interesting until I get the basic hang of things, and actually have things I feel like posting. Instead, this is more or less an introductory thing in order to say that I've actually begun this thing. Anything else about me that is needed to be known can be found in my profile (it should also shed some light on what I intend to post here... maybe).
So, until my muse strikes me with something awe-inspiring, or I have something I'm proud enough of to post, this will be my farewell... for now.