Friday, November 13, 2015
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Fizzicks
Whirling particles.
Cars & people, tires & feet.
And smartphones. The protons that glue the particles together.
In orbit, unrecognizable the dance.
First one image then the other.
But never at the same time.
We flit from here to there.
Whirling things that we are.
Cars & people, tires & feet.
And smartphones. The protons that glue the particles together.
In orbit, unrecognizable the dance.
First one image then the other.
But never at the same time.
We flit from here to there.
Whirling things that we are.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
How to Make Soccer Popular in North America - Rocket League
Soccer, or football to the rest of the world is probably the worlds most popular game. Billions of fans, some of whom take the title of fan to extremes.
But in North America soccer has never taken hold. World Cup, FIFA, seemingly nothing can spark an interest in the huge field, length of the game, elusive moments of exciting action, et cetera and so it has remained a phenomena that eludes us.
That may change.
What if you mix hotrods, high performance cars that play soccer complete with a huge ball, three on a side?
This may be just the thing to unite the little kid that still likes HotWheels with the crowd that ravenously consume e-sports.
The European contingent is huge, naturally. Germans seem to love the game. Russians as well.
But a strange thing is happening. North Americans are buying and playing the game in very large numbers.
The lurid colors are for the kids, the physics are for those of us who have played enough driving games to know garbage from fun if not 100% realistic.
The gameplay is fairly unique. Psyonix, the developers gave the cars two abilities that are a bit beyond reality. A rocket propelled Boost and the ability to vertically leap into the air. The car equivalent of a header. You can then tumble end over end or roll about your lateral axis. You also have an instantaneous brake as well - applying forward and reverse at the same time.
(You must have a controller to be successful at this game; keyboard and mouse do not cut it - I suggest an Xbox controller rather than a PS controller)
The game has positions - Goalie, Forward & Striker - sounds like football, err soccer. Although players are not bound to play any role at all.
A match is five minutes long. It's simple to get twenty games in at one sitting.
There are ranking features including a leader board.
Some of the better teams have extensive recruitment going on.
(E-sports and games have grown to prizes of millions of dollars for winning teams. )
You can group together in a party or allow the game to match-make for you, although this is a source of frustration as senior players are sometimes teamed with newer players (An 800 player paired with a 200 player versus two 500s). The game is available for PlayStation and PCs - crossplay is the future.
(Xbox tried this and gave up, prematurely if you ask me - Shadowrun)
In a day and age when the standard fare is War or Wizards, a viable e-sports contender that is actually fun to play is exciting.This is one of those - "just one more game!" games.
Rocket League
But in North America soccer has never taken hold. World Cup, FIFA, seemingly nothing can spark an interest in the huge field, length of the game, elusive moments of exciting action, et cetera and so it has remained a phenomena that eludes us.
That may change.
What if you mix hotrods, high performance cars that play soccer complete with a huge ball, three on a side?
The European contingent is huge, naturally. Germans seem to love the game. Russians as well.
But a strange thing is happening. North Americans are buying and playing the game in very large numbers.
The lurid colors are for the kids, the physics are for those of us who have played enough driving games to know garbage from fun if not 100% realistic.
The gameplay is fairly unique. Psyonix, the developers gave the cars two abilities that are a bit beyond reality. A rocket propelled Boost and the ability to vertically leap into the air. The car equivalent of a header. You can then tumble end over end or roll about your lateral axis. You also have an instantaneous brake as well - applying forward and reverse at the same time.
(You must have a controller to be successful at this game; keyboard and mouse do not cut it - I suggest an Xbox controller rather than a PS controller)
The game has positions - Goalie, Forward & Striker - sounds like football, err soccer. Although players are not bound to play any role at all.
A match is five minutes long. It's simple to get twenty games in at one sitting.
There are ranking features including a leader board.
Some of the better teams have extensive recruitment going on.
(E-sports and games have grown to prizes of millions of dollars for winning teams. )
You can group together in a party or allow the game to match-make for you, although this is a source of frustration as senior players are sometimes teamed with newer players (An 800 player paired with a 200 player versus two 500s). The game is available for PlayStation and PCs - crossplay is the future.
(Xbox tried this and gave up, prematurely if you ask me - Shadowrun)
In a day and age when the standard fare is War or Wizards, a viable e-sports contender that is actually fun to play is exciting.This is one of those - "just one more game!" games.
Rocket League
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Grateful When Things Just Are Okay
When in the midst of any crisis I find my mind closes out all but the issue at hand. I guess in an survival situation this might be preferable but in the regular run-of-the-mill world it wastes more energy and time than I can afford.
When things are going especially well I am insanely grateful. I find the time and the energy to reflect and be happy with my lot in life.
And after the crisis/upswell fades I fall back into the "daily persona."
Somewhat unaware. Looking for faults, scabs to pick.
Why am I not celebrating the small victories?
There are thousands of opportunities each and every day to find a smile inducing moment. Why not choose them? Laugh or cry. Perhaps that is too binary.
As the shine wore off having some form of income and employment I found myself looking for and finding faults. This kid is too haughty, this one is lazy, too self involved...
I'm hot. When is the shift over?
Wait, why am I seeing things this way? I am being binary.
Perhaps the kid is fearful of me. Perhaps his life has caused a self defensive wall to be raised. Who knows but in both cases I am making assumptions and not - just being me.
I decide I am happy to be here. And that each face before me could use a smile.
The shine returned. I hum when I am standing there.
The sense of being grateful bloomed. Self curation.
The kids faces didn't change much but my attitude has and I understand why.
Now to apply this to my music.
When things are going especially well I am insanely grateful. I find the time and the energy to reflect and be happy with my lot in life.
And after the crisis/upswell fades I fall back into the "daily persona."
Somewhat unaware. Looking for faults, scabs to pick.
Why am I not celebrating the small victories?
There are thousands of opportunities each and every day to find a smile inducing moment. Why not choose them? Laugh or cry. Perhaps that is too binary.
As the shine wore off having some form of income and employment I found myself looking for and finding faults. This kid is too haughty, this one is lazy, too self involved...
I'm hot. When is the shift over?
Wait, why am I seeing things this way? I am being binary.
Perhaps the kid is fearful of me. Perhaps his life has caused a self defensive wall to be raised. Who knows but in both cases I am making assumptions and not - just being me.
I decide I am happy to be here. And that each face before me could use a smile.
The shine returned. I hum when I am standing there.
The sense of being grateful bloomed. Self curation.
The kids faces didn't change much but my attitude has and I understand why.
Now to apply this to my music.
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Recharge Your Battery
Literally.
In two years I have gone through two motorcycle batteries because of lack of saddle time.
When I bought the bike in 2006 I rode to work and the round trip was close to one hundred miles.
I put on more than fifty thousand miles in two years.
Since 2008 I have put on a total of two thousand miles...nothing.
And the battery suffered.
To their credit, Asylum Motors replaced the battery at cost. But two batteries in two years is silly expensive; the thought of a third was depressing.
But who in SoCal needs a charger/tender? Turns out I do.
On eBay I found the NOCO genius G750. $28.99 with free shipping.
At half the cost of a new battery and the prospect of reviving and maintaining my battery no matter how little I ride it was compelling. I ordered on a Friday and received it on the following Monday.
I read the manual in under five minutes. Pretty straightforward.
Attach negative lead to battery, then the positive lead and then plug the charger into the wall socket.
Then select which voltage you need 6 VDC or 12 VDC.
It began charging.
I had hooked it up at one pm and the light began to pulse red. At six o'clock the light had turned green indicating the charging process was complete.
I put the key in the ignition, hit the starter - vroom, the motorcycle started immediately.
Prior to the process the battery was very weak. Only a clicking sound rather than actually turning the crank shaft. Less than 9 VDC.
In doing my reasearch online I found several "smart" tenders that would not apply a charge to a battery at less than 9 VDC. I was concerned about how low the voltage had actually fallen before I got to apply a charge.
No such issue with this genius G750. It specifies that it will, "Charge Fully Drained Batteries."
Amen.
In two years I have gone through two motorcycle batteries because of lack of saddle time.
When I bought the bike in 2006 I rode to work and the round trip was close to one hundred miles.
I put on more than fifty thousand miles in two years.
Since 2008 I have put on a total of two thousand miles...nothing.
And the battery suffered.
To their credit, Asylum Motors replaced the battery at cost. But two batteries in two years is silly expensive; the thought of a third was depressing.
But who in SoCal needs a charger/tender? Turns out I do.
On eBay I found the NOCO genius G750. $28.99 with free shipping.
At half the cost of a new battery and the prospect of reviving and maintaining my battery no matter how little I ride it was compelling. I ordered on a Friday and received it on the following Monday.
I read the manual in under five minutes. Pretty straightforward.
Attach negative lead to battery, then the positive lead and then plug the charger into the wall socket.
Then select which voltage you need 6 VDC or 12 VDC.
It began charging.
I had hooked it up at one pm and the light began to pulse red. At six o'clock the light had turned green indicating the charging process was complete.
I put the key in the ignition, hit the starter - vroom, the motorcycle started immediately.
Prior to the process the battery was very weak. Only a clicking sound rather than actually turning the crank shaft. Less than 9 VDC.
In doing my reasearch online I found several "smart" tenders that would not apply a charge to a battery at less than 9 VDC. I was concerned about how low the voltage had actually fallen before I got to apply a charge.
No such issue with this genius G750. It specifies that it will, "Charge Fully Drained Batteries."
Amen.
Sunday, September 20, 2015
More
Yonder snores Snow White.
The mother of my child and bane of my...it was a dark and stormy, no wait.
How we conflate this with that and make something else completely is a joy and a scare on the magnitude of "Am I contracting Alzheimer's?"
The clouds like thoughts go scudding by.
"The check is in the mail."
"No, it's a bear."
"Thank you."
I am pulled and drawn back to reality; not bad at all.
The mother of my child and bane of my...it was a dark and stormy, no wait.
How we conflate this with that and make something else completely is a joy and a scare on the magnitude of "Am I contracting Alzheimer's?"
The clouds like thoughts go scudding by.
"The check is in the mail."
"No, it's a bear."
"Thank you."
I am pulled and drawn back to reality; not bad at all.
Thursday, August 27, 2015
The Holy, Forgotten Man
My name is never mentioned.
I am the smile that lubricates your day.
I am the two minute encounter that reinforces your hope and dreams, some black but ever my eyes are skyward.
I do not wish to be remembered other than, "that guy."
The smile should linger, if but for a moment.
I am the smile that lubricates your day.
I am the two minute encounter that reinforces your hope and dreams, some black but ever my eyes are skyward.
I do not wish to be remembered other than, "that guy."
The smile should linger, if but for a moment.
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