MC Wiki

This is my announcement, on this blog, that I've made another blog, just for Minecraft stuff.  Specifically, I thought this up about two weeks ago, since it would be good for some mods that I'm planning to develop, as well as Minecraft stuff in general.  Though, both have been brought to a screeching halt by medical necessity.  Soon, though, I'll be over this, and then it's back to the virtual mines!  ... The future is weird.

Perpetual "Lent"

NOTE:  I actually had the idea for this post last week, but illness and side-effects of medication have kept me away from blogger until now.

So, during Lent, Catholics give up something that they enjoy for 40 days (though it's apparently 46 days with breaks on Sundays?) to emulate being in a Roman prison for a comparable period of time.  Yeah, I don't get it, either.  Anyway, I realized that, in a way, I'm always giving up something that I like.  It all comes down to time. Work sucks up 42+ hours per week, plus commuting time.  However, it grants me money, so that I can buy stuff that I want.  The tricky thing is finding time to do everything that I want.  Do I play Minecraft, or TF2?  Or Dungeons of Dredmore?  Or Dungeon Defenders?  Or Pokemon?  Do I catch up on new YouTube subscription videos, or watch old favorites?  Or do I listen to a podcast?  Should I read that next HP Lovecraft story, or a fairy tale?  Or should I be digging around for old planetary romance novels?
This might sound like an arbitrary observation, and maybe it is, but, to me, I really notice all of that stuff that I'm not doing.
I guess that that's it:  short and bittersweet this time.

On the Paradoxical Nature of a Perfectly Inflexible Body

... of Finite Non-Zero Mass and Non-Zero Temperature
[Note:  I had another name in mind, but, on checking my terms, it seems that "perfect crystal" and "ideal crystal" both refer to crystals without imperfections, rather than perfectly rigid ones.]
[Note:  I've had this idea in my head before, but I've never gotten to writing it down before.]
We consider the possibility of the existence of a real object with zero flexibility (or infinite rigidity).  However, rather than using math and formulae, we use logic and the overall concepts that have been known in physics for some time.
Suppose that it is possible to construct a perfectly inflexible crystal one lightyear in length and symmetrical about the plane perpendicular to this axis and bisecting its center point (such as a cylinder).  Note that, in this case, we are ignoring the thermodynamic difficulties in removing all heat from an object - we soon won't need them.  Supposing, then, that we set up monitoring stations on either end of the hypothetical object, and assuming that it will tend to pivot about its center of gravity, any movement applied to one end of the object would be immediately detectable (though in the opposite direction) at the other end.  This would entail the travel of information one lightyear in zero time, in violation of relativity.  Note that, even if we somehow hold it at the far end, the movement then becomes detectable half of one lightyear away in zero time, which poses the same problem.  (Technically, the movement is detectable in many other locations (i.e., all or nearly all points along the structure), but these ones are a bit more illustrative.)
Consider, though, that any non-zero distance poses a problem, since the speed of information travel would still be infinite.  Thus, even a perfectly inflexible crystal only three atoms in length would create a contradiction against relativity.
Note, though, that the argument outlined here applies only if there is energy in the system of the perfectly inflexible crystal, such as that applied by the movement of one end.  However, completely removing energy from the system is a difficult prospect, as it may entail, among other things, removing gravity from the universe.

On NaNoWriMo 2011

Well, NaNoWriMo is nearly over, and unless some sort of miracle happens, I'm not finishing my novel on time.  I'm still going to write with what moments I have, but 50,000 words it won't be.
Still, it's not the end of the world or anything.  The whole point of this is that it's essentially practice.  I've learned some things, though, that should help next year.  I think that the main one is that I should make a much more detailed outline before the month begins.
Before NaNoWriMo began, I set Steam to not start on boot-up, and I turned it off.  That meant no TF2 for me, among other things.  So, I've missed several weeks' worth of item drops, but I don't feel worse for wear about it.  In fact, I'm considering leaving it off through December, too, especially considering that I'll be using December and January to play the very last of LEGO Universe, which is sadly ending. It'll also help me to avoid the annual temptation to buy XMas-related stuff (i.e., winter keys for festive crates, or whatever).
Meanwhile, I just need an idea for next year's novel....

Looking for Something: Vocal Trance on AM/FM Radio

There was once a time when I listened to www.di.fm, digitally imported radio pretty regularly. I listened to the vocal trance channel, of course. Then, recently, I was thinking about how I listen to the radio on my way to work. The CD player skips too much on the rough roads, and I like to save my mp3 player's battery for the day ahead. I thought of both of these at one point, and I figured that maybe I could find some vocal trance on the radio for my driving time. But alack! I haven't found any yet.
This is where you come in. Do any of you know where I can tune in to vocal trance on AM or Ohio FM radio? Comment! Send me tweets! Interact with me in some way!

(Oh, and di.fm now has Android & iPhone apps for listening wherever, if you have one of those fancy doodads.)

Sudden Short Story 7

"There was a time when people worked on Christmas Eve. That's why it's an 'eve', you know: It's just the evening before, not the whole day."
"Well, strictly speaking, asking is just a formality. It's more to notify you than anything else."
"Nevertheless, it would be good if you could come in. With the year-end approaching, we'll need your help."
"You sound like you actually believe that," he said with a chuckle. "We both know that nobody has to be here. Heck, give everyone the day off and let an AI fill in. It's not like they're hard to find."
"You know that inconvenience isn't that point. Sure, I could give everyone Christmas Eve off. Then again, I could give them Arbor Day, or, I don't know, August 8th for all the difference that it would make. I could give everyone every day off and just have robots run the whole business! That would defeat the entire point, though."
There was a pause as they both thought on the subject. They both knew why they were there. They didn't want to talk about, nay, didn't want to think about the fact that they didn't actually need to do anything. After all, in a post-scarcity world, there was plenty of value to go around. The 'business' just let them feel useful.
"So you'll be here, then?"
"Bright and early, 'boss,' bright and early...."

An Open Letter to TV Networks, Regarding Halloween

Dear TV Networks,
I've noticed that you tend to run themed programming or marathons in October, leading up to Halloween. In particular, I notice that the themes are generally "horror" in the general or "zombies" in the specific. Sometimes it's a different specific, such as "slashers" or "Hitchcock", but not usually.
My point is this: For the season when, per tradition, the veil between worlds grows thin and those who died in the past year ready themselves for their journey to the afterlife, why not show films about ghosts and the afterlife? It would give us something different from the usual mix, and it's thematically appropriate.
Well, that's what I wanted to say. It's just my two cents.
-Wikimancer

P.S.: If you saw this post and would like to mention a good ghost- or afterlife-related film, then leave a comment below.

Sudden Short Story 4

Notes: I came up with this one a few weeks ago. Normally, I write these down right away, but I had already closed the computer down for the night, so I jotted down notes and went to sleep. Then I kept forgetting about it. Here's the story, finally.
---
Yog was in the arboretum mortis, reading some ancient literature, wheren his friend Randy found him.
"There you are!" he said, a little too loudly for Yog's liking. Randy, like most people, spoke and listened because he preferred it when having a direct conversation with someone in his own presence in meatspace. He was right there with Yog, after all, though Randy hadn't been left much choice. Quieting down after getting a stern look from a stranger across the room, he continued, "You've been offline for over an hour. I was starting to get worried."
"I decided to read these the old-fashioned way," Yog replied. "Back when these things were written, people didn't have any direct feeds. Frak, back then, the closest thing was a ticker tape, and they had to go to a special machine for it."
Randy took the opportunity to see what Yog was reading. He caught "and studied Whateley's gorilla-like lope as he crossed the bit of campus visible from the window.", and quickly responded - as it took him essentially no time to search the work in which that exact phrasing originated - "'The Dunwich Horror' by a certain Howard Phillips Lovecraft, early twentieth century writer of horror and something called 'weird fiction', which is apparently --"
"Do you want to know what I found that was interesting?" Yog interrupted.
"I might as well."
"'Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again. He knows where They have trod earth's fields, and where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread.'"
"Well, seeing as how you didn't read the whole text to me, I gather that you wanted to draw my attention to that section, but all that I see is a bit of a coincidence. You're named Yog-Sothoth, there's a Yog-Sothoth in that book, apparently, but, come on, that's bound to happen at some point. With all of the weird names that people have, and all of the weird words made up for fiction, somebody's going to be named something that's been used before."
"Yes, but I'm not so sure that this is a coincidence. You know that bit of a gap in my memories, right? Well, I don't recall why I named myself Yog-Sothoth. I can't help but think that this is more than a coincidence."
"So, does this mean more book-reading," asked Randy, trying to not show his disappointment.
"No. I remembered something else. Let's go to the Sol System."
Yog got online, put the book away, and went to the front door, where Randy was waiting. They took off, and landed at the nearest warp-gate terminal. Yog went first, requesting a warp-gate to Earth, and stepping through as Randy asked for the same.

When Randy got to Earth, he initiated a call to Yog. "Hey, you forgot to specify where on Earth. I'm near Kyoto. Where are you?"
"It doesn't matter. I just checked and Mars is closer."
"'Closer'? Where exactly are we going?"
"We're going to an asteroid in the belt," Yog replied. He forgot to dissonate his communications, so Randy heard him as he said "warp-gate to Martian night, midnight preferred".
Randy followed suit, and soon both were standing under the night skies of Mars, at a gate that was shortly before Martian midnight.
"The Solar asteroid belt's pretty boring. There's nothing interesting there except 1 Ceres, and we're nearly opposite it!" Randy complained.
"Yeah, but I've got these numbers in my head that don't match anything else there. They work as systemic coordinates, though, so I might as well have a look. If you're coming, then make sure that you bring enough fog." With that, Yog gathered up a large volume of nanofog, set the protocols for long-term control, made an ovoid around himself, set the outside to shimmer, and took off into the night sky.

[[]]

They moved through the belt, heading where only Yog knew. The destination appeared to be an ordinary asteroid. Randy caught up to Yog when he stopped, touching their fogs so that they could talk.
"So what's this, then?"
"I think that a part of me is here. I think that I've pieced it together: It is the gate, and I am the key."
"Well, then, how do you unlock it?"
Without answering, Yog moved toward the asteroid. He orbited it closely, looking for anything that he might have missed. After a few minutes, he stopped, and messaged Randy directly, informing him that he didn't see anything that would be out of the ordinary for an asteroid of that shape and size in that system. Randy moved up alongside Yog, and said unto him, "Well, we could start cutting, though it would take a while with this little fog. We could surely crack it with more material, but I doubt that you want that, if it really does contain a piece of you. Are you sure that this is the right rock?"
"Yeah," Yog sighed, "I thought so," and rested his hand upon it. In a moment, his hand sank, unexpectedly, into the surface. "Oh, maybe that's how it's supposed to work," Yog commented, as he sank further and further into the asteroid. Randy put his hand on the surface, but nothing happened.
"It must be somehow keyed to you, Yog," he said, and used his fog to look at and feel the area around Yog. "I'm not sensing any action, though." Too quickly, though, Yog was gone.
With nothing else to do, Randy waited. It was a bit unnerving, that. There was nothing to occupy his time, and even the nearest contact point was subject to luminal lag, so there wasn't much point to anything other than passive reception. Since he was waiting for Yog, Randy figured that he might as well look into some old media, but then, Yog emerged from the asteroid.
"Well there you are," Randy said, as he followed Yog back to Mars. "So? What happened?"
"I'm not at liberty to say, nor can I, really," said Yog, "Whatever is in there, there's a reason that I made myself forget it. This time, though, I at least got myself to remember why this rock is here, so that I don't repeat this incident."
"Well, it's not like you had much choice," Randy retorted, "since I was here, too. It's not like you could make me forget."
"Oddly enough, I feel like I could...."

---
Notes:
"wheren" - a blend of "where" and "when", developed to express both and the interconnected nature of space and time
Note (2010/December/29): I apparently started this back on July 28th, which was itself apparently after I first had the idea, per my note above.

Crazy Idea: The Seven Skies

I had a random idea for what the seven skies could be in terms of space travel:
The first sky is Earth orbit.
The second sky encompasses lunar orbit and the space between.
The third sky extends to the Solar system.
The fourth sky includes interstellar space, and is the path to the fifth sky.
The fifth sky includes other star systems.
The sixth sky includes intergalactic space, and is the path to the seventh sky.
The seventh sky includes other galaxies.

I suppose that this could be useful in SF, particularly regarding a space opera.

Sudden Short Story 5

"...All of these precautions... How did anyone ever assemble an electronic computer without breaking something?"
"Well, back then, electronic computers were consumer appliances, just like optical computers are now. Most people bought them pre-assembled off the shelf and never even cracked the case. They worked well enough for however long, and they were replaced regularly.
"It's funny, actually. You see, electronic computers had gotten to the point where they were all laptops, at least off the shelf. The only large form-factor ones were those assembled by hardcore gamers, and they ended up being the first consumer base for optical computers. Nobody else could justify the large form-factor, and most computers for personal use didn't need the speed boost at that point."
"So we have gamers to thank for modern computing, eh? How about that. So, do you like all forms of alternate computing, or just this one?"
"I think that I just like old things. You know, I'm thinking of building a mechanical computer after this. It should be even more interesting: Apparently, they never achieved commercial production before electronic computers took over.
"I dare say that it must have been a terribly interesting time, back then. Even electronic computers could fill entire rooms, and had to be serviced by large staffs...."

On Squirrel memories

I had an idea just now. I remember, in the past, when I was younger, hearing stuff about how squirrels bury lots of acorns, etc., but only dig up a few, and presumably forget where many of them are buried. I've devised an experiment.
Let's say that we have a population of squirrels that typically digs up 30% of its buried nuts. The experiment would be to dig up half of a given squirrel's buried nuts when it's not looking (do squirrels hibernate?).
We fully expect the squirrel to dig up some spots where it originally buried nuts, and find them missing.
If the squirrel successfully digs up only 30% of the remaining nuts, then it probably only remembered 30% of the original.
If the squirrel successfully digs up 60% of the remaining nuts (or twice whatever its original percent was), then it probably remembered all locations, but only needed a certain number of buried nuts.

Experiments about this have probably already happened, but I just happened to think of it, and I haven't been blogging enough!

If Fry Really Awoke in the Year 3000

I had a passing thought about what would happen if someone like me woke up from cryogenic stasis far in the future. This took a funny route, and became what would happen if Fry (from Futurama, for those who don't know) really woke up in the year 3000. It entered my head as a comic, but I can't draw for crap, so here's the dialog, with a few notes:
...
Actually, I forgot how it started. It somehow got to this point. (Somehow, I had included the notion that extensive genetic intermingling led to that middling skin color for everyone.):
Thawed Guy: So that means...
Others: That's right. You're now the whitest man on Earth.
Thawed Guy: NOOOOOOOOO-- [Khan-style] Wait, does that mean that my lifestyle is, on average, better than everyone else's?
Others: Nope.
Thawed Guy: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! [Khan-style] Well, I guess that I'd better go look for work.
Others: Actually, we live in a post-scarcity state.
Thawed Guy: *blinks*
Others: Nobody has to work. Ever.
Thawed Guy: Yes!
...
This was much better when it was abstract, and in my head.

Daylight Wasting Time

I was recently thinking about how, a long time ago, I deduced that Daylight Saving Time is actually quite wasteful. So, I tried to go back and re-deduce my previous logic.
First of all, DST obviously doesn't change, in either direction, the amount of daylight that there is. The clouds don't part, the Earth's spin doesn't change, and Earth's sun doesn't brighten or dim based on how we've set our clocks.
Moreover, though, DST makes us have to deal with nighttime more. Think of it this way. Imagine that, on a certain day, sunrise would be at 0600. This is just to make the math simple. Let's say that you would wake up at 0600. In that case, you would get up at sunrise. But wait! What if it's DST? Well, we set our clocks 1 hour ahead. Now, sunrise is at 0700. If you're anybody besides a farmer (or hunter-gatherer), though, then your schedule isn't based on sunrise; it's based on the clock. So, if you're waking up at 0600, then you're waking up 1 hour before sunrise. This can be applied to any time, of course. If you'd get up at 0615 - 15 minutes after sunrise - then you'll get up at 0615 - 45 minutes before sunrise.
I noticed this back when I was going to school, since it increased the frequency and extent to which we would have to travel to school in the dark. Of course, this also affects teachers, bus drivers, and parents who have to get their kids ready for school. This also tends to affect anyone who works an 8-5 job, which is probably at least half of all workers.
I mentioned farmers, so I've probably gotten someone thinking "but DST was made for farmers!" Well, that doesn't really make sense. Farmers don't care what time the clocks say. Sunrise could happen at gobbledygook mcsquigglepants and it wouldn't matter.

Survival Mode Tweak

I've come up with a tweak to what I'll call "Survival Mode" in this post. Survival Mode, for our purposes, is a mode in a video game (usually a first person shooter) where each team (usually 2, possibly more) has a certain number of lives, and the first team to run out of lives loses. (Problems arise with 3 or more teams. Does the game end when 1 team is out? (presumably, whoever has the most lives left wins) Or do you keep going until there's one team left with lives? (creating a player elimination - or in this case, team eliminatiion - mechanic))
But what if the teams have different numbers of players? For instance, what happens in a 5v4 game? Well, usually, each team gets the same number of lives. In some games, though, the larger team might have an advantage, as 5 people are better at killing 4 people than 4 people are at killing 5 people, all things being equal. Here, I propose a tweak to this sort of gameplay.
Instead of counting deaths, count spawns. In this way, the team with 5 players uses up 5 spawns right away, while that with 4 players only uses up 4 spawns. Of course, this shortens the game unless the base level of "lives" is changed, but that's up to each game, anyway.

... No Evil Shall Escape My Might ...

So, yesterday, I was thinking of something. This probably came about due to looking at Amazing Freaking Grace on TV Tropes. I'm pretty sure that whatever I was thinking used the "common meter".
Basically, I was thinking of a song or poem in English whose first two lines end in the /ait/ sound, i.e., "-ite"/"-ight". I was thinking that it would be amusing if the third line, as I continued reciting it, went "No evil shall escape my might", which does not belong there, of course, but would continue the rhyme and meter.
I can't remember what the first two lines that I was trying to use were, though. If you can think of it, then leave a comment or send me an e-mail.

Crazy Idea: Double-iPad

I had an idea on the day that the iPad was announced (yesterday, I think). Imagine 2 iPads, next to each other, touching, longer side to longer side, facing the same way. Now, imagine that they are connected by a hinge, and that they could close together all the way, such that the screens face each other, similar to how a laptop closes screen-to-keyboard. Finally, imagine that these two devices are the same device, rather than two separate devices tacked together. I think that this device - which I will tentatively call the iPad DS - would be good. It's like a cross among an iPad, a conventional laptop (or perhaps a tablet PC - I don't know much about them), and a Nintendo DS.
This layout has some advantages over the other devices:
-The maximum potential screen area is double that of an iPad.
-With the right settings, one vertical, landscape screen could act like a normal laptop screen, and the other screen could function as a keyboard. Thus, it could effectively be a laptop with a touch-screen, but it adds versatility, since it doesn't have to be.
-The ability to close it means that the screens are better-protected than that of the iPad.
-It would potentially be very nice for reading newspapers or books. Think of holding a laptop book-wise, with the keyboard replaced by another screen.
I estimate the cost for the basic version of such a device at $1000 if it's made by Apple. The cost of $500 per iPad is a good guideline, and there is added complexity, but at the same time, the hardest part of development is already finished.
I have no plans to buy an iPad, for many reasons. I don't have a job yet, I already have a computer that's new as of 3 months ago, and I like using my computer on my desk (keyboard down and monitor up). However, if a double-iPad were released, then I would seriously consider buying it once I have consistent work.

NaNoWriMo 2009: maybe

OK, so, a while back, I got convinced that it might be a good idea to use NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) to finally get a full draft of that one novel done. This is the novel containing the story that I was trying to write by putting up here. Since I only have 1 or two not-full-chapters up anyway, I figure that I can just start over with what's going to end up being a rough, yet full, draft of the novel. It's going to be rough because that's how NaNoWriMo works. It's 30 days (specifically: November) of trying to get a 50,000-word novel written. That's about 1,666 words per day, so there's no time for editing and fine-tuning. Assuming that I even finish, I have no plans as of yet to publish the NaNoWriMo version of it, freely or otherwise. I'm just going to write, and fine-tune it later, like next year or something.
Actually, this is assuming that I participate at all. I saw some good ideas floating around, including making an outline of a 30-chapter novel, and dedicating each day to a chapter of roughly the right length. However, due to my being sick for most of last week, and my computer's dying Thursday and not getting replaced until Sunday (btw: Windows 7 is pretty good so far), I'm way behind on stuff, and haven't had a chance to make such an outline yet. I'm still catching up on things, and November is only 2 days away. I've made a NaNoWriMo account, so that's ready if I am.
The big thing for me is that I don't want to make a half-assed attempt at this and only get part way through, since the next best opportunity is next year's NaNoWriMo, and I'm not supposed to start with a partially-written novel.
Before I forget: Fair warning to anyone who actually reads this: The story segments that are up here may or may not end up being canon or other weapons (get it?), and will almost certainly be re-written, since I'm not planning to use those words, since NaNoWriMo is supposed to start from a blank slate. I know, I'm betraying my loyal fan, right? Frak, I don't think that anyone even reads this blog.
Well, that's it. To summarize: I might do NaNoWriMo 2009, and if I do, I plan to do the same story that I've been failing to do for however long.

Passing Thoughts on Einstein's Box

So, I heard recently of Einstein's Box, where Einstein tried to give an account of quantum physics fail with a box whose mass could be measured, and a shutter to let out light, thus energy, thus mass... and the flaw turned out to be that the uncertainty could be bestowed on the needle on the scale, or on the position of the box atop the spring.

Let's try this: The box is floating in space. Two identical streams of bullets arc past it, timed so that they're always synchronized (i.e., each bullet has an "opposite" in the other stream). Since the arcs eventually intersect, let's say that the arc enters "above" the exit of the opposite stream, for a specific orientation, such that the pair of arcs can still be exactly opposite without having to worry about collisions. The details of the angles aren't entirely relevant once we know that this can be done. To simplify things further, let's make the box spherical.
The reason for the identical opposite streams is so that the box, no matter its mass, is always identically pulled toward each stream, and so remains stationary. Conveniently, the identical, equal, and opposite motion of the streams also means that they affect each other identically.
So, now, if the box loses mass, this can be observed by the un-tightening of the arcs of the streams, while the box's own position does not change. I'm not sure if this is complete, but it might be a step in the right direction. I also thought that it would be worthwhile to post this, so that others can examine this idea.

The Internet Exists Only within the First One

OK, I just had this idea, and figured that I should write it down.
Imagine that, as we go forward in time, the internet gets bigger and deeper and more complex and so on. Imagine that we get into a cyberpunk-style scenario where we actually dive into the internet, and perhaps cyberspace is a wholly different experience, rather than perfectly emulating real life. Now, imagine the sort of plot point where things happen such that we're all in the internet, unable to get out, and, eventually, the people of Earth don't even realize that we're inside of an internet. Instead, that's our world.
Now, imagine that that's what has already happened. The crazy idea is this: Our world is the simulation within the first incarnatiion of something cyberspace-like. It has its own laws and everything, so whatever we do - including making the internet - works within the simulation. Frak, for all that we know, it's happened more than once before. This is also essentially a version of the brain-in-a-jar scenario of philosophy and, as such, can neither be proven true nor be proven false. Of course, like with those situations, it really doesn't matter whether it's true, since we're not in a position to do anything about it, anyway, since we're restricted to behaving within the confines of the simulation.
That's my crazy idea.