Something I’ve been working on in Minecraft for awhile.

I was recently going through some of my old bookmarked websites when I came across one I had labeled “Hobbit Home.” I had completely forgotten what it was, so I followed it to this website, http://www.simondale.net/house/index.htm. In short, it’s about this family in Wales that built a home using mostly materials they gained from the surrounding environment, making it resemble a home a hobbit would live in. I read through what they had to say and I remembered how cool the idea of building a home like that would be. Then I saw that they had begun work on a newer home with propositions to create a small community. This thought got me pretty excited. At the end of their post they stated there was more info to be had about such living at Lammas Low Impact Living website, http://lammas.org.uk/index.htm.

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Today Minecraft Beta 1.8, the Adventure Update, has finally been released after much angst and gnashing of teeth in awaiting such a momentous event! The update changes a few key components to gameplay and the overall categorization of the game. Before now, Minecraft consisted purely of surviving the night by manipulating the environment around you. Once their was a pretty solid fortress built (which usually only takes a few game days) there was no real point left to the game. Now, with added NPC villages and exciting dungeons, plus brand new reconstructed biomes preaching beautiful environments, there is a lot more to go explore and discover! New fighting tactics have been added to give battles a little more flair and with the addition of the new Enderman mob, fighting is scary again. Overall, this new update ads some much needed adventure to the once stale Minecraft. You can get the Beta here!

I stumbled across this video on my travels through the internet. I thoroughly enjoy TED Talks and I believe everybody can learn from them. This one in particular, about creativity amongst children, really struck me deep. I’ve heard that education reform is necessary, but not quite the way Sir Robinson states it here. Plus, Robinson’s humor makes for a good laugh while we learn!

I’ve been excited about a new space movie for awhile now, and Apollo 18 really seemed to fit the bill. Essentially, from what was gleaned from the previews, the USA set up a secret Apollo mission to the moon for a final moon visit (Apollo 17 was the last official moon visit). During the visit to the moon, some spooky things started to occur and 18 learns that cosmonauts had been to the moon. Then more spookiness occurs and that’s the end of the trailer.

The plot line ended up being different than I had expected, and indeed made more sense. I won’t delve into the details, because I hate spoiling movies for others, you’ll just have to go see it. The movie was shot in a very Blair Witch Project attitude, with non-movie cameras, to promote the idea that this was captured footage, which I certainly enjoyed. The acting was fair, but realistic, appropriate for the film. Apollo 18 definitely had it’s jumping moments and I must say, the scenes where the astronauts delve into the dark depths of the moon craters made for great suspense. The gore was pretty much non-existant, which made this a great suspense horror as opposed to a gory horror. 

The film wasn’t particularly wowing in any way, but seeing a film about NASA in a horror sense was refreshing. After about 20 min, I kinda had the plot line pegged, so there wasn’t really a big twist, but this film does provide fun speculation about why we haven’t been back to the moon since the seventies. It’s also fun that this movie arrived just after the shuttle program was retired. Over all, I’d give the film 3.5 out of 5 stars. 

I ride the bus to and from the parking lot at work. It’s a short trip, maybe a block or two, but the company is nice enough to not make us walk. While on the bus tonight, an elderly woman got on the bus and stood next to me. Being the gentleman that I am, I stood up and offered her my seat. She took it, but with a lot of huff and gruff, mumbling sarcastic statements about the situation all the while. Come to think of it, I don’t believe she ever thanked me. I’m not saying I do these things for the prestige, I was just being nice, but if you’re going to be unsavory about it, I’m going to be kinda insulted. I brushed it off and moved on with my life, but not without first contemplating the thought of chivalry.

I had noticed similar traits throughout other girls during my day. While letting them exit the tram first, allowing the lady through the door, all that good stuff, there was hesitation, some quizzical looks, even a scoff from one girl. I’ve heard before that chivalry is dead, but I’ve always ignored that, believing strongly in the ideals of knights long past. What I don’t understand is this semi-negative response to chivalry from women. Shouldn’t these girls be ecstatic that a guy is being so kind? I mean, a lot of guys I know are, shall we say, not so nice. The point I’m trying to make is that it takes two to tango. If a women constantly denies and scoffs at a chivalrous man, one can kind of expect that attitude to die off, right?

I’m all for equal rights amongst the sexes, but I still feel there is a certain duty for men to treat women right. So women, just accept the fact that some men still believe in chivalry and hold onto those ones, they’re the keepers. 

Just as a further note, this is a small percentage of women. I know most are perfectly understanding of and expect chivalry from their man, which is good.

Rammed earth is a form of construction where walls are constructed by ramming an earthen mixture (usually a mix of dirt, concrete, and sand) within forms. These structures are seen in the more western regions of the USA, such as Arizona, California, and Texas, but are fairly uncommon, performed mostly by architects and the most dedicated of Do-It-Yourselfers. From what research I have done on the subject, this process is not a new method of home construction.

Rammed earth buildings have been around since the beginning. According to the USC School of Architecture in LA, the innards of pyramids are rammed earth, European castles have used rammed earth walls with stone facings, even the Great Wall of China is rammed earth. These buildings are still around today, showing that this technique is quite an effective way of leaving one’s mark.

Within the last couple of years, this process of construction has experienced a revival. Rammed earth homes, due to the materials used, are excellent insulators (kinda like a cave) in the sense that during the summer, the walls keep heat out while in the winter months the walls radiate heat saved up from the sun throughout the day. This allows for lower heating/cooling costs. Once the walls have been cured, they are water, fire, and termite resistant. With this in mind, in addition to the massive weight of these structures, allow for weather resistance that lower repair costs of the structure (earthquakes are a different story and may potentially affect these structures differently than a standard lumber built house, although I am unsure of the details). If one were to add solar panels to their structure, rammed earth would be a very green alternative to current forms of construction.

Although labor costs are more for rammed earth than would be for lumber construction, the end result is longer lasting and in all honesty quite beautiful. The closeness with nature that is allotted for with rammed earth is something not experienced living in modern structures. For instance, the unique sediment lines throughout the wall created while constructing are very natural, not unlike wood texture. The Going Green attitude associated with a rammed earth home also seems to really attach one to nature. I do hope that this fine from of construction will become more popular in the near future.

For more info on rammed earth, follow the links provided on this site.

A game I’ve become kinda engrossed with recently is Red Eclipse. It’s a FPS, like Halo or Call of Duty, based off of the Cube 2 engine, and can be downloaded on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Eclipse changes the rules up a little bit though. Unlike Halo, where certain weapons are obviously more powerful than others (like the sword or shotgun), Eclipse keeps perfectly balanced weapons. In addition to that, Eclipse also has eliminated the idea of power-ups, like camo or overshield. Another rule breaking aspect of the game is regenerative health. Very few games promote self regenerating health and instead require a player to find a health kit. Also, one is not supplied with a map or a compass, to locate enemies, and instead requires one to count only on their field of sight, a change I personally enjoy. A final change I’ve found interesting was the different movement options players have, including wall running, super (and double) jumping, crouching, and many others. I’ve never seen wall running in another FPS before. With these changes, Eclipse brings a different game to the table boasting more understanding of agility rather than general brute killing. 

From what I have read about the game development, (and because the game is still in beta, there is quite a lot of user info thrown in there too), the game designers wanted to keep the game in a raw, combat aspect only, where true talent and skill with your weapon and understanding of agility will win you the game as opposed to knowing where all the power-ups are. Honestly, I find this challenge to be more rewarding. 

Red Eclipse also promotes many different game types, including capture-the-flag, defend-the-flag, instagib (where one only has 1 health, so all hit’s are pretty much 1 hit KO), and time-trial modes. There are quite a few maps to choose from, offering hundreds of different game experiences, which is a definite bonus to keep the game from getting stale. As an added bonus, Eclipse also comes with an editing mode, where you can build your own maps, a feature I have been taking advantage of. 

Currently, there are very few players online at any one time (the most I have ever seen was 10), which leaves one to fight the bots, challenging at first, but rather unintelligent after a few games. The single player campaign is also weak at best. But other than that, I find Red Eclipse to be a well executed game. The game is entirely free and their wiki is very helpful in understanding game play. If you’d like to join up in this exciting new game, just follow this link to Red Eclipse’s main website. Do give it a chance as well, initially it can be kind of intimidating, but become very fun after a few games of practice.

P.S. My game name is Derc Salvo, so look for me if you’re playing.

I’m new to this. I think that best describes my blogging experience. I spend a good amount of my time browsing the net using that oh so addicting Stumble Upon button. When I discover amazing facts and stories all I want to do is share them, yet Facebook doesn’t really supply me with the space I need to really develop and share the way I’d like to, so tumblr is my solution. As this is my first post ever, I figured I’d start simple and just introduce myself!

My name is Scott Case. I was born and raised in Carlsbad, CA, of the grand US of A! Currently, I live in Pomona, CA, studying Graphic Design at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. I work with The Walt Disney Company at Disney California Adventure Park as an Outdoor Vendor, selling yummy ice creams, drinks, and cotton candy. 

My interests are expansive giving me a kind of well rounded look at life. Right now, my biggest interests are Minecraft, Red Eclipse, and any and all things space! I also have taken a look into bottle cutting and I love Altoid tin projects. Woodworking is another favorite of mine, although I don’t get to practice that very often. I know there are probably tons of other interests I’m forgetting to mention, but that’s all I have right now. I plan to update my posts often, so stay tuned! I love feedback and that’s really the only way I’ll get any better at this, so ask me questions all you’d like and please comment.