FREE: Never-ending Dreams

A Dream Deferred

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

"A dream deferred stays there, like a dog patiently waiting for its master.  Although you might forget about it, it will never throw a fit.  It will not simply fade away, like a dandelion in a windy day.  Nor would it be suddenly gone, like the moon after dawn.  Even if its only small, like a tiny ball; it would still be there, like a  hungry bear.  Have you ever wondered how, like a polka-dotted cow?  I do too, like a zebra in a zoo.  Truth is, no one knows, like how water gets pushed through a hose.  But nevertheless it remains, like the water when it rains.  Maybe it's natural, like all warm blooded animals?  Or it just eerily exists, like the morning mist.  Either way, it's just gonna stay.  So you might as well say, "I'll see you again someday"."

I believe that dreams that are there, will never be gone, even if you try to remove them.  Somewhere, somehow, it will always be on the back of your mind.  Maybe there's an area of your brain where all your dreams are stored, who knows?  The fact that the dreams never dissolves tells you something.  It tells you that you can still follow and achieve your dreams even though you might be beyond that part.  It doesn't matterif your dream is impossible, like breathing underwater with no respiration equipment.  The future just might have pills you can take, so you can even breathe underwater.  Maybe they're even discovered by you, just because you're so dedicated to following your dreams.  Dreams are powerful objects, and can change everything, but only if you follow them.

FREE: First!

"For many years, it was thought that the Clovis people were the first humans to populate North America, about 13,000 years ago."

But all that has changed, due to the discovery of a mastodon rib with a bone point skewed in it.  The fossils were discovered in the late 1970s at the dig site, Manis, near Sequim, Washington.  Dr. Carl Gustafson, an archaeologist at Washington State University, theorized that the fossil was about 14,000 years old.  Although many scientists did not believe him then, but technology has advanced and he, along with other scientists, now uses mass spectrometry to pinpoint the date of of the bone.  They also used a CT to look inside then mastodon's bone, confirming that the bone lodged inside the mastodon was a hunting weapon.  The weapon was more than 10 inches long and sharpened.

Science is really advancing these days.  We came from sticks and stones, then to metals.  From the metals, we then mix them to form stronger metals, with enhanced qualities.  We can even make new metals and synthesize them with non-metals, giving the product a truly unique quality.  Now, we are beginning to dive in the realm of subatomic particles, who knows what we may do next.  The point that I'm trying to address is that everything will improve, even if it's for the worst. just look at the last century, in that time, scientific knowledge has tripled, maybe even quadrupled. One minute we're launching shuttles into space, and the next minute, we have men living in space.  History is being written right now, and once we've passed away, our future generations would look back and see us, making these discoveries.

RE: The Big Snapple

"Ever had Snapple before? Well, you should go try some if you haven’t already." -Raymond Chiu

I agree, to a certain extent.  I think Snapple is a great drink and also beneficial for the body.  As Raymond Chiu stated in his post, "Their drinks were all 100% made out of pure fruits and tea leaves until in 2009, when they started adding sugars to it.".  The part that I really don't get, is when they started to add sugar.  If their product was good before adding sugar, why add sugar?  It increases the chance of being obese and having diabetes, so if they didn't have sugar before, there would be no need to add it, but there is one.  Money.  Putting sugar into their products increases the audience of the drinks, so they can sell more and earn more profits.  However, the sugar in Snapple isn't really that much, compared to other sugary drinks.

Another generous deed Snapple did was "...begun their sponsorship with New York City school systems.", quoted from Raymond.  This is a great example of both sides winning.  The Snapple company builds up profit, and the school sells healthier drinks, even more so when Snapple gives back $8 million dollars per year.  Snapple also proves that it cares about education, by adding facts and other random bits of information on the bottom of the caps.  By adding those features, Snapple has helped the population get just a little smarter.

 Although Snapple has changed a lot, it changed for the better.  Helping America's education system and population is a really big step for them.  It gains the trust of consumers, so they will be able to purchase Snapple in the future.  Snapple is truly "Made from the Best Stuff on Earth".

CE: Green Energy

"One in every four solar energy jobs in America is held by a Californian, and growth in the clean-tech industry is burgeoning nationwide, a new study said."

In a recent study, the National Solar Jobs Census 2011, California is ranked numbered 1 by the number of solar industry jobs.  This report shows that the number of eco-friendly jobs are rising, and alternative energy is being more readily available to the public.  The employment in the industry also grew 6.8 percent, while the US job growth was 1 percent.  However, a solar panel manufacturer in Fremont, Solyndra, has shut down, right after they received a $535 million federal loan, due to bankruptcy.  If we look past that scandal, and take a look at the green technology being developed right now, it truly is remarkable.  That does not only include solar, but hydro, wind, and geothermal energies.

Solar energy is a really convenient energy, and can be used whenever there is a source of light, whether that be sunlight or a lamp.  The material used to make the main part of the solar panel, is silicon.  The silicon has a weak electron bond, therefore it does not have all of the electrons required to be stable.  The electron is combined with a different element, an element that combines with the silicon and produces one excess electron, which leaves a free electron carrying an electrical current.  The electricity that comes out is DC, so you would need a transformer to convert the energy to voltage and AC.


Hydro energy is simple, even dating back to hundreds of years ago.  Think of a watermill.  The water flows into the pedals, which turns the gears.  The gears then move the equipment, doing its job.  It's the same thing for modern technology.  The water flows through a mechanism, which turns a motor.  The motor then generates electricity, due to the movement created by the water.


Wind energy is similar to water, but instead, uses wind.  The wind turbine's blades are created with an angle that provides maximum turning power from the wind.  The turbine then generates electricity because the blades are turning the mechanism, which turns the motor built inside the turbine.  The motor is connected to a transformer, which connects to a power line.


Geothermal energy works in an efficient way.  First they have to find a place suitable to heat up the water underground.  When the water reaches at least 180C, the water, under high pressure, is released into a low pressure environment, causing a flash of steam occur, which drives a turbine.


With the environmental problems in our world today, we have been motivated to develop more efficient ways to harness the energy of the earth, without harming the environment.  I believe that the future holds many possibilities for new, clean energy, and maybe someday, we wouldn't have to worry about a reliable source of energy.

 

RE: Japanese Technology

"The United States has been looking forward and looking to using Japanese technology." -Andrew Fan

Kyoto

This quote reminds me of how Japan has the coolest technology known to human kind.  I don't even know where half of  their ideas come from.  Hating the pitching machine for hitting you too many times with baseballs?  Well, the Japanese has invented a machine in where the ball floats for you to hit it.  This technology is efficient because you can hit at a wide angle, which allows you to practice your technique.  It also moves the ball a little bit, so you have to actually concentrate to hit the ball.  The only downside of this technology is that you're not training your reflexes, as with a normal pitching machine.  However, the technology is mostly beneficial and makes a great practice for technique.



Another technology, which is not as practical, is a flying robot ball.  While you may think it's like one of those RC helicopters that you can get for $30, this thing actually costs about $1,000.   The reason for that, is that is can reach up to 40 miles per hour.  That's crazy!  Also, the controls and movement are very smooth (as seen in the video below).  The military created this technology, so that it can be used for urban reconnaissance and infiltration.  The machine has a single propeller and eight wings, and its spherical body reduces the effects of wind.  A surprising fact about the machine is that the parts are mostly from an electronics district in Akihabara, one of Japan's most famous electronics city.
Japan is one of today's most technologically advanced countries in the world.  Although their ideas seem a bit weird (I mean that in the nicest way possible), they actually improve the lives of many.  If I could choose an item from anywhere in the world, it'd probably be from Japan, just because of the huge variety and effectiveness of the technology there.

FREE: Global Warming?

"Severe seasonal melting has reduced ice floes, floating chunk of ice, in the Arctic Ocean to the thinnest on record, according to researchers."

First of all what are floes? Floes are floating ice, formed in a large sheet on the surface of a body of water. According to the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Germany, the old, thick sea ice has decreased immensely. They are now replaced with floes formed only a year ago, whose average thickness is now 90 centimeters. Now, the frozen sea ice melting can have a very damaging effect on the ecosystem. Algae, trapped in the ice, are released back into the sea, causing contamination. Also, the ice is freshwater, so as it melts, to disturbs the balance between salt and fresh water. The scientists believe that global is the main, in terms of the ice melting. The natural cycle that's supposed occur runs like this: The sun sends its rays to the Earth. From there, the white ice deflects most of the rays off its surface, reducing the temperature that it absorbs. However, as the water around it is dark, it is able to absorb more heat, therefore slowly melting the ice. With global warming in the factor, the sea absorbs more heat, which melts the ice at a faster rate, which reduces the surface area that can deflect back the suns ray, and the cycle keeps going on.


I am refuting the statement that the ice will all melt away, and the human race is doomed, unless we are doing something about it. First of all, nature and the earth have always achieved harmony. Who are we to disrupt the cycle of this Earth? Repeated cooling and melting have always been in effect. The Ice Age is when the Earth is cooling down, and the period we are in, is just warming up. Pretty soon, the weather is going to get cold and the ice will return, with even more force. As stated above, the Earth and nature will always be in harmony. An example of this is when the ice melts. After it melts, it is released to the atmosphere right? If it melts more, then there would be more water vapor in the atmosphere, which means more clouds. Then, the clouds also act as a deflector, reducing the amount of sun rays hitting the ice. The ice will recover and the cycle keeps repeating. With all these points, I'm not trying to say we shouldn't so anything about it. In fact, supporting the environment will make it a better place for all of us. I just want people informed, so they can make better decisions for themselves.

CE: There is no such thing as a good tax.

"California and other states could move ahead with making online retailers such as Amazon collect and remit sales taxes even if the companies don't have physical presences in those states, under a new bipartisan bill co-authored by a Bay Area House member."

 Okay...  Now the government is REALLY in for it.   Why change a system, if it works?  Seriously, the government has to stop effing around with the taxes and start doing something about the economic situation in the US of A.  There have been recent activities going on, including the Wall Street Protest, which are trying to get the government to straighten out their economy.  I don't blame them, when a service's quality degrades because of the government; they should be the only ones to be revolting against.  If we don't so something about it right now, pretty soon they'll be taxing the very air we're breathing in.  Amazon is a unique and great place for companies and customers.  They provide an easy, accessible website for people that just don't have the time or resources to go out and find them in stores.  Some of the items listed might not even be in the country that they live in.  Amazon isn't damaging the profits of companies; the government just wants a slice of the pie.

The government shouldn't be even able to tax Amazon, since their method of transaction isn't physical, but they're going to try anyways.  I imagine if they're going to pass the bill, there are going to be very upset customers and employees alike.  This has led me to believe that either the government is struggling with money issues, or that they're just plain greedy.  Both of those reasons might be true to a certain extent.  Also, weren't taxes made to help the government provide for the needs of society?  In today's world, and even in ancient times, there are many corruptions within the political aspect of the country.  It is within our power to rebel and claim our opinions within these matters.

BC: Death...

"When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart." -Steve Jobs, in a 2005 speech

This advice, in my opinion, is completely and utterly useless.  Just think about it, if you lived like each day was your last, you'd only get so far.  Think of the expenses, the time you're taking up.  It's ridiculously inefficient.  I'll give you a scenario:  Everyday, I will just be staying at home.  I'll order all the things I want, a 52-inch TV, the best computer system, a new car.  Pretty soon, I will die, but only because of the events that occurred, due to thinking I was going to die.  If you know you're going to die this very day, you might as well do everything you can to minimize the impact of your death to the community.  It may sound cruel, but death happens, it's unavoidable.

I also disagree with Steve Job's speech.  First of all, remembering that you would be dead help you with big choices?  I don't think you should be thinking about death, when faced with big choices.  You should think on how the big chance would have a positive or negative effect on your life, and decide based on that.  Secondly, stripping of all external expectations leads to only one thing, failure.  Having no expectations, makes you feel like you don't have to do anything.  That can only end up in a negative impact.  If you throw away all fear of embarrassment, or failure, then you wouldn't be able to improve upon yourself.  Remembering that I am going to die is the best way I know to FALL in the trap of thinking I have something to lose.  I am literally losing my whole life; my achievements, my failures, and my joys.  I think what Steve is trying to say, is that if you're going to die, do it anyways, however there are situations where that logic does not apply.  What if you could harm someone with what you're doing?  What if it has a degrading effect on others around you?  In my experience, trying to forget that something bad is going to happen generally helps to alleviate the stress and therefore reduces your chances of making a mistake in the big choices in life.


 People are always trying to view death as an important event, but in reality, everything dies.  Nothing can live forever, not even the hardiest of diamonds or the brightest of stars.  Everything has a beginning, therefore an end.  I know things like funeral and burials are necessities, and I agree, but people shouldn't be thinking about death.  They should be think about what lies beyond death, like the future of their grandchildren, or the future of their company.  They should be glad that they have lived an enjoyable life, and if not, then it is only their own fault for not doing anything about it.  For the people born to die, I know it's hard accepting, but you have to get over the fact of death if you want to enjoy every lasting moment of your life.  It's really sad when people throw away all they have, just because they're going to die.  At the end of the day, it's better to just forget reality, and live on, in your dreams.

FREE: >:O

It does what it says.

Rage, a recent ID Software and Bethesda game, sucks.  Now, I don't mean the gameplay sucks, nor the graphics suck, or even the story sucks.  I mean the technical aspect of the game sucks.  Enough with the sucking, Rage is released with a SHIT-ton of graphical glitches, bugs, and poor optimization.  In fact, it's not even playable in the state it is right now.  Although it is using a new game engine, the id Tech 5, that's no excuse to release this game in an unplayable manner.  There have been many reports of problems with the game, but I'm only going to cover a portion of them.

Such detailed settings!

The first is the video settings menu.  Look at it.  What do you see?  Like, 4 options?  Seriously, I know id is trying to implement a system where the game automatically sets the setting for you, for optimum frame rates, but give the users a choice.  If we can't even fix our problems in the setting menu, how can we fix it outside of it?

Madness!

Is this how the game is supposed to look like?  For people telling me to install new video drivers, yes I did.  I also installed the hotfix released from AMD, my video card manufacturer, and it still did not help at all, let alone fix my problem.  This jumbled up world is all I got from it.

Whoa, I can see!

Another prominent problem in the game, that has been pestering everyone that has been playing, is the new "megatexture" implementation.  Supposedly, Rage has very big texture sizes.  If you were to keep them loaded in the game, it would require tremendous graphical and computing power.  That's why, whenever you are not looking at the world, the game de-texturizes any unseen textures.  The problem with that, is it results in the screenshot above.  The computer cannot instantaneously load and de-texturize fast enough, producing a blurry world.  Why would they implement this? No idea, though this is the first game to utilize the id Teach 5 engine.

I, for one, am not saying this game is bad, in terms of gameplay.  I'm "raging" on the fact that the company should've produced a game that can actually play smoothly and with minor errors.  Why should consumers pay for the game, then be left with an unplayable game?  Hopefully there will be a patch to resolve all these errors, but until then, do not get this game.

RE: Technically...

"When I was little, I used to believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny and other things parents tell 

 their children." -Andrew Fan 

I guess I'm a little bit different then.  Since I was old enough to comprehend words, I never believed in the stories of Tooth Fairies or Santa Claus.  I actually thought about the stories and how they would work out.  For example, in the story of Santa Claus, he's supposed to deliver presents to every child in the world, in one night.  Assuming a night means 12 hours, he would never make it around the earth because they earth's circumference is about 26,000 miles.  The record time set for a non-stop around the world flight was in a military B-52 in 1980 at 42 hours 23 minutes.  It would take him at least the speed of 2166 miles per hour to make it around the world, excluding the time it takes for him to actually get the presents under the Christmas Tree without being noticed.  Note that this is the Earth's circumference, as it is in a linear line.  To factor in traveling to every country, state, and city, makes it nearly impossible.


The Easter Bunny, however, may be possible in the near future.  Today's technology allows us to peek in the world that shapes all living things.  What I'm talking about is DNA, and it's no gimmick.  We can already change the colors of a living animal, clone them, and even biologically engineer them to be resistant to disease.  With further improvements in modifying DNA, we could possibly take the egg of a bunny.  Then, we could extract its DNA, code for it to produce multi-colored eggs, and then reinsert them.  It may be ethically incorrect in the eyes of animal lovers, but in reality, money is power, and if they decide to engineer one, they will. 


I think being a realist attributes to the disbelief in stories.  I'm always looking for any errors that might not make sense in the real world.  This can be both beneficial or hindering.  It makes for writing a realistic-fiction book easier, but writing fantasy novels more difficult.  In this case, I believe, although the stories are not real, you should continue to enjoy the spirit and culture passed down for many generations.  Happy (Pre)Columbus Day!

CE: AHHH THE END OF THE WORLD!

Breaking news today, Thailand has been hit by the worst monsoon in 50 years!  More than 2 million people have been affected in what is known as the worst monsoon season in Thailand.  Everyone has been evacuated from the vincinity, especially the people near rivers and dykes.  Now, there has been many natural disasters occuring this year, including Hurricane Irene, typhoons, earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan, and dead fish appearing in all parts around the world.

This leads me to believe that something is definitely going on.  There has been many natural disasters before, but somehow, I feel this year is different.  First, the earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan were enormous, with a 8.9 magnitude earthquake.  This disaster caused the shutdown of nuclear power plants, as well as some manufacturing factories as well.  It is pretty like for earthquakes to occur in Japan though, since it's located  near three tectonic plates. Secondly, Hurricane Irene devasted the East coast, causing the shutdown of the New York subway and many other areas.  There have been many reports on the appearance of dead fish as well.  At King Harbor in Redondo Beach, millions of dead fish, including anchovies, sardines and mackerel were floating lifeless.

 

Another phenomenon is the occurrence of birds falling out of the sky, although National Geographic has explained it already.  It says that the loud noises and human-built structures interfere with the birds ability to fly correctly.  The loud noises scare the birds and disorients them, while the human structures block their flight path, and creates a possible hazard for them.

The many events happening this year troubles me.  I don't believe in the "2012-end-of-the-world" thing, but I do believe in science, and so far, it's been saying that the world is starting to change dramatically.  For better, or for worse.

But mostly for the worst.

ESSAY: Don't be a square, care!

There is an abundance of evidence on what defines a human.  I will be focusing on one aspect, and that is the ability to care.  Caring is a very vague word.  It could mean that you are taking care of someone or that you actually are paying attention to someone.  Doing things that help another person or just being a nice person in gerneral, are other examples of caring.  Although everyone has the ability to care, it's the magnitude of caring that counts.  Without care, everyone would be isolated and distraught.  No one would help each other and, ultimately, make their own lives worst.  There is a quote that specifically expresses that situation:

"First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me." -Martin Niemöller

This quote is to be interpreted literally, not  philosophically.  It is saying that the person never spoke out to anyone, just because he didn't care, so when it was his turn, no one spoke for him because, why should they care?  Humans should be more compassionate and empathetic for other beings, not because they have to, but because they want to. Caring is like leading a horse to water, if it doesn't want to go, it will not go.  However, if you give it motivation, like a carrot, then the horse considers moving.  If you force someone to care, they won't be able to do it because it is against their determination, but if you give an incentive for the someone, then they might start to care.  For example, you needed an object that is located far beyond your reach.  A person passes by that can reach, but you have a decision to make.  If you say forcefully, "Hey, you.  Get me that object.", he couldn't care less and walk away.  In a different scenario, you ask politely, "Mr. So and so, can you please retrieve the object to me? I would be very grateful".  Your politeness triggers the care in him and therefore, he gets the object for you.

Caring can also be an instinctive feeling.  Sometimes, you care for something, but just for the sake of the situation.  I feel that the reason of having an instinct dedicated to care, adds to the fact that we are human.  An example of this reasoning plays out like this: You are walking on the way to your house.  Suddenly, as you turn a corner, you spot a person lying on the ground.  Our natural instincts tell us to go forward and assist that person, which proves that caring is linked to being human.  Of course, other animals have those feelings as well, since mothers care for their child, but are their feelings comparable to us?  You don't see a pigeon helping another pigeon when it is in trouble.  Us humans have our own way of caring, whether it is secretly or publicly.  We protect and help others, without having a reason to.

Of course, there is an opposite to everything, as shown in a ying and yang.  What is the opposite of caring?  Ignoring.  Though ignoring might sound easier than caring, I feel that it is not so.  To ignore, you have to concentrate on the fact that you will not response to a certain situation.  This requires various amount of brain power, but generally, it is slightly harder to do.  Caring on the other hand, is a natural process.  You don't need to have a reason to care, nor do you need to put your mind on it, it just happens.  People don't need a reason to rescue someone in danger.  They don't need a reason to help countries devastated by a natural disaster.  Humans assist each other regardless. 

"By not caring too much about what people think, I'm able to think for myself and propagate ideas which are very often unpopular. And I succeed." -Albert Ellis

There are times when ignoring benefits you more that caring.  Caring is like a double-edged sword, it can make you soar, or chain you down.  You have to learn to use it depending on the situation.  For example, a random person compliments you on your new look.  You can show that you care about his/her opinion and reply.  Another example, a person on the internet tells you that you look ugly, and so does your mom.  This is the time NOT to care.  Just simply trudge through the hurtful comments and hope that they stop pestering you.  Never, and I urge, ever respond to the person with another spiteful comment.  That will simply anger and bring more trouble upon you.  Just simply ignore them.

"I bought a seven-dollar pen because I always lose pens and I got sick of not caring." -Mitch Hedberg

Sometimes, people force themselves to care, because it is more beneficial for them to care, rather than to not.  Though that might not seem as really "caring", if you look deep inside, it really is.  The person above bought a more expensive pen, so he would not have to buy new ones.  However, this shows that he cares about the situation of losing pens and decides to take action on it.  This shows that caring isn't always so obvious.  In fact, care is mostly shown in many hidden situations, where you take them for granted.  No matter how oblivious, you have to take the care with great appreciation and importance.  Otherwise, by the time you start to respond, the other person just might not care anymore.

"From caring comes courage." - Lao Tzu

More often then not, care leads to many new emotions.  It's one of the main reasons why caring is so important in playing a role of human traits.  Sadness can come from caring.  By caring about someone, you inadvertently attach yourself to the person.  If the person is suffering, and you care about that person, it causes you to feel sadness.  This is not a weakness, it is merely a sign that you care enough to express other emotions.

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." -Leo Buscaglia

Caring is a simple thing to do. You might not think it does anything, but realistically, it offers the person a sense of comfort. It shows that you understand the person and allows them to know you are someone they can depend on. It also gives a sense of righteousness, like picking up trash next to the garbage can or motivating your team. I don't see a reason why anyone should not care, and probably will never see one. So, grab your best personality, put on your game face, and dress to impress, because there is a whole world out there, waiting for someone to care.

RE: To Infinity and Beyond!

"Wow I really can't believe it... How can something even be able to out-speed "light"? I mean first of all, how can they even MEASURE light." -Ken Phan

My guess on how to measure light is that they first have a starting point.  The starting point shoots out light particles (or waves) called "photons".  Then, they set up an ending point, which detects the photons when passed through.  Using the time it takes for it to travel a set distance, they calculate it using the "distance x rate over time" formula.  The approximate speed of light is 3.00x10^8 m/s.  Now, it takes a very strong machine to detect the instant that light is passed through, since it's traveling at the speed of light.  If you think light is fast, think about the stars that we look up to at night.  That light may be from thousands of years ago.  That gives a new perspective in the vastness of space. 

To travel faster than light, you have to have almost no mass.  As we get closer and closer to the speed of light, our mass increases with it.  Therefore, we can get close to it, but never reach it.  However, you can travel ahead of the speed of light, by using "wormholes" or "distorted space time".  Wormholes can transport from one place to another, sort of like teleportation.  Distorted space time is when space and time gets all mixed up.  That can enable you to "fast-forward", but not speed up.  The time in the distortion area is faster than the area around it, so it seems like you move faster, but you are still traveling at the same speed.

There is a way to travel faster than the speed of light, however, you need infinite energy with an endless amount of time and finite acceleration, or infinite acceleration and a finite amount of time.  That is not possible because we do not have "infinite" energy.  Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, only changed or transferred.  To travel faster than light, means the possibility of "time-travel", which begs the question, has anyone in the future manage to go faster than the speed of light and, therefore, travel back in time to change events?  Who knows...

FREE: Diablo 3

Finally! After waiting for several years, the ARPG Diablo 3 is finally coming out!  For those new to the game, Diablo 3 is an upcoming action role-playing game (ARPG) developed by Blizzard.  It is the third installment in the Diablo franchise and sets the storyline 20 years after the second installment.  The world is called Sanctuary, although the name is completely opposite of what you're going to encounter in this game.  You can choose to play one of the five available classes: the Barbarian, Demon Hunter, Monk, Witch Doctor, and Wizard.  The game includes the option to play with 4 friends, making it an extremely fun and social game to play.  The general objective of this game is to progress through the storyline and collect the best "loot", or items that are picked up by the character.  In the sections below, I will briefly describe the available classes in the game.

The Barbarian:

 The Barbarian is a melee-based character.  He excels in hacking and slashing enemies with his weapons.  He also has a high constitution and defense.  He can wear heavier armor than the other classes, and has more strength.  His powers, or skills, use the resource called "Fury".  Fury is gained when you attack enemies, and in turn you use the fury to kill even more enemies.  The barbarian's Fury, however, decreases while out of combat.  These attributes are perfect for the people that want non-stop slicing and dicing.


The Demon Hunter:

The Demon Hunter is a ranged character, wielding crossbows.  She relies on assassination and quick executions.  She has various traps and tools to aid her in the purge of demons.  She is known to be excellent at elimination large clusters of enemies and snipe down far-away targets.  However, the use of a ranged weapon has a disadvantage, getting cornered and surrounded renders the weapon useless.  To make up for that, she has a wide range of escape abilities.  There are two resources for the Demon Hunter, "Hatred" and "Discipline".  Hatred regenerates quickly, an is used for offensive abilities.  Discipline, on the other hand, regenerates slowly and is used for defensive maneuvers.  Those who enjoy precision and strategy, will enjoy play as a Demon Hunter.

The Monk:

 The Monk is a character with versatile roles.  You could choose to be the healer, support, or damage-dealer.  He is also a melee-based character, and has high maneuverability.  The monk uses a resource called "Spirit".  Spirit can be obtained by executing specific abilities.  It can be regenerated, but it does so very slowly.  The upside of being a monk, is that there are few to none cooldowns.  Cooldown refers to the time that it takes for a skill to be available again.  Having few cooldowns allow the monk to chain a combo of ferocious and deadly attacks.  This is currently the character I want to try out first.

The Witch Doctor:

Witch Doctors are more of the summoning type and his attacks primarily deals poison damage.  He also has a variety of "debuffs", which are skills that inhibit the enemy in some way, and ranged attacks.  Although he relies on summons and debuffs, he can also be a deadly melee character.  His resource is "Mana".  Mana is a vast, but slowly regenerating resource.  Players have to manage their mana efficiently, or suffer the lack of use of abilities.  Summons can help reduce mana problems, as once they are summoned, no additional mana is needed, and can last for many battles.  This class is obviously for the more "safe" players out there, since summons can do the work for you, while you can stay out of the range of an enemy.

 The Wizard:

The last class is the Wizard.  Wizards are spellcasters who use their bodies as a vessel for arcane energy.  They have a wide selection of elemental attacks, and can be quite deadly.  Wizards rely on long-ranged destructive power, which are conducted at a safe range from enemies.  Their resource is "Arcane".  Arcane is regenerated quickly, but the maximum Arcane a Wizard can have is limited.  Also, the spells casted by the Wizards have a cooldown period, so the player must be careful of how many spells to unleashed.  The Wizard is suited for players that want tremendous damage, at a safe range.

I guess this wraps up all of the classes.  I hope this introduction to Diablo 3 is sufficient for all the newcomers out there.  Hope to see you in-game!

BC: One man, One room.

It was dark, and by dark, I mean REAL dark.  I literally couldn't see my hands in the pitch-black darkness, even though I placed them right in front of my eyes.  The temperature of the room was surprisingly chilly, as the cold sent shivers down my spine.  The air was stale, as if it was trapped there for a very long period of time.  The smell of the room was overwhelming and putrid.  I felt suffocated in there.  The first thing that came to my mind was to find light.  I squinted my eyes to try to locate any source of light, but there wasn't any, so I felt my pockets.  I felt a hard, rectangular object inside my right pants pocket, and I reached my hands inside.  I felt cold object in my hands as I tried to figure out what it was.  I was hoping for it to be a lighter, but it turns out it was my flash drive, since the cap fell off when I tried to "light" it.

Bending over, I searched for the approximate location of where I dropped the cap.  As my hands scoured the cold smooth stone, I felt a tiny object and picked it up.  Recognizing it was my cap, I put in on my flash drive, then I stood up.  As I searched all over my body, I couldn't find a source of light to use, so I gave up.  I took a step forward, to examine the immediate area around me, but I stepped on something.  The round smooth object made an eerie cracking noise, and I froze in my steps.  My heart skipped a little because of the sudden noise, and I waited for a few moments to see if anything had happened.  Silence.

I continued walking in a straight line, with my hands reaching out in front of me.  I felt the cool touch of the wall and I stopped.  From that point, I moved my hands all over the wall, looking to find anything that could be a potential source of light.  My hands grazed the wall, and found a recess in the wall.  I also felt some handles and more recesses as I continued to move my hand over the wall.  Curious by the handles, I pulled on it, and it slid open, like a file cabinet.  I reached in to feel what was inside, but I only felt cloth.  I guess it was a dresser.  I pushed the handle back into its original position.

I turned around and started to walk in the opposite direction, with my hands in front.  I was just walking, when I felt a rectangular object hit me on the stomach.  I immediately stopped and felt the rectangular object.  It felt like a long thin table, with a cylindrical base.  I walked around it and continued with my hands in front of me.  I hit a wall again, only this time there wasn't anything on it, just a plain wall.  I decided to check out the right wall, so I followed the wall I was on, with my hands.  This wall was also plain, albeit a rectangular protrusion on the wall.  I felt the object and immediately knew it was a light switch, since a knob was sticking out.  I was a little apprehensive on turning on the lights, since I didn't know where I was, but in the end, I'll have to turn it on anyways.

Guess where I was?

CE: Hacked, son!

"Japan's top weapons maker has confirmed it was the victim of a cyber attack reportedly targeting data on missiles, submarines and nuclear power plants."

What if you had the power to launch missiles, deploy submarines, and shutdown a nuclear power plant?  That's what the hackers, who had targeted Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), feel like.  Although it is unknown on whether the information stolen is important or not, this incident still leads to concerns on the security of MHI.  What's even worse, was that the government wasn't even aware about the attack.  Normally, I thought that the government would know immediately after the discovered the breach, but in this case, the government found out through local media reports.  Now, the defense ministry is demanding MHI to carry out a full investigation on the attack. 

The worst part is that the computers were accessed in August, when the news story was posted on September.  The hackers also might've gotten some IP addresses from the network.  If the incident reveals that sensitive data was leaked out, the defense ministry could impose a penalty on MHI, as it is a main domestic arms supplier.  Another concern is that the hackers were operating outside the comapny network, which means that the hacker would be more difficult to locate.  MHI isn't the only company that has been targeted, IHI has also been a victim of a virus attack.  Suprisingly, IHI had been receiving emails that conatined viruses for months.  I wonder if the security of the company is sufficient, as the viruses were spread through email.

The companies should be more alert on computer attacks, especially since we're in the age of expanding technological advances.  Also, these companies specialize in weapons.  That reason alone is enough to take secuirity to a whole new level.

RE: Mmmm, Human Flesh...

"Even though I say that, I do not think I would be able to survive a zombie invasion unless the zombies are unbelievably stupid and incompetent."- Andrew Fan

 Well then, you have no need to worry!  Zombies are pretty dumb and they should stay that way, unless a new form of pathogen allows the reasoning part of the brain to function.  A normal zombie is infected with a pathogen that takes over the host's brain and basically reduces it to mush.  The only function of their brain is to produce movement and have a hunger for flesh.  That's why it is critical for the victim of a zombie attack to aim at the head.  Also, the zombie pathogen may be able to be transmitted to animals, but that is probably unlikely, since our body composition is different.  If somehow a zombie attains the ability to think for themselves, they're going to think that you would be dangerous (if you had a weapon) and back off.  The downside of that, is the zombie can plan an ambush, in which case, you're probably f%$ked, as well as most of humanity.

The most ideal place for shelter in a zombie outbreak, is underground.  The zombies would probably not be able to find you, and if they do, make sure your entrance is a narrow hallway, so the zombies have to enter one by one.  This strategy enables you to kill the zombies easily, if the need ever arises.  The only problem with an underground shelter, is the lack of sunlight, which can cause vitamin deficiency and require you to venture out for electricity.  Another important part of surviving a zombie outbreak, are weapons.

Your weapons definitely have to be efficient.  Having a durable, damaging weapon is a must, especially if you plan on surviving through the hordes of zombies.  My first recommendation is the crowbar:

Portable, yet unbreakable.  Sharp, yet blunt.  I really think it should be your primary melee, as it has a variety of uses.  You could use it like a bat and break the zombie's skull, or use the sharp end to stab through the zombie's eyeball.  It has many other uses as well, like prying a door open, or breaking glass.  My second reccomendation is a tactical knife:

 The tactical knife is not used as a weapon, but rather as a multi-purpose tool.  Having a knife is pretty much necessary in any form of survival, it just has too many uses.  Do not use it as a weapon (unless absolutely necessary), as it has too short of a range and might get stuck in the zombie's body.  A word of caution, properly disinfect and wash your knife, or anything that has came in contact with a zombie.

Well, that's my opinions on zombies and how to survive them, hope you guys enjoyed reading this.  Feel free to post some tips on how to survive a zombie outbreak!

CE: Terrible, Terrible Damage...

Seriously, why do people do this?  According to the latest news from Al Jazzera, a man, armed with an axe, killed 3 adults and a child as they were walking to the Kindergarten school.  He also seriously wounded another child and adult in the attack.  The attack was carried out in Henan province's Gongyi city, early on Wednesday morning.  I sort of understand targeting adults for murder, but children?  Can you imagine the many years that the child would never experience?  I truly feel empathetic for the loss of the children.  Just the thought of my life ending early gives me a scare.

This hasn't been the first attack either.  This report is the latest in a chain of violent attacks on children and has forced Chinese officials to increase security around China's schools.  Another attack includes a stabbing incident at the end of August.  A female worker wielded a box cutter to slash at children, who were aged between three and four years old, belonging to migrant workers.  The stabbing occurred at the Little Happiness Star nursery in an eastern suburb of Shanghai.  Both of the attacks, as well as may others, were the result of having a mental health problems.

The intention for killing children is absolutely illogical.  What has the child done to you?  If they're being annoying, for god's sake, they're children!  If they broke something of yours, then get the parents to replace it, instead of taking it out on a child.  I really can't think of any reasons to kill a child.  Having murderous intents on children is not normal, and they should've looked for doctor to remedy that.  Hearing these sorts of news really shifts my perspective of the world and how it operates.  Next time, I hope I wouldn't have to write on something this tragic.  'Til then, keep safe!

FREE: Time to take notes!

The end of the 2011 year will be known as the "mobile-frenzy months".  With the release of the Samsung Galaxy S2, the upcoming iPhone 5 (Although it is uncertain when the release date of the iPhone 5 is, since Apple has not specified a release date, nor made a public announcement of the official phone), the Droid Bionic, and now, the Samsung Galaxy Note.  Samsung has been really busy in its mobile department, releasing the new Galaxy S2, which has over 5 million sales, the Galaxy Tab, and the new announcement of the Galaxy note at the IFA electronics show in Berlin.

The Galaxy Note sports a 5.3 inch, Super AMOLED screen, which is really a suprise because a previous smartphone (Dell Streak 5) didn't do so well with a large screen.  The reason why the Dell Streak 5 declined was the lack of a smooth operating system.  The combined problems of having a buggy operating system and the removal of features from the previous software version caused the Dell Streak 5 to fail.  Samsung, however, might stand a better chance with the 5.3 inch screen, due to the fact that they have more experience in producing user-friendly smartphones.  In my opinion, the 5.3 inch display is a great idea, allowing the consumer more freedom to navigate on the screen and making typing on the phone easier.

The next feature of the Galaxy Note, is the S-Pen.  Now, Steve Jobs says that with styluses, we are going backwards, in term of technology, but I beg to differ.  The sharp and sleek pen allows for controlled and precise movement, compared to our fingers.  With the pen, there are also more features included in the phone, including the note-taking app, the ability to annotate photos, and even a drawing pad.

The hard ware includes a 1.4 Ghz dual-core processor (for a snappy interface), a 8 megapixel camera (with a 1080p recording quality on a 1280 by 800 pixel resoulution), a 2 megapixel front-facing camera, and 16 gigabytes of internal memory.  These qualities put this smartphone in the category of one of the most powerful smartphones on the planet.

With my phone contract expiring soon, I have already decided to get the Samsung Galaxy Note (which comes with a £600 price tag) if it becomes available.  If not, then my next choice would be the iPhone 5.  The Galaxy S2 will be the third option if the iPhone does not get a new form factor and a larger screen.

After reading this post, I hope you've gotten a new view of the smartphones available.  Feel free to leave any comments or questions for me to answer. (Quick question: Which phone are you planning to get?)

RE: Terror-ism.

"I think that the Department of Homeland Security partially only arrested this person to calm the public and assure the people that they were safe even after 9/11." -Andrew Fan

I also agree on your opinion about calming the public after a terrorist attack. For one, the attack on September 11th has caused a tremendous amount of panic on the topic of terrorism. People were afraid of another possible bombing that might've occurred in the days after the attack. On the other hand, people had just lost their loved ones and were going through a really emotional phase. If not for the arrest on the "Dirty Bomb", panic would've escalated even further, causing irrational actions. The arrest gave a little bit of relief for the worrisome, and a feeling of justice for the ones that lost their friends or family.

However, there are other concerning problems to this case. First of all, why did he even send the letter stating that he had a bomb? It would be unwise and cause a lot of public disorder. If the reason I think of, for the threat, is true (causing public panic), then that shows that terrorism is ever increasing in and out of the US and that, is a bad situation for the country to be in.

I don't even know why terrorism is so widespread. Is it because it gets the message though? Well, the message gets through alright, but people rarely ever pay attention to what the terrorists want, it's always the acts that the terrorist goes through, that people pay attention to. I don't even remember what the 9/11 bombing was a result of. Something about a "holy war" on the US? Anyways, in my opinion, terrorism is not efficient. What IS efficient, is persuasion through peaceful means.

I would like to thank Andrew Phan for his post on 9/11, and encourage everyone to read his post in the highlighted text above. Leave any reactions/comments below!

CE: Fired, Fired, and Fired.

"Yahoo has now replaced three CEOs in a little over four years. "

A recent firing of Carol Bartz, CEO of Yahoo, has led readers to view the situation in various different lights.  Fired by Roy Bostock, chairman of Yahoo, on Tuesday, Septermber 6 over the phone, one can wonder what she did wrong.  First of all, was the financial downturn.  Bartz led an austerity, a reduction in the amount of benefits and public services provided, that helped increase Yahoo's earnings, but failed to increase its revenue even as the advertising market on the internet grew rapidly.  Another reason was the integration of Microsoft's search engine "Bing" into Yahoo's search engine.

There are many reasons that leads to the decline of Yahoo.  One of many is the rise of G-Mail.  Although Yahoo was a major email provider a while back, when G-Mail came out, it blew Yahoo's email service out of the water.  G-Mail had more features and benefits than Yahoo's plain emailing system.  The layout of G-Mail was also more professional looking, which attracted many businesses that wanted to emphasize its class.  Another competitor was Facebook, which revolutionized social networking, and provided fierce competition for Yahoo.

In my opinion, I think the reason why Yahoo is declining, is that they don't have innovation.  Take a look at Apple.  With more money than the federal government, one of their major money-making skills is innovation.  Apple revolutionized the smartphone industry and the tablet industry with the arrival of the iPhone and the iPad.  Their innovation led to a professional device that had a smooth user experience and user-friendly software.  If Yahoo had some innovation from the new CEO, who knows?  Maybe they might just bounce back on track.

BC: Who am I? Well...

So, as you all know (I hope), my name is Calvin Lin.  I am 15 years old (as of now) and attend Alameda High School. As with all teenagers my age, my favorite hobby is to play video games, preferably on the computer.  I don't like to play on a Xbox360 or a PS3 because of the controls.  I do better with a mouse and keyboard, then with a controller.  There are also more varieties on the computer platform, than on the Xbox360/PS3.

Video games are an important part of my life.  It helps me relieve stress, as well as provide entertainment on days where I have nothing else to do.  I also learn a lot from video games, from the assembly/dismantle of a gun, to difficult vocabulary, like "Vox Populi" (Voice of the People in Latin) or Biochemical Augmentations.  While adults tend to think video games are wasteful because they just take up time and divert peoples attention from their goal, video games are actually very informing and can sometimes help exercise the brain.  Take for example "Deus Ex: Human Revolution".  Its game-play consists of many strategic actions that  must be thought out, instead of rushing in with guns blazing.  You have to track the enemy's movement, plan your way through, locate an escape point, take inventory of your supplies, and execute them simultaneously.  You don't have one route to follow either, you can take multiple routes and still  reach your goal, but you have to find the most efficient one.  Another feature of the game is to persuade the in game characters to give you information.  This action makes you use your reasoning and common sense skills while enjoying the game at the same time.  Games aren't bad, it's just how you play them that decides its value.

In terms of "who I am", I would like to think of myself as "tech-savvy" or whatever people call it these days.  I have various knowledge on computers, mainly because I have faced the problems myself, and had successfully solved them.  At the same time, after I solved them, I usually look deeper in the solution and try to understand why the problem happened and how it works.  In terms of how I started getting involved and intrigued by computers, it all started when my uncle gave me a computer and a copy of  "StarCraft".  As my interest grew in the game, I started looking for other games.  Most of the games I've played worked out fine, but as the graphics of the games got better and better, I wondered why my computer was running so slow.  I researched on the problem, and soon I hit the solution.  Get a better computer.  At first I searched for brand computers, like Dell, HP, Asus, Gateway, etc...  Then I found a post on the internet saying that there was a cheaper, more efficient way of getting a fast computer, build your own.  I was stunned.  What?  You can build your own computer?  Ridiculous!  Nevertheless, I searched on Google and found out how.  I also asked some older friends of mine for any information that could help me on building a computer.  I actually didn't build my computer first, I built my friend's computer first.  After the build was successful, I began to research more on the parts itself and gained more knowledge about computers from that.  From that point on, I've improved a lot, in terms of technical knowledge.  Even now, I'm still learning a lot about computers.  Hopefully, once I have enough experience, I might be able to make a living out of it.


In this school year, writing-wise, I hope to learn more about making my sentences transition a lot more smoothly.  I also want to expand my vocabulary, so I can specifically express what my opinion towards a topic is about.  That's it for my biweekly column.  Feel free to leave any comments or questions below, and thanks for reading my post!

FREE: $187,000 + $16,000 = ?

So apparently, Justin Bieber has a car now?  But not just any car, its a Ferrari F430.  On August 30th, at approximately 12:00 pm PST, a Honda Civic (Base Price: $15,805) had a minor accident with Bieber's F430 (Base Price: $186,925), when it was trying to get around Bieber's car in an underground lot.  As far as the authorities could tell, neither car or passenger suffered any damages or injuries, except maybe for the driver of the Civic , whom might've had a heart attack when he saw Justin Bieber coming out from the car.

He sort of almost deserves it though, being humiliated on the internet, egged onstage in Australia, getting his YouTube video hacked and removed, and even his Vanity Fair magazine ranks the lowest in Conde Nast monthly sells.  Although his reputation is low, his record sales are another beast of its own.  Selling over a million copies of his album and the first artist to have two titles in the chart's top five since 2004, he really is successful in terms of his music career.

Anyways, the authorities that were there at the incident did not even bother to file a report, and just like that, the case was closed.  What I don't get is why the media even bothered to cover this story.  Shouldn't they be reporting on something more remotely interesting, like Hurricane Irene?  The attention that Justin Bieber gets just boggles me.  My guess is that the journalists think that having a Justin Bieber article is bound to increase readers, although I doubt the readers want good news on him.

Well, that about covers it for today's current event.  I hope you readers enjoyed reading about my short rant and maybe start some of your own.