So spring break has begun. I am done with my 90+ hour weeks at the hospital, for a few days at least. And I was overjoyed last night to think that finally I could sleep in. In fact I was so excited to sleep in that I decided that, since I was here alone, I would stay up late, play some computer games, and then just sleep late. And I did. It was a blast. I stayed up until about 3:00 am, listening to music, reading, and playing some games on my PC. I finally went to bed, relishing the ...

Supernova IV The explanation of that singular event is beyond the scope of my scientific knowledge. The result, however, was understood by people throughout the known galaxies. It was a declaration of war. Military scientists understood what had happened, something akin to our own matter-anti-matter technology. Apparently they had also figured out almost immediately how to counter it, and prevent a similar attack. Without hesitation the First, Second and Third fleets converged ...

I had an incredibly surreal experience on this site just a few minutes ago. An experience that not only shocked me, but worried me very deeply. Someone informed me that I didn't have "the right " to post negative comments about a pop artist because she has so many fans. I was, and still am, appalled. The notion that because something is popular it demands universal respect is anathema to me. That sort of thinking is, at its very core, a huge part of what is wrong with our world. Fa...

Supernova III Pacifica had been tracking an anomalous energy signature through Cronos Prime, and energy signature quite like the matter-anti-matter propulsion we had developed. It was anomalous in that it was similar enough to fool our equipment into thinking it was a vessel of ours, but human observation failed to corroborate the electronic assumption. Using the telemetry systems on the Pacifica the crew was able to triangulate the position of the energy signature. Pacifica foll...

Supernova part II We pushed, pushed, pushed. Finally we met the Gorans. We thought they would be pathetic pushovers just like all the rest. Our first contact with them was the Pacifica, the crown jewel in the United Humanitarian Armada. Fortunately none of the races we encountered recognized what a ludicrous name “Pacifica” was for this ship. She had the most complex matter-anti-matter space boring system in the galaxy, a crew of nearly one million, three hundred full squadrons of...

This will be a first for me. Yes, this blog entry will actually be of a somewhat personal nature. Why? I don't know really. I just feel the need to get this off my chest. My wife and two daughters have been gone for a little over two weeks now. They are back in Utah visiting family, especially my sister-in-law who recently had her first child. It was a great opportunity and I am glad they were able to make it back to visit and help out. But I am still stuck here in North Carolina. ...

I thought I would go ahead and post this little bit of fiction I have been working on. Will do so in serial installments. There are certainly things I would change were I to go back right now, but let's hear what others think. Supernova War makes people do crazy things, especially when the war has gone on as long as one can remember. My mother used to talk of a time before the war, according to her I was born before the war happened. But I remember nothing of that time, and mom ...

I have noticed forum posts about folk's points here. I see my own (rather paltry) rank, and others with more entries than I can shake a stick at and points coming out the wazoo. There is a scoring system in place here, other forums give posters different "user levels", post counts keep track of how much we have to say (or how full of crap we are, as it may be). It would appear we are addicted to stratification. We see it every where we go. The government does it all the time, placing u...

Ever since I can recall we have heard time and time again that we need ~8 hours of sleep a night to function properly and maintain our health. And while that sounds like a great idea I have to ask: Is that realistic? Is there anyone here who regularly gets about 8 hours of sleep a night? That just doesn't seem even possible to me. I started adding up my hours this week and realized that I am doing good if I get 4 solid hours each night. There just aren't enough hours in the day to g...

I have been lucky. Very lucky according to the buzz on the internet. I love gaming on my PC. There are lots of great games out there, with great developers behind them who have put lots of time and effort into making a quality PC title for me and others to enjoy. They work hard to make a quality product and we, as the consumers, go out and spend good money (up to $50) for what we anticipate to be many hours of interactive fun. We run home, crack the box open (hoping to find at least a ...

I read articles, posts, and blog entries from folks with a strong Democratic/liberal tilt to them. They have so much passion, so much feeling, so much energy behind their support of one candidate or principle. And then equally articulate, passionate, and intelligent Republican/conservative people reply. Or vice versa. And you know what? In a way I envy them. I am truly a man without a party. I grew up in Utah, a bastion of conservative thinking and was registered as a Republican fo...

My copy of the special edition of Unreal Tournament 2004 arrived yesterday. Due to overwhelming pre-orders I had to wait for a second batch. That was fin for me as I have never purchased a game this close to release. I could be patient. And not only did Epic release a great demo but they have also released perhaps one of the all time greatest PC games ever. Everything just seems to be done right. The game is incredibly polished. The game modes, balance, weapons, everything is elega...

I love strategy games. That doesn't necessarily mean I am that great at them, but real time strategy (RTS) games certainly comprise the majority of my gaming library. I love building bases, seeing my towns/complexes grow and become more intricate, more sophisticated. And I love churning out units. Lots and lots of units. Oh yeah, gaming goodness. But I hate resourcing. In a big way. And therein lies the inherent beauty of what I consider to be a subgenre of the RTS games: Real Time...

This past week I did something I have never done before. And it was something I swore I would never do. I preordered a game. Yep, I paid full price for a game before it was even released. I know there are a lot of gamers who do this, so for them it isn't a big deal. But for someone who has never, ever pruchased a game on release, while still at full price, preordering a game is monumental. And it was only a month or so ago I had sworn up and down that I never would buy a game at fu...

I just finished writing my (rather lengthy) "analysis" of "A Twist of Fate". I love this album. But why did I spend a little bit every day for the past week coming up with something to write about it? Especially considering it is long enough (and perhaps an obscure enough artist) that I doubt many will even read the full article, or comment. Because it helped me I suppose. In thinking through things critically enough to write such a verbose article I really began to internalize the mu...