Dream Journal - 2/14/2013 to 2/23/2013

I often have dreams. I often remember my dreams. So I decided to record my dreams, otherwise I'll forget them. I've actually been more diligent at writing in my dream journal than my normal journal.



2/14/2013
1. A bunch of Pokemon gathered together in a rectangular formation. They used a water attack to propel them forward on a wave. A few Pokemon in the formation were left behind though as they were fire types, who then rolled around in pain from the water while creating a wave of fire.

2. Can't quite remember this one. Something about a farm village-like place, with chickens, cat people, there was a war or something. There was a ward that was then split up when one of the lands gained victory in the war.

2/16/2013
Dreamed that criminals, for their crimes, were turned into trees. At the end of the dream, someone said "We do not at this time know how to turn criminals into trees."

2/19/2013
Had a dream that could easily be a horror movie. That doesn't happen very often.
A group went to the moon on a spherical space shuttle. There was a tent on the moon that for some reason didn't leak air. There were creatures in the shadows, working in swarms. These dark creatures would violently kill their prey, rip off their skulls, and wear them on their own heads. By taking their preys' skulls and putting them on their own heads they then quickly evolved into them.
The surviving crew then threw the spaceship onto a track and rolled it away, very much like that level in Super Mario Galaxy where Mario rolls a ball around. Their ship goes back to earth, burning in the atmosphere to kill any creatures that may have clung aboard. They thought they made it back safely, but soon the creatures were popping up around cities, mostly in their evolved human-like form. After killing more and taking more skulls, they even started talking. By the end, the super soldier serum (The one that created Captain America) was perfected, which gave the rest of the human population a fighting chance.

2/20/2013
Me, my family, and Seth L. went home from church. We stopped by sister Beck's home and talked. As we were about to leave I messed with their faucet, and she got upset that I was about to leave without putting the heat setting back where it was. Mom and the family left us, and I put the faucet's temperature setting back to where it was. Since the family left Seth and I, we walked home. Seth became a dog and started running, while I just slid along the ice-covered sidewalk. It was almost completely dark (Save for an occasional car's headlights) and we were in the west end of my neighborhood back in Oxnard. Eventually Seth ran ahead of me and I got on my bike (Which came from nowhere) and I put a strobe light on my belt so others would see me in the dark. I later made it home, my home in Oxnard, and found Seth banging on the door. He told me "The kids are awake but no one is opening the door." Because of my strobe light mom later came, in her night gown, to let us in.

2/22/2013
1. There was a board with different colored areas, and different colored papers that laid on it. The papers were then folded. The papers represented different government agencies or political parties, the board represented different areas or nations or political parties. Since the papers folded the different government agencies or political parties into different areas or nations or political parties, they came to me to help figure and sort things out, because for some reason I was the expert.

2. I was Robin, flying with Batman in the Batwing. We spotted some prison escapees on a rusted metal platform with cranes and crates by a dock, running towards an entrance to a Joker hideout. I jumped down and started fighting them all. They were highly acrobatic, and kept going no matter how much a beat them up. They also had a skateboard where instead of the board being horizontal with the ground, was vertical. One girl said "Just chill, dude!" and I said "We just found you trying to get into a Joker hideout, and you want us to chill?" Eventually they ran away. One guy went underwater to enter the hideout, with a jet ski following him, and I threw a bomb or something underwater at him. The girl was left behind and she was calming down. I said "Fine, you want me to chill out? I'm chill."

2/23/2013
I definitely had some dreams, but I can't recall them enough to bother mentioning.

Which is Better to Work for? A Big or Small Company?

The short answer: A small company.

The longer, more detailed answer: When I finally left college and looked to get a real job, I got my first job at DISH. You know, the satellite TV company. And not just any DISH office, it was their headquarters, so there were a lot of people there. My team alone was something like thirty people.

So, why did I not like working there? Well, I'll tell you. Just keep in mind that this is one man's experience, and I certainly don't speak for DISH.

1. You need permission to do anything. Want to access the Internet? Get permission. Want to have admin access on your own computer? Get permission. Want to download software that you need in order to even do your job? Get permission. And I'm not talking, "Hey boss man, can I do this?" No, I'm talking a formal request form that you have to wait and hear back from the higher ups. It took me about a month just to be "set up."

2. Cubicles. I didn't know it at the time, but I don't like cubicles. You're closed off from the rest of your team; it's just you and your computer.

3. The more people there are, the less you're going to remember/know people. I'm not a very social person, but I would like to at least remember the names of the people I work with (It's especially hard when everyone you work with has an accent you can barely understand).

4. I had to wear business casual clothes. Now this was more because I was at HQ than it being a large company, but still, I don't like having to wear business...anything.

5. In the three months I was there, I hardly did anything. Now this might not be the standard, but since I was on a contract-to-hire, they had to train me; test me out. I read training materials, manuals, whatever random things I could get my hands on, and did some IT security quizzes. I read stuff until I was bored out of my mind. I would ask now and again if there was anything, anything that they wanted me to do. Once in a while they gave me some menial things to do, but usually they had nothing. Many times I found myself spinning around in my chair. Whenever people asked me what I did at my job, I could only say "I dunno."

After my three months I was told they wouldn't be hiring me. I was a bit disappointed; I mean, hey, it was my first real job, and I didn't want to look for another one. But not long afterwards I was hired by The Library Corporation (Well, CARL, more specifically: a company previously bought by The Learning Company) on a six month contract-to-hire.

1. From day one I had a computer, chair, phone, and full admin privileges and Internet access. I was told what I needed in order to do my work and was set up in one day.

2. No cubicles (For development teams, anyways). My entire team can be seen at once, and all I have to do is speak if I want to talk to any of them.

3. Only about thirty people work in the entire office. I know about two thirds of their names (The other third I rarely have contact with), and while I still know very little about their personal lives, I've at least been able to learn that they're good people to work with.

4. I can wear whatever I want (Within reason, of course)! For someone who regards comfort far above style, this is a definite plus.

5. Within the first three days, I accomplished more than the three months I spent at DISH. They didn't give me pointless training courses that I'd later forget, they just handed me my assignments and I went to work. At TLC we follow a version of the kanban process management, a type of agile programming (I don't even know if DISH had a process management. Never knew of it, at least). In short, I get more work done, more faster (I know that's not proper grammar).

(As of writing this, I am still on my contract, but I'm 92% sure they'll be hiring me)

Again, this has only been MY experience, but if you're asking my opinion, then I'll tell you that going to work for a smaller company is better, at least for someone just starting their career.

Freaky Coincidence

There's your everyday kind of coincidence that leaves you saying, "Huh. That's funny." Then there's freaky coincidences that leaves you saying "What the? What sort of madness is this?" There have been a few in my life, and here are three of them.


1. Many years ago, back when video games was a new thing to me, we got a game called Smartball. In the game (At least the English version) the main character is a prince named Jerry, who's wife and princess is named Wendy; which are the same names of my parents! Now, sure, a video game character having the same name as you isn't a freaky coincidence, but a husband and wife in a game having BOTH the same names as your parents, that's freaky.

2. This one needs background. I've written a sci-fi novel involving robots, many of the characters being based on Lego creations I've made. This story means a lot to me, and one day I may publish it, but at this time it's on the far back burner.
Anyways, one of the characters in the story is named Bitesaw: A robot that has excellent mobility in water.
The other half of this freaky coincidence comes from a show called Jackie Chan Adventures. In it there's a character named Bai Tza, which is oddly pronounced very similar to Bitesaw! Not only that, but Bai Tza is also a water-themed character.

3. This is another freaky coincidence involving my novel. Keep in mind that I wrote this novel several years before these other characters came by. Another character in it is named Jetjammer, a small robot that can fly. It doesn't have arms, but basically just a head with feet and two thin wings in the back.
Now, have your heard of the TV program Jetix? Sure, both having the word jet in their name isn't much of a coincidence, BUT LOOK AT THAT CHARACTER!!! It looks crazily, freakishly similar Jetjammer! Well, I guess you'll have to take my word for it given that I don't have a drawing of Jetjammer. But believe me, they're similar!

Another App!

Believe it or not, this app is even simpler than Watch Paint Dry. A simple tool I made for myself to test the touch screen. Figured I might as well put it out there.


 


UPDATE: Over  100 downloads in just a few days? Wow!
UPDATE 2: It's over 9000!!!

A City More Relaxing Than Nature?

I find it strange, but it's true. Yesterday I went on a YSA ward camp out to a member's property back in the mountains by Boulder. I drove past trees, mountain sides, and more trees. To me, it was "Eh, it's nature." When I got up there, one of the girls said "I was distracted while driving because I wanted to keep slowing down and look at the wonderful scenery." I, however, had no trouble keeping my eyes on the road.

I didn't plan on staying the night, and after finding out that trying to sleep in a car with seats shorter than the length of your body isn't comfortable, I drove home around 1 AM. As I made my way down the mountain, I would occasionally catch glimpses of the city below, and that's when I slowed down to look at the scenery. Seeing the thousands of speckled, twinkling lights down there was wonderful, as well as calming and peaceful. Even after I got off the mountain and into the city itself, I was still awe-struck and felt incredibly relaxed. No one was around, and there were rarely any other cars to worry about. No one was around, but all the buildings were lit amongst the cloud of darkness.

I find it strange how most people (Especially my dad) find scenes of unaltered nature to be wonderful. My dad's dream home is to live in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. I, on the other hand, love to be in the heart of the city.

I have in my mind an image of great, peaceful scenery. Sitting in a large window sill, looking out a large, clear window and beholding the sparkling city at night, while possibly listening to Jazz. Perhaps part of it stems from Microsoft Bob, where I could make rooms like the one below.

Or perhaps faint memories of, when a young kid, sitting in the car and looking out at the stars and city going by.

I dunno, it seems strange. All I know is that I haven't been more relaxed in a long time than when I drove home last night around 2 AM.

Mega Man Series Rated by Coolness

I had thought about doing a video on this, but then I figured...this is less work, and no one will see it anyways. So, here we go.

I love Mega Man. There are many series, however, and I love some of them a lot more than others. How fun the games are are a major factor, but another factor, which I'm calling the "coolness" factor, plays another big role in my opinion of the games. As such this is extremely opinionated.
As I said there are many series, but for this I'm only going to be going over the "robotics" continuity, or main series. So with that, let's get right into it.

Mega Man

Here we are, the first series, the one that started it all. Now I haven't actually played these a whole lot, as I started out with Mega Man X. Nonetheless I know enough.

Character Design: Robots are cool. Fighting robots are even cooler. The original Mega Man, however, isn't all that cool. His design, as well as the design of the rest of the world, is rather "childish" in nature, like it belongs in a 90's Saturday morning cartoon. Oh wait, it was.
Mega Man's design is quite simple and rounded, and looks like he's ten years old. The enemies as well look like toys, some even being based off of toys like Topman and Springman. Oh yeah, all the bosses having man in their name gets annoying. Details also are quite lacking, as with Cutman being basically two colors and a basic body. Still, Mega Man is a robot with a gun, so he gets some points.

Story: Wily wants to rule the world and Mega Man goes off to stop him. There's a lot more to it, but that's the gist of it. Someone wanting to rule the world is silly and cliche, but at least Wily's motivation is more believable. Wily worked with Dr. Light, but Wily felt he deserved more recognition. His jealousy turning into anger, and anger slowly driving him to madness.

Overall: 3.5/10




Mega Man X

Now we're getting better. Mega Man X is what I grew up playing, and compared to Mega Man, X is like the grown up version.

Character Design: X looks older, and his design is edgier. No, literally, he has more edges than Mega Man's "baby smooth" body. Enemies as well had more interesting designs, "edgier", and a lot more detail. Also in this series, X can don additional armor, with each game giving him different abilities and appearances.
In addition to X, there's also the character Zero (Who is playable from X3 and onward). Zero too has a gun, but he also has the Z-Saber. While the efficiency of swords vs. guns are debatable, laser swords trump guns in coolness. Zero most definitely gives Mega Man X a bonus in coolness.

Story: X was created by Dr. Light, who is now long dead, and discovered in an abandoned facility. X has complete free will, meaning he can disobey the three laws of robotics if he so chooses. X's body is "replicated" and used to design many, many more robots, who become known as reploids. Some reploids go insane and harm humans, which then become labeled as mavericks. A reploid called Sigma gets infected with a virus, which then mutates and becomes known as the Sigma Virus. Sigma and the Mavericks don't want to rule the world, but instead want to destroy the inferior humans, and any who get in their way.
This is now a fight about humans vs reploids, with many humans taking casualties (Especially in X4). The story gets more involved (If you actually dig into it), more interesting, and more serious.

Overall: 7/10

Mega Man Zero

You remember me mentioning about Zero in Mega Man X? Well now he gets his own game. And this, my friends, is my favorite series of all.

Character Design: Zero is just plain cooler than X. His sword as mentioned previously makes him cooler, but his body's design is cooler as well. Zero definitely looks different in this series than in the X series, and while I thought it looked weird at first, it has since grew on me. The fact that Zero has long blonde hair may be strange to some, but I think this is an additional bonus of coolness.

Story: It's about 100 years after the X series. X is dead (Well...kinda) and Zero has been in stasis in an abandoned and badly damaged facility. In the years past peace has finally been established, with X having built a city where humans and reploids live peacefully together. At least, until the lack of energy becomes a problem, and a Copy X is created which goes crazy and starts killing off random reploids to preserve energy. Zero is found by Ciel who restores and awakens Zero. Zero fights alongside Ciel and their small band of resistance who fight to stay alive.

Gameplay: I haven't mentioned gameplay before, but there's a fundamental difference about Zero and X. X only had his gun, which means you usually shot at enemies and kept your distance. Zero had a gun as well, but I rarely used it, always preferring the Z-Saber instead. With this, you didn't keep your distance, but instead came right up to the enemy and literally sliced them in half. Most enemies could be destroyed in one or two hits with the Z-Saber, and your score at the end partly depended on your speed. This means I didn't causally come up to an enemy and attack it, it means I dashed right through them. Sword fighting is cool, but running at mad speeds and slicing away your enemies like nothing is even cooler.

Overall: 10/10

Mega Man ZX

This is...a bit different.

Story: This is where I have a problem with ZX series. X and Zero were cool, but they're long dead now. So who replaces them? Human children. Human.... Children.... This is a major step back for me, but it doesn't stop there. For some unexplainable reason, there are now things called Biometals: Floating, talking metal things that "megamerge" with the human children to give them the powers of different reploids. There's the biometal model X and the biometal model Z, so...I guess Zero and X have now been reduced to floating, talking chunks of metal. Yay.
The gameplay and design of the game is very similar to Mega Man Zero, but because of the before mentioned elements, the game feels more like another Saturday morning kids' cartoon.

Character Design: As I mentioned, the design is very similar to the Zero series. The design for "Zero" actually looks even cooler in some regards, like a more-armored Zero.

Overall: 7/10

Flu Panic!

We did it! It's been more than a year, but we've finally published our game, Flu Panic! Please give it a try!