One of my favorite things to do with older video games is to come back to them after years of playing and test myself with them. I could do 100% completion, see if I can do it without dying, or any number of modifiers and it makes the game new again. Yet, the best modifier (in my opinion) is and forever will be "Just how fast can I beat this game?"
I mean, sure not dying for an entire game seems pretty interesting, but it doesn't really give me anything to compare against. By doing a speedrun of a game, I can say "Hey, I've been able to do it this fast. Can you?" because it sets a definitive level of accomplishment for the game. Plus, I've done it with quite a few games over the years like:
Super Mario 64 - 2:06:36
Super Mario Sunshine - 2:37:12
Banjo Kazooie - 4:56:22
And then I know, I've done it with games like Halo 3, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, Bayonetta, and Metroid Prime but I don't have those times offhand....
But this week I realized that there are two types of game that I just can't bring myself to do a speedrun of. There are those games that are built entirely off of timed events (like racing games or fighting games) and then there are games that it would just be considered a disgrace to rush through.
What would Final Fantasy be like if you never took the time to power level? What would Zelda games be like if you never did a single side-quest? What would Just Cause 2 be like if you chose not to explore anywhere? Its games like these that it just hurts to even try. On the 4th I wanted to spend my day speeding my way through Windwaker like a champ and see how fast I could do it, but it soon dawned on me that I was just missing out on all of the fun that the game had to offer. Sure I can teleport using cyclones to just about anywhere on the Great Sea, but isn't it more satisfying to just cruise along on the King of Red Lions and listen to the ocean theme play? Sure I could power my way through the plot of the game, but never entering any secret dungeons, never getting any Pieces of Heart, never taking the time to seek out Great Fairies ended up just not being fun. Sure I could say "I finished Windwaker in 10 hours and XX minutes" (that's about how long it would have taken me if I didn't just give up) but instead I'd rather dick around in my boat and see what the game has to offer. Hell, I might even do that ridiculously long trading side-quest from Windfall and have highly redundant armor even though I rarely take damage anyways.
But yeah, there will always be those games that I can never and will never attempt to speedrun. Heck, after about 40 hours of play time I think I've only done 3 plot missions in Skyrim. Because why plot when I can run around and crouch to pretend I'm not there and steal the clothes off of ordinary citizens without them knowing?
I'll leave the speed to Sonic, expansive RPGs are meant to be enjoyed.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Success!
So work has been going pretty well so far. By pretty well, I mean freaking amazing.
I really enjoy where I work. I wake up in the morning (early enough to call myself a normal person), eat some breakfast, shower if I didn't the night before, and then make the 10-15 minute commute downtown to work. When I get there, I sit down and say my good mornings before just getting to work. For those who don't know, I do tech support for Golden Valley Electric Association/AlasConnect over the phone and I really find it to be one of the most rewarding jobs that I've ever had. I basically spend all day working with a great group of people and helping others with their computer problems. And that's just it, its fun. I'm there doing what I love to do, doing well at it, and learning in the process.
I just had my 30 day evaluation the other day too and even that went really well. So occasionally I come into work with my shirts being a little too wrinkly and sometimes I socialize too much, but I'm still doing well and having fun. It's also nice to hear that they like me working there as well. So much, in fact, that I got my level 3 security clearance 5 months earlier than I was supposed to. Now I can get into my part of the office without someone having to let me in! I work in the NOC, or Network Operations Center, which has quite a lot of information and responsibility in there so it requires a level 3 clearance to get in. So does our massive Data Center, but unless I'm escorting I don't really have a reason to be up in there. Plus its cold. Stupid cold for how warm the Fairbanks summer is.
Now to just keep up what I've been doing and continue enjoying myself there all the while.
I really enjoy where I work. I wake up in the morning (early enough to call myself a normal person), eat some breakfast, shower if I didn't the night before, and then make the 10-15 minute commute downtown to work. When I get there, I sit down and say my good mornings before just getting to work. For those who don't know, I do tech support for Golden Valley Electric Association/AlasConnect over the phone and I really find it to be one of the most rewarding jobs that I've ever had. I basically spend all day working with a great group of people and helping others with their computer problems. And that's just it, its fun. I'm there doing what I love to do, doing well at it, and learning in the process.
I just had my 30 day evaluation the other day too and even that went really well. So occasionally I come into work with my shirts being a little too wrinkly and sometimes I socialize too much, but I'm still doing well and having fun. It's also nice to hear that they like me working there as well. So much, in fact, that I got my level 3 security clearance 5 months earlier than I was supposed to. Now I can get into my part of the office without someone having to let me in! I work in the NOC, or Network Operations Center, which has quite a lot of information and responsibility in there so it requires a level 3 clearance to get in. So does our massive Data Center, but unless I'm escorting I don't really have a reason to be up in there. Plus its cold. Stupid cold for how warm the Fairbanks summer is.
Now to just keep up what I've been doing and continue enjoying myself there all the while.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
A Whirwind of events
I feel like its been too long since I've had time to be on here... I guess that means I've just been busy though. So some fun things have been going on recently, so I really think that this summer is going to be INFINITELY better than last summer... (We don't talk about last summer anymore...).
So first things first, a couple weeks ago I had the chance to go back to Valdez to see my brother's graduation and my family which was pretty nice. I don't get to see them all that often now that they've moved to Ohio. But I didn't just sit around while I was there. I arrived in Valdez (just barely due to weather) on Thursday night and the first thing I did was visit Doug and Kasey. Why? Because Iunno. The next day I spent the entire day helping with graduation setup for the live streaming that the tech department does and helping the band practice for Pomp and Circumstance. Yep, I played with the high school band again! Then that night at graduation I played with the band and had a surprise solo... Because I had agreed to sightread their piece that they chose to play before Pomp and Circumstance and I quickly found out that the horn part had a solo halfway through the song as I was playing it.... Oh well, I didn't really mind and I didn't screw it up so pluses all around! The rest of the weekend was spent with family and friends around town until I left Sunday afternoon.
But then the fun REALLY started. Because a couple weeks ago on a Tuesday morning I started work at Golden Valley Electric Association as a Computer Student Intern - Helpdesk. I think I enjoy this job the most out of any job I've had in the past. Basically what I do is I answer phones, help our customers with whatever issues they have, and occasionally escort people into our Data Centers at work (which, by the way, are super awesome). Sadly enough, I can't take pictures of it to show anyone (its Data Center policy) but take my word for it when I say its totally worth seeing if you ever had the chance. For me it was my first view of a REAL server room. ANYWAYS, I really think this job has made me happier than any job I've had in the past. I get to do tech work, be social all day, work with a great group of people, and I really feel like I'm appreciated with the work that I do. Maybe they'll let me stay during the school year.... But that's a question for later.
As for the rest of the summer, its really good to still have some free time in which I can hang out with my friends. Some of them I barely saw during the school year, so its really nice to be able to see them now. And other than that I just kind of relax. Its nice having little to no stress over deadlines or homework during the summer. I actually feel like I have a break.
Summer is a great thing.
So first things first, a couple weeks ago I had the chance to go back to Valdez to see my brother's graduation and my family which was pretty nice. I don't get to see them all that often now that they've moved to Ohio. But I didn't just sit around while I was there. I arrived in Valdez (just barely due to weather) on Thursday night and the first thing I did was visit Doug and Kasey. Why? Because Iunno. The next day I spent the entire day helping with graduation setup for the live streaming that the tech department does and helping the band practice for Pomp and Circumstance. Yep, I played with the high school band again! Then that night at graduation I played with the band and had a surprise solo... Because I had agreed to sightread their piece that they chose to play before Pomp and Circumstance and I quickly found out that the horn part had a solo halfway through the song as I was playing it.... Oh well, I didn't really mind and I didn't screw it up so pluses all around! The rest of the weekend was spent with family and friends around town until I left Sunday afternoon.
But then the fun REALLY started. Because a couple weeks ago on a Tuesday morning I started work at Golden Valley Electric Association as a Computer Student Intern - Helpdesk. I think I enjoy this job the most out of any job I've had in the past. Basically what I do is I answer phones, help our customers with whatever issues they have, and occasionally escort people into our Data Centers at work (which, by the way, are super awesome). Sadly enough, I can't take pictures of it to show anyone (its Data Center policy) but take my word for it when I say its totally worth seeing if you ever had the chance. For me it was my first view of a REAL server room. ANYWAYS, I really think this job has made me happier than any job I've had in the past. I get to do tech work, be social all day, work with a great group of people, and I really feel like I'm appreciated with the work that I do. Maybe they'll let me stay during the school year.... But that's a question for later.
As for the rest of the summer, its really good to still have some free time in which I can hang out with my friends. Some of them I barely saw during the school year, so its really nice to be able to see them now. And other than that I just kind of relax. Its nice having little to no stress over deadlines or homework during the summer. I actually feel like I have a break.
Summer is a great thing.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
In Closing
Finals week was one of those weeks where I wish I could have seen the sun, the people, and the sanity in my life. Needless to say, that didn't happen. It was a little painful and I literally spent two whole days in my room writing finals. From Monday to Wednesday night I wrote over 10,000 words in essays, exams, and other assorted documents for my classes. But I still managed to make it through with a pretty good GPA, so it wasn't all bad.
Then came closing for Skarland. That was insane. So many checkouts, goodbyes, projects. It consumed my life. But then everything stopped for a moment. Nothing to do, no expectations, just waiting for a call on my job and then doing whatever I want on top of that. Its been pretty good. Yesterday I was really, REALLY sick though to the point where I couldn't stand up for more than a few minutes at a time due to the pain in my kidneys, but I think I'm almost over it. I'm pretty sure there is nothing that Gatorade can't fix.
So now here I am waiting for that call still and hoping that this summer stays as fun as I hope it does.
Then came closing for Skarland. That was insane. So many checkouts, goodbyes, projects. It consumed my life. But then everything stopped for a moment. Nothing to do, no expectations, just waiting for a call on my job and then doing whatever I want on top of that. Its been pretty good. Yesterday I was really, REALLY sick though to the point where I couldn't stand up for more than a few minutes at a time due to the pain in my kidneys, but I think I'm almost over it. I'm pretty sure there is nothing that Gatorade can't fix.
So now here I am waiting for that call still and hoping that this summer stays as fun as I hope it does.
Friday, May 4, 2012
The Political Machine
***Protip - I have opinions. Deal with it.***
As a student, I like to think I have a voice in how my college is run. We have a student government here at UAF called ASUAF, or the Associated Students of the Univeristy of Alaska Fairbanks, and they are here to be the voice of the students when it comes to campus matters.
As stated in Article I of the ASUAF constitution, they are here "To provide an official and representative student organization with powers to receive complaints, investigate student problems, and participate in decisions involving the student body." This to me means that ASUAF is here to take student concerns and hopefully be instrumental in helping settle those concerns in the most efficient way possible.
Needless to say, from what I can tell, that doesn't happen under the current administration. This is where my problem lies.
So this last week we had "elections" for ASUAF President, Vice-President, and Senate members and the chance to vote on ballot measures for the upcoming year. Now, notice that I put elections in quotation marks. Why? Because this election was a joke. It was nothing more than a joke, a sham, a waste of everyone's time. I felt embarrassed to even be a part of that process. Every incumbent position (President, Vice-President, and Senate seats B, E, F, and H) were unopposed. That's right, there was no voting really. I was pigeon-holed into one decision for every position on the ballot.
That is unacceptable. I wasn't particularly happy with ASUAF's contributions this year under the administration of Freitag and Ball, so even the option of another candidate would have been a nice bit. However, that didn't happen. Instead UAF has the same officers as last year (with a few new Senate members). How can we feel as if we have adequate representation as students if we have no choice in who's elected? I mean, there are write-in options, but in reality those are just for those people who have nothing better to say in terms of a vote.
But lets put those problems aside for a second and look at an even larger problem with the ballot. So ASUAF ballots have 3 main purposes. They have officer elections, ballot measures, and survey questions. I've already established the officer elections as a complete joke, so lets look at their second purpose. Ballot measures are supposed to be the student voice making a choice for their school on a matter that the student government has deemed to be important for the student body. This election had only one. Just one. And what was this measure you may ask? It was a measure to determine whether there should be 14 or 20 senate seats within ASUAF. Now how does that really affect the issues that plague students here at UAF?
The answer: it doesn't.
Just another reason to show why this election was a joke.... Maybe one day it will be better.
Here's a link to the ASUAF constitution
http://asuaf.org/constitution
And here's the election results
http://asuaf.org/sites/default/files/Unofficial%20Results.pdf
And an editorial in the campus newspaper speaking about the same thing
http://www.uafsunstar.com/archives/13900
As a student, I like to think I have a voice in how my college is run. We have a student government here at UAF called ASUAF, or the Associated Students of the Univeristy of Alaska Fairbanks, and they are here to be the voice of the students when it comes to campus matters.
As stated in Article I of the ASUAF constitution, they are here "To provide an official and representative student organization with powers to receive complaints, investigate student problems, and participate in decisions involving the student body." This to me means that ASUAF is here to take student concerns and hopefully be instrumental in helping settle those concerns in the most efficient way possible.
Needless to say, from what I can tell, that doesn't happen under the current administration. This is where my problem lies.
So this last week we had "elections" for ASUAF President, Vice-President, and Senate members and the chance to vote on ballot measures for the upcoming year. Now, notice that I put elections in quotation marks. Why? Because this election was a joke. It was nothing more than a joke, a sham, a waste of everyone's time. I felt embarrassed to even be a part of that process. Every incumbent position (President, Vice-President, and Senate seats B, E, F, and H) were unopposed. That's right, there was no voting really. I was pigeon-holed into one decision for every position on the ballot.
That is unacceptable. I wasn't particularly happy with ASUAF's contributions this year under the administration of Freitag and Ball, so even the option of another candidate would have been a nice bit. However, that didn't happen. Instead UAF has the same officers as last year (with a few new Senate members). How can we feel as if we have adequate representation as students if we have no choice in who's elected? I mean, there are write-in options, but in reality those are just for those people who have nothing better to say in terms of a vote.
But lets put those problems aside for a second and look at an even larger problem with the ballot. So ASUAF ballots have 3 main purposes. They have officer elections, ballot measures, and survey questions. I've already established the officer elections as a complete joke, so lets look at their second purpose. Ballot measures are supposed to be the student voice making a choice for their school on a matter that the student government has deemed to be important for the student body. This election had only one. Just one. And what was this measure you may ask? It was a measure to determine whether there should be 14 or 20 senate seats within ASUAF. Now how does that really affect the issues that plague students here at UAF?
The answer: it doesn't.
Just another reason to show why this election was a joke.... Maybe one day it will be better.
Here's a link to the ASUAF constitution
http://asuaf.org/constitution
And here's the election results
http://asuaf.org/sites/default/files/Unofficial%20Results.pdf
And an editorial in the campus newspaper speaking about the same thing
http://www.uafsunstar.com/archives/13900
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Accept ALL of the Betas!
I've noticed that I've been in an increasing number of video game betas in the last couple of years or so. It's really kind of interesting to be a part of them, because then you get to see how they develop from the early stages of being crappy games to being incredibly awesome over the span of a few months as they fix up all of the bugs in the programming.
This kind of sparked my interest because this morning I was sent an email to be a part of the Ghost Recon Online Closed Beta. Why? I dunno. But while I figure out why, I'll just continue to download the client and see what its all about.
So now I've been in these betas:
Ghost Recon Online
Minecraft
Team Fortress 2
Tribes Ascend
APB Reloaded
DotA 2
Not that I have any time for these betas... I have so much work to do in the next two weeks that I really should just lock my computer away in a box somewhere. But then I realize that I need the computer to do my work, and so I get distracted. Lets work on that....
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Time flies when you're busy
Man, I've been really bad about being on my computer lately. I'm on every so often for a game or two with my residents, but most of the time I really haven't been on my physical computer. That's really why I haven't been posting lately, but now I'm hoping to be back here more frequently than I have been.
I also realize I have like 3 blog drafts that I never actually finished, so here goes this one!
So a lot has happened in the past 3 weeks. First off, I didn't end up getting the ARD position for Nerland, but I am going to be a RA there! I'm pretty excited for that to happen because that's really where I want to be for next year. I've really enjoyed working with freshmen this year, but I think it will be good for me to be in an upperclassmen dorm with some of my friends from here in Skarland and some I've met along the way. My staff ought to be pretty fun as well, so I really don't have any complaints with my position. I mean, I really enjoy being a RA as well, so could I really complain anyways? But Nerland is basically perfect for me. Its a gaming hall (not actually, but that's the tendency), its a dry dorm by choice (which means no alcohol), and I know a lot of people that are going there.
Music in my life is also going pretty dang well. The Wind Symphony also had a couple concerts in the past couple weeks which were really fun to play in. I've had more 1st horn parts lately, so I've been making some rapid improvements in terms of my playing. I think I'm going to go get the recordings of our concerts sometime this week so I can go listen to how we did from another perspective and see if I can pick myself out in the music. Jeremiah and I are also nearing completion of the Zelda Medley we're transcribing for a horn quartet (hopefully to be performed early next semester). I'll hopefully put up the arrangement we've done once we finish it but we do know at least what songs are going to be in it. We have (in this order):
- Zelda's Awakening (Windwaker)
- Ocean Theme (Windwaker)
- Song of Storms (Ocarina of Time)
- Song of Healing (Majora's Mask)
- Midna's Theme (Twilight Princess)
- Ballad of the Goddess (Skyward Sword)
- Zelda's Theme (Ocarina of Time)
- Epilogue (Windwaker)
I'm really excited to get it finished because then we can start playing it as a group and it will be AWESOME. Plus, if we can manage to have one of the faculty give us permission to play it in a Music at 1 I'll be ecstatic. I mean, how often would I have the chance to play a Zelda medley that I've created in a public setting? Basically never.
My new computer is almost complete as well! The last 3 pieces of the machine are now on their way to me after I got my wonderful tax return in the mail. I'm really excited to finally build this massive beast of a computer. Hopefully I'll have it up and going by the end of the weekend next week, although that is SpringFest and project weekend so we shall see how that goes. I know I really need to get those projects done and SpringFest is all hands on deck for RAs, so I know I'll be super busy for the entire weekend... Hopefully I'll still have some time to myself so that I can stay sane, but who knows.
I'm also changing my major soon. I still love Computer Science, but I have a ton of trouble with coding. I have neither the attention span nor the will to just do coding. So I'm hopefully going to change my major to Systems Administration instead. That way I can pursue what I really love about Computer Science, which is the Information Technology side of it, and hopefully end up as a Sysadmin sometime in the future. I think its a good choice for me and for my GPA, plus that kind of work is super awesome.
So that's my life as of late in a nutshell!
I also realize I have like 3 blog drafts that I never actually finished, so here goes this one!
So a lot has happened in the past 3 weeks. First off, I didn't end up getting the ARD position for Nerland, but I am going to be a RA there! I'm pretty excited for that to happen because that's really where I want to be for next year. I've really enjoyed working with freshmen this year, but I think it will be good for me to be in an upperclassmen dorm with some of my friends from here in Skarland and some I've met along the way. My staff ought to be pretty fun as well, so I really don't have any complaints with my position. I mean, I really enjoy being a RA as well, so could I really complain anyways? But Nerland is basically perfect for me. Its a gaming hall (not actually, but that's the tendency), its a dry dorm by choice (which means no alcohol), and I know a lot of people that are going there.
Music in my life is also going pretty dang well. The Wind Symphony also had a couple concerts in the past couple weeks which were really fun to play in. I've had more 1st horn parts lately, so I've been making some rapid improvements in terms of my playing. I think I'm going to go get the recordings of our concerts sometime this week so I can go listen to how we did from another perspective and see if I can pick myself out in the music. Jeremiah and I are also nearing completion of the Zelda Medley we're transcribing for a horn quartet (hopefully to be performed early next semester). I'll hopefully put up the arrangement we've done once we finish it but we do know at least what songs are going to be in it. We have (in this order):
- Zelda's Awakening (Windwaker)
- Ocean Theme (Windwaker)
- Song of Storms (Ocarina of Time)
- Song of Healing (Majora's Mask)
- Midna's Theme (Twilight Princess)
- Ballad of the Goddess (Skyward Sword)
- Zelda's Theme (Ocarina of Time)
- Epilogue (Windwaker)
I'm really excited to get it finished because then we can start playing it as a group and it will be AWESOME. Plus, if we can manage to have one of the faculty give us permission to play it in a Music at 1 I'll be ecstatic. I mean, how often would I have the chance to play a Zelda medley that I've created in a public setting? Basically never.
My new computer is almost complete as well! The last 3 pieces of the machine are now on their way to me after I got my wonderful tax return in the mail. I'm really excited to finally build this massive beast of a computer. Hopefully I'll have it up and going by the end of the weekend next week, although that is SpringFest and project weekend so we shall see how that goes. I know I really need to get those projects done and SpringFest is all hands on deck for RAs, so I know I'll be super busy for the entire weekend... Hopefully I'll still have some time to myself so that I can stay sane, but who knows.
I'm also changing my major soon. I still love Computer Science, but I have a ton of trouble with coding. I have neither the attention span nor the will to just do coding. So I'm hopefully going to change my major to Systems Administration instead. That way I can pursue what I really love about Computer Science, which is the Information Technology side of it, and hopefully end up as a Sysadmin sometime in the future. I think its a good choice for me and for my GPA, plus that kind of work is super awesome.
So that's my life as of late in a nutshell!
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