Music is completely amazing. I don't know if it is for everyone, but for me it has super powers. It can completely change my mood (for the better). The kind of music I listen to is typically high energy, and it really pumps me up.
I was feeling a bit down for a while because I was dating someone and it didn't work out. But today on the way home from work I decided to listen to one of my favorite albums of all time: Heavenly - Dust to Dust. And my god is that an amazing album. Half way through I was mouthing the lyrics, rockin out to the guitar and everything, while still on the subway. Just feeling the energy makes me so happy, I can't even describe it. To anyone who has not heard the album, go listen to it, right now. Crank up the volume and just bask in it's glory.
I don't even usually consider them one of my favorite artists, but man oh man, I feel great. And just knowing I can feel this good without anyone by my side is pretty empowering. Even for just the 50 or so minutes it lasts, I can forget the constant societal pressure to have a significant other. I can live life to the absolute fullest.
I sincerely hope everyone has something like this they can fall back on. Whether it is music, a hobby, or a movie, anything that let's you feel amazing, without the need of another person. It puts things into perspective.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Don't blindly follow society
Recently is has become more and more clear to me that people trust society. They follow what they have been told without questioning it. And through doing so, not only do they hurt people and perpetuate those false ideals, but they feel completely justified in doing so, because 'everyone knows that'.
Let me start with an easy example: the idea that everyone should eat a lot of fruits and vegetables to be healthy. This idea is not based on nothing, it is true that vegetables have vitamins and minerals that are rare to find in other foods, and also tend to have fiber for ease of digestion. But are there no alternatives? Is it okay to assume someone who does not eat vegetables is not healthy, and should be scolded for such a poor decision?
No. Anyone who has done any research in what actually helps someone maintain health, can tell it is obviously not the vegetables themselves, but the vitamins and minerals found inside them. So, if someone only eats meats and starches, and substitutes vegetables for pills containing the same amount of vitamins and minerals, and even fiber, how is that person's health different?
It is not, yet many people will still argue it is 'good' to eat vegetables. I believe this stubbornness comes from society's constant message that you do need vegetables, and that not eating them will always be unhealthy. So why do so many people not question this? (I know one famous man who did, and now eats the same meal that he made himself every day, with no health detriments.)
Now I'd like to move on to a more complicated, less cut and dry example. Society tells us that we must do 'things', as in have many activities in out lives, 'go out'. Why is that? No one ever questions this, it is just known. Well I am questioning it now.
Going out provides a few benefits. It is often social, and it often requires some sort of exercise. Most of the time going out does not actually involve meeting new people, but rather hanging out with people you already know, though for some, meeting people is a higher purpose, and I'll talk about them later. But for those who just want to spend time with friends, 'making memories', and just conversing, I ask how this is different from playing a video game while talking to them though a talking service (skype, mumble, ventrillo, in game chat....ect)?
Do you get more pleasure out of hiking while talking to your friends than you do from killing zombies with them? I contend that actually going out of your house is highly overrated in this sense. You can be very social without leaving your house. As far as exercise, that is a fair point in many occasions. But when you say to someone 'hey, let's go out friday night', you are not thinking about the distance you will be walking to the bars, or the energy consumed by dancing, you are focused on the social aspect.
Advances in technology are being ignored by society. In the first case it is the advancement in nutritional knowledge and technology, and in the second case it is the greatly improved communication technologies that have risen over the last 15 years.
So I ask everyone to please question society, don't just hear something from television, your friends or even parents and accept it as an absolute. Be able to argue for or against the thought, the practice, the event. And try not to judge people who think differently from the norm, they probably have good reasons for doing so, or they would have caved under the societal pressure by now.
(more examples I might consider writing up later: prison?, amount of sleep/sleep schedules, religion, racism, chivalry)
Let me start with an easy example: the idea that everyone should eat a lot of fruits and vegetables to be healthy. This idea is not based on nothing, it is true that vegetables have vitamins and minerals that are rare to find in other foods, and also tend to have fiber for ease of digestion. But are there no alternatives? Is it okay to assume someone who does not eat vegetables is not healthy, and should be scolded for such a poor decision?
No. Anyone who has done any research in what actually helps someone maintain health, can tell it is obviously not the vegetables themselves, but the vitamins and minerals found inside them. So, if someone only eats meats and starches, and substitutes vegetables for pills containing the same amount of vitamins and minerals, and even fiber, how is that person's health different?
It is not, yet many people will still argue it is 'good' to eat vegetables. I believe this stubbornness comes from society's constant message that you do need vegetables, and that not eating them will always be unhealthy. So why do so many people not question this? (I know one famous man who did, and now eats the same meal that he made himself every day, with no health detriments.)
Now I'd like to move on to a more complicated, less cut and dry example. Society tells us that we must do 'things', as in have many activities in out lives, 'go out'. Why is that? No one ever questions this, it is just known. Well I am questioning it now.
Going out provides a few benefits. It is often social, and it often requires some sort of exercise. Most of the time going out does not actually involve meeting new people, but rather hanging out with people you already know, though for some, meeting people is a higher purpose, and I'll talk about them later. But for those who just want to spend time with friends, 'making memories', and just conversing, I ask how this is different from playing a video game while talking to them though a talking service (skype, mumble, ventrillo, in game chat....ect)?
Do you get more pleasure out of hiking while talking to your friends than you do from killing zombies with them? I contend that actually going out of your house is highly overrated in this sense. You can be very social without leaving your house. As far as exercise, that is a fair point in many occasions. But when you say to someone 'hey, let's go out friday night', you are not thinking about the distance you will be walking to the bars, or the energy consumed by dancing, you are focused on the social aspect.
Advances in technology are being ignored by society. In the first case it is the advancement in nutritional knowledge and technology, and in the second case it is the greatly improved communication technologies that have risen over the last 15 years.
So I ask everyone to please question society, don't just hear something from television, your friends or even parents and accept it as an absolute. Be able to argue for or against the thought, the practice, the event. And try not to judge people who think differently from the norm, they probably have good reasons for doing so, or they would have caved under the societal pressure by now.
(more examples I might consider writing up later: prison?, amount of sleep/sleep schedules, religion, racism, chivalry)
Thursday, November 29, 2012
What do you want (Part 2)
Well, guess the only person who reads this wants more, as he should. And good old Billy even delivered with a great idea of the 'cosmic carrot'. So let's explore that for a bit.
The idea is that in order to be happy, you need to strive for something. You need to be able to look forward to something better, to 'happiness'. And while the idea holds some ground, I'm not convinced it is entirely true. It does explain why constant happiness is actually sorrow, as I explained in part 1. But in my personal experience, senior year of college was the best time in my life.
Why? Not because I was excited to graduate, to make money, to be more independent. Not because I looked forward to the projects, or papers or interviews. The reason I loved that year was because of the people I lived with. I could just sit in my spot all day, and my friends would literally walk in and out of my life. They could talk about nothing, watch tv, play a video game or even just sleep, right next to me. And it was that experience of just being with, observing, and learning from my friends that was great. It was made better by the fact I had very little distractions. I had almost no school work, and no job. I could just be.
So what is it about being around friends that made me so happy? What pleasure did I derive from literally sitting in one spot for an entire day? I honestly don't know. It seems as if my mere existence within the group was enough to sustain my curiosity.
Perhaps I am just the type of person who loves to think. And what better subject to think about than other people? Who is more complicated? What else can be so rational, and yet so insane?
What makes people do what they do, think what they think, be who they are? Those questions are always on my mind, though most of the time it's tucked way back, just waiting to get a taste of information.
But I digress, back to the question at hand. What do you want? It seems I want to observe and learn.
Many people will say, I want money. Or more money. Or all the money. But that in itself doesn't make sense. Money is just a tool to get something else. A car, a house, a ps3, whatever. But no one ever just wants money, they want what money can get them. They want to not worry about their bills, and just have anything they desire, without effort. But isn't everything sweeter with a bit of work behind it?
Other people say they want power. They want to be able to control others, force them to listen or do things for them. But is that satisfying? With ultimate power, you can make anyone do anything you want, but what would you do with that? Many would have sex with beautiful people. And sure that would be nice for a while, but it leads back to the idea that constant pleasure tapers out, gets boring.
Gaining people's alliance, their favor, their desire to be nice to you, is greatly satisfying. But would it be if there was nothing to it? If you were a beloved king, would you not get lonely? Would you not seek a real relationship, with people questioning you, not blindly following? I would.
So I ask again, what do you want? What do you really want?
The idea is that in order to be happy, you need to strive for something. You need to be able to look forward to something better, to 'happiness'. And while the idea holds some ground, I'm not convinced it is entirely true. It does explain why constant happiness is actually sorrow, as I explained in part 1. But in my personal experience, senior year of college was the best time in my life.
Why? Not because I was excited to graduate, to make money, to be more independent. Not because I looked forward to the projects, or papers or interviews. The reason I loved that year was because of the people I lived with. I could just sit in my spot all day, and my friends would literally walk in and out of my life. They could talk about nothing, watch tv, play a video game or even just sleep, right next to me. And it was that experience of just being with, observing, and learning from my friends that was great. It was made better by the fact I had very little distractions. I had almost no school work, and no job. I could just be.
So what is it about being around friends that made me so happy? What pleasure did I derive from literally sitting in one spot for an entire day? I honestly don't know. It seems as if my mere existence within the group was enough to sustain my curiosity.
Perhaps I am just the type of person who loves to think. And what better subject to think about than other people? Who is more complicated? What else can be so rational, and yet so insane?
What makes people do what they do, think what they think, be who they are? Those questions are always on my mind, though most of the time it's tucked way back, just waiting to get a taste of information.
But I digress, back to the question at hand. What do you want? It seems I want to observe and learn.
Many people will say, I want money. Or more money. Or all the money. But that in itself doesn't make sense. Money is just a tool to get something else. A car, a house, a ps3, whatever. But no one ever just wants money, they want what money can get them. They want to not worry about their bills, and just have anything they desire, without effort. But isn't everything sweeter with a bit of work behind it?
Other people say they want power. They want to be able to control others, force them to listen or do things for them. But is that satisfying? With ultimate power, you can make anyone do anything you want, but what would you do with that? Many would have sex with beautiful people. And sure that would be nice for a while, but it leads back to the idea that constant pleasure tapers out, gets boring.
Gaining people's alliance, their favor, their desire to be nice to you, is greatly satisfying. But would it be if there was nothing to it? If you were a beloved king, would you not get lonely? Would you not seek a real relationship, with people questioning you, not blindly following? I would.
So I ask again, what do you want? What do you really want?
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
What do you want?
It's a powerful question. A question that no matter how much you think about it, you may never find the real answer. A question that by simply being asked it, it can change your answer. Not many questions have that power, that ability.
So let's dive right in. The simple answer is to be happy. To be in a state of bliss, with no worries, no cares, and no pain. But what does that really mean? If you are just happy all the time, your dopamine is constantly flowing, will it not dull your senses? Will it not get old? Will you not strive for more, for change, for greater pleasure?
The only way to reach great happiness is to be exposed to sorrow. One is most happy after a struggle, after pain, after they know the depths of how they can feel. So what does that mean? Do you really want pain, just to get more pleasure? Do you want to be in the extreme states, in order to reach that highest level of pleasure?
Or maybe that is too much. Maybe you don't need to feel the most pleasure, maybe just some. Maybe the pain isn't worth it, maybe just a little pain is fine, to gain that little pleasure. To make life interesting, to make life a mystery.
So, do you want, what you already have? A normal life, with ups and downs. With pleasure and pain. With balance?
(If anyone is reading this, and wants a more in depth analysis, I was thinking about some points to put in there, but I kinda liked the short and to the point post. Just comment, and I will make a longer version.)
So let's dive right in. The simple answer is to be happy. To be in a state of bliss, with no worries, no cares, and no pain. But what does that really mean? If you are just happy all the time, your dopamine is constantly flowing, will it not dull your senses? Will it not get old? Will you not strive for more, for change, for greater pleasure?
The only way to reach great happiness is to be exposed to sorrow. One is most happy after a struggle, after pain, after they know the depths of how they can feel. So what does that mean? Do you really want pain, just to get more pleasure? Do you want to be in the extreme states, in order to reach that highest level of pleasure?
Or maybe that is too much. Maybe you don't need to feel the most pleasure, maybe just some. Maybe the pain isn't worth it, maybe just a little pain is fine, to gain that little pleasure. To make life interesting, to make life a mystery.
So, do you want, what you already have? A normal life, with ups and downs. With pleasure and pain. With balance?
(If anyone is reading this, and wants a more in depth analysis, I was thinking about some points to put in there, but I kinda liked the short and to the point post. Just comment, and I will make a longer version.)
Friday, July 20, 2012
Pokemon Challenge
I decided it was time to play pokemon again, and this time with great restrictions to make sure it is once again a challenge. The restrictions were mostly based off of the nuzlocke challenge, but harder.
I would do this in original Pokemon Red, on my GBA.
1. The only pokemon you can catch is the very first pokmeon you encounter in each area.
2. You cannot heal except the poke center.
3. Once a pokemon faints, it must be released (including poison death).
-but those pokemon can be used for HMs.
4. You cannot run away from a random encounter.
5. Battle Mode is Set
6. No loading from a save if something happens, you have to deal with it. Thus if you black out, you lose.
And thus my challenge began.
As I hit A through Professor Oak's explanation of what a Pokemon is, I thought about the possible ways to do this. Each and every fight could be vitally important, one mistake could cost me dearly, if not kill me. This was going to be exciting, and a true test of my memory of original Pokemon.
The professor gave me the choice of starters. I thought Squirtle was the best choice for this type of run, so I didn't have to mega-power level just to make sure I beat Brock, and Misty wouldn't be too bad, even if I didn't get any good supporters.
I picked up the little water bubbler, and my rival Whore took the ball of vines. As the fight started I realized, it could all be over right now, without being able to use that trusty first potion, the match would be a fair one.
I thought about using tail whip as the first move, which I would never even think about in a regular run, but that minus defense would pay off if the opponent ever used growl. But I decided against it. I would tackle it to death as I always have, and lose if I missed.
This run was already exciting, every time I hit A for tackle, I held my breath until I saw that health bar go down. And sure enough with 1 too many growls from Whore, I emerged victorious.
So far so good. My Squirtle DONT DIE stayed true to his name, and was now level 6.
As I head through the first route, I hit some ratatta and pidgey, and due to my lack of pokeballs, I could now catch nothing from that route, which was fine since they both suck. I got the parcel, gave it to the excitable old coot, and again headed up past the ratatta. DONT DIE was now level 7, and I picked up my first 5 poke-balls. I headed over to the route to the left of the first town, where I could get ratatta, nidoran, spearow or on a really lucky roll, a mankey. Of course I got a rattata, and easily caught it, just like that old man taught me all those years ago.
Ok, ratatta is not bad, he gets super fang and hyper fang, not to mention quick attack early, not a bad first support pokemon. I decided to head up to viridian forest instead of level up and fight my rival. I quickly found a caterpie, and caught it after 1 hit. Also not bad, turns into butterfree, which has confusion. Psychic destroys in this game, so despite it's lack of health and defense, it could survive if I trained it enough.
Next it was time to train in the forest. I was switch training ratatta, until he hit level 5. Then he could kill bugs on his own. He hit level 7 and was fighting a weedle. Without thinking too much about it, I was just trading tackles for poison stings. But then my screen shook slightly left and right...ratatta was poisoned. I quickly switched to DONT DIE, and finished that bastard off. Now it was a fight against time, I had to get back to the poke-center before it died, or ratatta was gone for ever.
I chose my steps perfectly knowing the exact path to go, and didn't mess it up. But just outside the poke-center my screen flashed, and I checked his health. 1. 1 health left, and that was when I said goodbye to my sweet rat, as the 4 steps in the poke-center would be too much for him, and finish him off. I set him free outside the poke-center, so he could live his last 4 steps in freedom.
Just like that my training was wasted, and ultimately my game got a lot harder. I was going to have to be more careful about weedles.
But I still had DONT DIE and my caterpie. Having said our goodbyes, we healed up in the poke-center, and headed back to the forest, this time to train caterpie. I quickly switched to the overleveled DONT DIE whenever a weedle came, to tank the poison if needed. I got through the forest without much trouble. Caterpie got up to level 8 and DONE DIE was now 10 and had bubble.
With bubble, I knew Brock's gym was going to be a joke, so I headed into the gym, and laid waste to the trainer's sandshrew, and Brock's big pile of rocks, and took my first badge. 1 down, 7 to go.
I headed out to the trainers to the right of Brock. I let caterpie fight first against a ratatta. I got tackled, Critical Hit!...that wasn't good, but I was still going to win, so I let caterpie finish it off, but ratatta clung on with 1 life, and tackled again. Ok fine, one more hit, and I'll switch out. Rattata used ...wait a minute, how is he attacking first...quick attack, Critical Hit! caterpie fainted.
...
I had just lost my potential buterfree to a ratatta, dammit.
I was already down to just DONT DIE, who proudly hosed down the ratatta and collected the experience.
I wasn't going to be able to get another pokemon until the patch after the trainers, so I had to be super cautious with the remaining trainers.
After quite a few trips to the poke-center, I cleared all the ones in my way, and headed to that patch. Here I could find jigglypuff, spearow, or another ratatta. I found a spearow, and got it after washing it.
Ok level 5 spearow, those aren't bad, at least they can kill bugs and grass like nothing. And I can use it to fly, therefore its name became FLY. I decided FLY wasn't going to be a lot of help in Mount Moon, so I just went in with DONT DIE. I knew most of the trainers, and knew zubat, paris, clafairy, machop, geodude and even onix could be my next partner. I pounded the first trainer, and healed up. I was anxious for my next pokemon so I just walked back and forth, and out sprouted a paris. Great, paris, well is might do ok against Misty. I bubbled it (a 10 power move), Critical Hit!, and it died. Great again, no mount moon pokemon, this sucked. But at least I have my trusty water spitter to take out the rock types rolling around mount moon.
I get to the trainer around the second turn, whom I forgot what type, but thought was a normal type trainer. Turns out it was grass. A level 9 oddish greeted DONT DIE with a super-effective to not-very-effective matchup.
Now, this was a big mistake, but I know all the poke-theory, water-gun is 40 base, with stab, and not very effective, totaling at 30 power attack, 5 worse than tackle, even with tackles 95% accuracy. So I went all in with tackle, and while takine a lot of damage, managed to kill it.
Next came out bellsprout. Now I am used to the average wild bellsprout, I'm pegging it at wrap and growth. It uses growth first and I tackle it in the face. It's at a little over half. I go for another tackle, and get it down to 3 life. Then it does a vine whip...God Dam VINE WHIP, with a growth under it. It kills DONT DIE.
Luckily FLY is able to finish him off, and grow to level 8!
Yeah...I'm down to just FLY, and no new pokemon until after mount moon. This is really starting to get hard. I decided to power level him a bit, because there were rock trainers that were wreck his couch. So After getting it to level 12, I head back in to mount moon and fight some trainers I know don't have geodudes. It seems to be going well, but whenever I find a wild zubat, and I get confused, I'm on the edge of my seat. it could all end from a level 7 zubat.
But I survive the zubats, and am on to the next trainers, a youngeter. He is enthusiastic much like his friend who loves shorts. He sends out a ratatta and I'm not worried. I peck him, and he tail whips. Uh oh, a two pokemon fight and he starts with a stat decreaser...that's some good AI. But I did more than half, so 1 more peck and he is dead. I choose peck, and the bastard quick attacks. Crap, quick attack with 1 def drop...I take a good amount, and I'm already in the not happy zone. But the ratatta goes down, and the youngster sends out his next hopeful pokemon, another ratatta. This one starts with a devistating tackle, sending me down to 3 life. I know its all over if he quick attacks, but there's nothing I can do. I choose peck yet again (far too late to think about statting him), and hope he chose anything but quick attack.
Rattata used...I already knew it was over, that meant he had priority, I couldn't even hope for a miss with that 100% accuracy attack. FLY went down, and I blacked out. Game Over, I lost. But that only made me want to try again, with new strategy, new insight, and a new game.
I would do this in original Pokemon Red, on my GBA.
1. The only pokemon you can catch is the very first pokmeon you encounter in each area.
2. You cannot heal except the poke center.
3. Once a pokemon faints, it must be released (including poison death).
-but those pokemon can be used for HMs.
4. You cannot run away from a random encounter.
5. Battle Mode is Set
6. No loading from a save if something happens, you have to deal with it. Thus if you black out, you lose.
And thus my challenge began.
As I hit A through Professor Oak's explanation of what a Pokemon is, I thought about the possible ways to do this. Each and every fight could be vitally important, one mistake could cost me dearly, if not kill me. This was going to be exciting, and a true test of my memory of original Pokemon.
The professor gave me the choice of starters. I thought Squirtle was the best choice for this type of run, so I didn't have to mega-power level just to make sure I beat Brock, and Misty wouldn't be too bad, even if I didn't get any good supporters.
I picked up the little water bubbler, and my rival Whore took the ball of vines. As the fight started I realized, it could all be over right now, without being able to use that trusty first potion, the match would be a fair one.
I thought about using tail whip as the first move, which I would never even think about in a regular run, but that minus defense would pay off if the opponent ever used growl. But I decided against it. I would tackle it to death as I always have, and lose if I missed.
This run was already exciting, every time I hit A for tackle, I held my breath until I saw that health bar go down. And sure enough with 1 too many growls from Whore, I emerged victorious.
So far so good. My Squirtle DONT DIE stayed true to his name, and was now level 6.
As I head through the first route, I hit some ratatta and pidgey, and due to my lack of pokeballs, I could now catch nothing from that route, which was fine since they both suck. I got the parcel, gave it to the excitable old coot, and again headed up past the ratatta. DONT DIE was now level 7, and I picked up my first 5 poke-balls. I headed over to the route to the left of the first town, where I could get ratatta, nidoran, spearow or on a really lucky roll, a mankey. Of course I got a rattata, and easily caught it, just like that old man taught me all those years ago.
Ok, ratatta is not bad, he gets super fang and hyper fang, not to mention quick attack early, not a bad first support pokemon. I decided to head up to viridian forest instead of level up and fight my rival. I quickly found a caterpie, and caught it after 1 hit. Also not bad, turns into butterfree, which has confusion. Psychic destroys in this game, so despite it's lack of health and defense, it could survive if I trained it enough.
Next it was time to train in the forest. I was switch training ratatta, until he hit level 5. Then he could kill bugs on his own. He hit level 7 and was fighting a weedle. Without thinking too much about it, I was just trading tackles for poison stings. But then my screen shook slightly left and right...ratatta was poisoned. I quickly switched to DONT DIE, and finished that bastard off. Now it was a fight against time, I had to get back to the poke-center before it died, or ratatta was gone for ever.
I chose my steps perfectly knowing the exact path to go, and didn't mess it up. But just outside the poke-center my screen flashed, and I checked his health. 1. 1 health left, and that was when I said goodbye to my sweet rat, as the 4 steps in the poke-center would be too much for him, and finish him off. I set him free outside the poke-center, so he could live his last 4 steps in freedom.
Just like that my training was wasted, and ultimately my game got a lot harder. I was going to have to be more careful about weedles.
But I still had DONT DIE and my caterpie. Having said our goodbyes, we healed up in the poke-center, and headed back to the forest, this time to train caterpie. I quickly switched to the overleveled DONT DIE whenever a weedle came, to tank the poison if needed. I got through the forest without much trouble. Caterpie got up to level 8 and DONE DIE was now 10 and had bubble.
With bubble, I knew Brock's gym was going to be a joke, so I headed into the gym, and laid waste to the trainer's sandshrew, and Brock's big pile of rocks, and took my first badge. 1 down, 7 to go.
I headed out to the trainers to the right of Brock. I let caterpie fight first against a ratatta. I got tackled, Critical Hit!...that wasn't good, but I was still going to win, so I let caterpie finish it off, but ratatta clung on with 1 life, and tackled again. Ok fine, one more hit, and I'll switch out. Rattata used ...wait a minute, how is he attacking first...quick attack, Critical Hit! caterpie fainted.
...
I had just lost my potential buterfree to a ratatta, dammit.
I was already down to just DONT DIE, who proudly hosed down the ratatta and collected the experience.
I wasn't going to be able to get another pokemon until the patch after the trainers, so I had to be super cautious with the remaining trainers.
After quite a few trips to the poke-center, I cleared all the ones in my way, and headed to that patch. Here I could find jigglypuff, spearow, or another ratatta. I found a spearow, and got it after washing it.
Ok level 5 spearow, those aren't bad, at least they can kill bugs and grass like nothing. And I can use it to fly, therefore its name became FLY. I decided FLY wasn't going to be a lot of help in Mount Moon, so I just went in with DONT DIE. I knew most of the trainers, and knew zubat, paris, clafairy, machop, geodude and even onix could be my next partner. I pounded the first trainer, and healed up. I was anxious for my next pokemon so I just walked back and forth, and out sprouted a paris. Great, paris, well is might do ok against Misty. I bubbled it (a 10 power move), Critical Hit!, and it died. Great again, no mount moon pokemon, this sucked. But at least I have my trusty water spitter to take out the rock types rolling around mount moon.
I get to the trainer around the second turn, whom I forgot what type, but thought was a normal type trainer. Turns out it was grass. A level 9 oddish greeted DONT DIE with a super-effective to not-very-effective matchup.
Now, this was a big mistake, but I know all the poke-theory, water-gun is 40 base, with stab, and not very effective, totaling at 30 power attack, 5 worse than tackle, even with tackles 95% accuracy. So I went all in with tackle, and while takine a lot of damage, managed to kill it.
Next came out bellsprout. Now I am used to the average wild bellsprout, I'm pegging it at wrap and growth. It uses growth first and I tackle it in the face. It's at a little over half. I go for another tackle, and get it down to 3 life. Then it does a vine whip...God Dam VINE WHIP, with a growth under it. It kills DONT DIE.
Luckily FLY is able to finish him off, and grow to level 8!
Yeah...I'm down to just FLY, and no new pokemon until after mount moon. This is really starting to get hard. I decided to power level him a bit, because there were rock trainers that were wreck his couch. So After getting it to level 12, I head back in to mount moon and fight some trainers I know don't have geodudes. It seems to be going well, but whenever I find a wild zubat, and I get confused, I'm on the edge of my seat. it could all end from a level 7 zubat.
But I survive the zubats, and am on to the next trainers, a youngeter. He is enthusiastic much like his friend who loves shorts. He sends out a ratatta and I'm not worried. I peck him, and he tail whips. Uh oh, a two pokemon fight and he starts with a stat decreaser...that's some good AI. But I did more than half, so 1 more peck and he is dead. I choose peck, and the bastard quick attacks. Crap, quick attack with 1 def drop...I take a good amount, and I'm already in the not happy zone. But the ratatta goes down, and the youngster sends out his next hopeful pokemon, another ratatta. This one starts with a devistating tackle, sending me down to 3 life. I know its all over if he quick attacks, but there's nothing I can do. I choose peck yet again (far too late to think about statting him), and hope he chose anything but quick attack.
Rattata used...I already knew it was over, that meant he had priority, I couldn't even hope for a miss with that 100% accuracy attack. FLY went down, and I blacked out. Game Over, I lost. But that only made me want to try again, with new strategy, new insight, and a new game.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Shopping
Today I got a glimpse into why women like shopping. I went to the grocery store for snacks and chicken fries. I didn't care what kind of snack, could be chocolate chip cookies, nilla wafers, oreos, cheeze-its, whatever. I went down the snack isle, and saw double stuffed oroes, half off. So I got something I already wanted for less, and that is awesome.
I could correlate this to clothes shopping, if a girl goes into a mall wanting a shirt, and ends up finding one on sale, that's a good feeling. But I still don't condone shopping for no purpose.
AND, while at the store I heard a young African-American's thoughts on what is crazy about America. He said "You know what I don't get, what I really don't get? There are people starving in America." At this point, I am thinking, yeah, this guy has some depth, he is thinking about how we need to spread the wealth, and help those in need instead of hording money in the 1%, I can get where he is coming from.
But then, he continued with "There are deer and things just running around in the woods for free!"
And I cold barely contain myself from bursting out laughing.
I could correlate this to clothes shopping, if a girl goes into a mall wanting a shirt, and ends up finding one on sale, that's a good feeling. But I still don't condone shopping for no purpose.
AND, while at the store I heard a young African-American's thoughts on what is crazy about America. He said "You know what I don't get, what I really don't get? There are people starving in America." At this point, I am thinking, yeah, this guy has some depth, he is thinking about how we need to spread the wealth, and help those in need instead of hording money in the 1%, I can get where he is coming from.
But then, he continued with "There are deer and things just running around in the woods for free!"
And I cold barely contain myself from bursting out laughing.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Greetings that don't make sense
You are walking down a hall, and you see someone you sort of know. He says "What's up?", and you answer "Sup." That didn't answer the question. A question begs an answer, unlike a greeting such as "hi", or "yo". But people are so lazy that they give a pre-canned greeting response, even when it makes no sense at all.
For instance, someone says "how's it going", and you respond "not much". That makes no sense at all, you were expecting him to ask what's up, but he didn't. And you were too lazy to alter your response.
I don't really have a point, other than it's awkward and annoying. Pay attention to you greetings.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Angry Women
You know when a guy complains about his girlfriend being mad at him but not telling him why, and insisting she is not mad? Well its time to explain that.
She is mad, but she is not sure she is justified in being mad. She has some doubt, so she waits for you to justify her anger by apologizing. If you do, then she was right to be mad, and you proved it. If you cannot think of her reason for being mad, then she gets angry at herself for misinterpreting your intentions. OR, she goes to her friends who instantly, and thoughtlessly justify her anger, because that's what friends do. So after getting her dose of justification, she will expect that you do actually know what is bothering her, but you are too stubborn to admit it, out of fear she will get yet more angry. This angers her MORE, this is the point where the argument finally takes place, with her in the worst possible mindset.
How to avoid this:
...
umm
Don't let her talk to her friends, then maybe she won't get justification, and can listen to your side of the story objectively. Maybe.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Music Piracy
Is ripping a CD you bought onto your computer for the purpose of putting it on your mp3 player illegal? No.
Is giving away a CD for free to a random person illegal? No.
Is ripping a CD you found on the street onto your computer illegal? No.
Is sharing those files with strangers illegal? Yes. Why? You tell me.
(I know the word illegal is not quite right, but saying fine-able offense doesn't have the same ring to it)
Saturday, October 22, 2011
When a bad memory is good.
Re-watching great shows, is an excellent example of when you don't want to remember everything. Knowing just the basic plot, and not the specif details to a great show you have seen really makes it a lot better the second time. That way you still get the excitement while watching.
So I only re-watch shows sparingly, like once every two years. This is the only time I would prefer to not have a better memory, and many hours of entertainment have been gained from that lack of memory. So drink up and forget the details of your favorite shows!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Stalking
Rule # 1, don't let them know you stalked them.
For instance, don't like their photo from before you met them, and not even comment on it, that's creepy. It is kind of like saying, "hey, I think you looked good when you were younger, so you should go out with me."
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
The little things
The best part about living alone are all the little things.
1. You don't have to close the door when you go to the bathroom
2. You clean whenever the hell you want to clean
3. You only get food you want
4. You never have to worry about someone waking you up, or waking someone else up
5. Privacy
6. No one judges you when you dance around, or sing
I'm sure there are a lot more, but those came off the top of my head, heck, maybe I will update this on eventually, who know?!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Sports fan in a bar
So today I went to a bar to watch some football, and there was a guy there by himself. He was sitting at the bar, and was very into So whenever something happened, he would make a comment about it. But he wasn't talking to anyone. The bartender was not there, I was facing away from him, as was the person on the other side of him. He was clearly talking to himself/trying to talk the players on the field.
Now I found this odd, as people talking through the TV is usually considered weird, especially with no in person audience to enjoy the comment. But I got the feeling this was the norm, that this kind of thing happens a lot at bars.
So I think if you are going crazy, and starting to talk to yourself, but you want to hide it, just become a sports fan, and hang out in bars. No one will ever know.
Annoying classmate 2.0, Co-worker
I you are ever in a situation where you are working in the same place as the annoying classmate, I feel for you. I am in that situation, and it sucks. It turns out he has some other horrible traits that may be common amongst annoying classmates in general.
The first is that he feels the need to put his input into any conversation that is going on, with either a correction, or what he thinks is an interesting fact or thought about the subject. It is never interesting, and his little chuckle at his own joke afterward drives me insane. No one else ever chuckles...everyone else is just looking at each other with pain in their eyes, all mentally shouting at each other "AHH, MAKE HIM SHUT UP". But most of us are too polite to actually say anything.
This brings me to the the next characteristic, he doesn't realize no one likes him. Perhaps it is just a defense mechanism, telling himself that he has friends, and that people enjoy his company. But regardless, the group has been throwing hints all the time, and he just never catches them. One time, a girl in the group openly told him, "shut up, no one likes you", and it was not in a kidding way. It was point blank serious, and he just brushed it off, like it was nothing, and continued acting as usual.
So what is the solution to this problem? Good question, very good question in fact, glad you asked. It is very tough, because if you do anything drastic, you could get reported to a manager (I have no doubt he would be a tattle tail), and also, it is a very socially awkward thing to do, telling someone no one enjoys his company. So here is my plan, and if it goes well, I will be sure to post about it:
Step one, invite him to happy hour, and say you have already invited everyone. Invite no one else. (Also, it is important you don't have a tab, just pay cash)
Step two, when he gets there, meet him, and say everyone bailed.
Step three, start up a conversation about what he thinks about the different people in the group. No doubt he will have something bad to say about at least a few of them, and start him down this path by laughing at some of them.
Step four, get REALLY offended by one of his remarks, and say you he were just laughing at the other ones to be nice, and you think he is a horrible person (throw in racist if you can). Say you don't want to hang out anymore.
Step five, when he tries to apologize, flip him the bird, and walk away. Because you don't have a tab, and he probably does, he can't chase after you. This leaves him in one of two states of mind. Either he wants to avoid you, because he now correctly thinks you hate him(in which case WIN), or he REALLY wants you to accept his apology.
Optional Step six, if the case is the latter of step five, whenever he starts a conversation with you, just walk away. And if he sits at your table, or goes where you are, just glare at him, and whisper something into the ear of the person next to you. He will think you are spreading the horrible thing he said, and want to leave before being questioned about it.
Well, not sure when I am going to try this, but wish me luck!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Greetings
Greetings have always been confusing to me. There are many situations where I am not sure how to greet someone, or even if I should greet them.
So I sit in an office with a guy, and when I get in, I usually mumble a "sup", and go to my chair. That is all well and good, but what happens when we are both in the hallway, and we pass each other? If it was anyone else I knew, I would greet them with a "hey", or wave, or even have a legitimate talk with them. But I have already greeted my office-mate, greeting him again seems wrong. And we can always just talk, and the other guy hears it, so we don't have any need to catch up in the hall. So we both end up looking away from each other, and quickly pass each other.
When I walk into a room of guys and girls that I know about half of, and they get introduced, I am not sure whether or not to go in for the handshake on all of them. If they present their hand I do, and if the president has been set I do, but if they are kinda far away, does the wave cut it? Does the first meeting of a person require physical contact? I say it does not, eye contact is enough to start a relationship.
Then there is the classic, almost the same as leaving situation. Walking into a room with a mix of guys and girls that you have not seen a a while. The girls almost always want a hug, while the guys usually go for a handshake, or variant of a handshake(like a fist bump, or a grab and tap). But if the first greeting is with a girl, and you hug, then the next greeting is a guy right next to her, and you know each other pretty well, there's a chance he goes in for an awkward hug. Now if that lands, you are in for it, everyone in the room is going to hug you, whether you like it or not, so I suggest saving a girl for last, so you don't end your greetings with an unwanted hug.
Ok, next situation, you are walking past a complete stranger, anywhere. I go for the, ignore their existence strategy. But this can lead you into trouble, if they greet you. When they say something like "good morning", you are obligated to respond somehow, but you are in ignore mode, so it usually ends with "yo", or something else really short and not heart felt.
Now here's a situation that doesn't come up as often as it used to. The phone. How do you greet people who you don't know on the phone? I usually just let them talk for a while, get an idea of why they called me, then either respond to them, or tell them i'm not interested in upgrading my phone plan, because I hate talking on phones!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Celebrity TV
So my mom likes to just put on the TV, then either not watch it by playing on her computer, or not watch it by talking on the phone in another room for hours. Well this leads to me background watching whatever is on. Today I experienced Ice Loves Coco.
This was a greatly baffling experience, how can people watch this? Why do people care about what random celebrities are doing in their personal life? Oh man, Ice T needs some "me" time, and his nephews are annoying him, this is sooo interesting! Now the dog is swimming, OMG I never could have seen that coming, what a TWIST!
Ok, time for random baseless conjecture. People who watch this are thinking, "oh, those people are just like us, but with more money, I could totally be them. They are real people with real problems". Now that only explains why they would watch one episode, because after that, they have already made this realization, and are no longer learning anything. So there must be something in the first episode they watch that hooks them. Something that makes them think, "I want to watch this again, I want to see more of their lives.
For some people, it is probably the hot chicks that inevitably show up. For others it might be a sick sort of pleasure from watching the pain of people better off than they are, they might think "it's nice to see that life isn't perfect for anyone, so my problems don't seem to unjustified". Another group might be reveling in just how stupid the people in the show are.
Well I know one thing for sure, I will never watch one of these shows by choice.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Treadmill
I was running on the treadmill in my apartment gym, and it started lightning-ing out. It then occurs to me, "what would happen if the power went out while I was running 8 mph?" Would I just barrel into the front of the treadmill as it suddenly stops moving from under me?
Perhaps.
How to misconstrue
When I say (type) "What's up with you?", how do you read it?
There are two main ways, the first is "What new things are happening in your life?"(usually as a follow up to the received what's up question) , and the second is "Why are you acting unusually?"
Now I usually assume that the person I type it to knows which one I'm talking about, but there is always that little hesitation where I think, what if they interpret it wrong, I'm gonna look weird and get a confused response. So I think about rephrasing, but then the rephrase doesn't sound natural and cool, so I leave it, and hope.
Now its been done to death, but I will again mention sarcasm. It's SOOO easy to misconstrue sarcasm in typed form. It's AWESOME! You can say anything, and have it NOT understood! It is my LEAST favorite part of the internet! I try to use it ALL the time, in every possible way just to exacerbate the AWESOMENESS!!!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Apartment Gym
I have recently started going to the gym in my apartment complex. This is a very strange situation, because the social interactions are very hindered.
First, a lot of people(including me) tend to use the treadmill heavily. While on the treadmill, there is no real way to talk to anyone, or for anyone to talk to you. Even if you are not listening to headphones, the sound of your running plus the aura of concentration make you unapproachable. The only chance for a real interaction is if two people happen to exit the treadmill at about the same time, or perhaps if they are using adjacent machines. But in the latter situation, there is still the aura of concentration.
So even in a room filled with people, there is almost no social interaction.
There do seem to be a few exceptions, first is the occasional 2 friends that came in together. They tend to chat a bit while using adjacent machines, or treadmills. Or once in a while, there is the dude who will talk to himself while working out...I tend to avoid that guy.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Reading vs Hearing
Reading a person's text, or email, or IM is very different from hearing their voice say the words. The first difference is that they tend to use different words in text form, because it is either easier to type it that way, or they have had time to look over what they are saying, and they edited it to make it sound better, and more like what they actually meant. I love the latter reason, because it means the person is really saying what they mean to say, not just talking as a quick response.
But that also puts some pressure on what you type, because once you send it, it can never be taken back, and there is evidence of its existence. When you say something really dumb online, you can be punished more for it, because you cannot just quickly change the subject, or re-iterate as easily as you can in verbal communication.
Another great reason text is different from talking is that you can choose to read the text any way you want. While the person might have meant the connotation to be one way, or not meant for something to sound a certain way, they really have no control over it. I can choose to make an incoherent text coherent by adding what I want to see, while its very hard to not hear a drunken slurr in face to face talking.
But that also puts some pressure on what you type, because once you send it, it can never be taken back, and there is evidence of its existence. When you say something really dumb online, you can be punished more for it, because you cannot just quickly change the subject, or re-iterate as easily as you can in verbal communication.
Another great reason text is different from talking is that you can choose to read the text any way you want. While the person might have meant the connotation to be one way, or not meant for something to sound a certain way, they really have no control over it. I can choose to make an incoherent text coherent by adding what I want to see, while its very hard to not hear a drunken slurr in face to face talking.
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