New Years Resolutions

Alright, it's time for the generic end of year and/or next year resolution's post. But you know what? Yes, I'm going to have a list of things I want to get done by the end of next year. But I'm going to be different by actually posting updates to my progress at the beginning of each month. That way I can keep on track.

And you guys can laugh at me if I should fail due to laziness.

A big problem for a lot of people with these things is that they set vague or unrealistic goals. I know I've been pretty bad for vague goals myself. Thus, let's fix that right now.

Goal #1:

I'm a skinny guy, really skinny. Like, I'm borderline anorexic skinny. My girlfriend Theresa saw me without my shirt once and she told me I looked like one of those starving Africans you see from National Geographic.

Now I know it's unrealistic to become a bodybuilder and if I say "I'm going become healthier next year" nothing's going to happen. So let's try this instead. The link I provided is a site that claims by the end of 6 weeks you should be able to do 100 push ups. At the moment, I can do 20 so let's see what happens.

 

 And maybe you'll see some meat on me.

Goal #2:

I am in need of money. A part time job just isn't going to pay for tuition or spoil Theresa. I'm going to need to find an additional source. Whether that's through an internship, this blog, or some crazy idea I find online I need to try it.

The goal here is to try a new thing each month and report on its success and/or failings. Yes I did mention I was making some profit with this blog but unless I'm making more than minimum wage it's not something to boast about.

EDIT:

Added requirement of trying to pay back debt of $5500 to parents.

Goal #3:

Too often I tell myself "That looks neat, I should really try it" and then I never get around to doing it. This include recipes, small projects, and places to go to. The goal here is to try at least one new thing each month and post about it. I need to learn how to cook, I want to make that hollow book and take Theresa out to that restaurant.

Actually for the longest time I've wanted to start a blog so I guess yay for me?

Woohoo!

Goal #4:

I have an obsession with the number 4. So I need a 4th goal if it kills me. Uhhh...

Uhhh....

. . . .

You have no idea how long I spent in this pose.

You know what? You guys decide for me. Long time readers will have a better idea of what to chose but I'm good with whatever. I'll pick the best one from the comments and hopefully it won't be something like eat 100 endangered species or set yourself on fire for a minute.

And that's it from me. I'll see you guys in the New Year!

Edit: Thanks to D4 and Heddin for their combined suggestion of completing a game from my backlog and/or reading a new book each month!

Holiday Aftermath

If you've read the comments I've left on most of your blogs you probably know by now that my Christmas weekend was pretty uneventful. No really, all I did was spend a few quiet days with family and many hours with my computer.

Come towards the light Damian...

Theresa was busy all weekend so I wasn't able to see her. Luckily I anticipated this and gave her her gifts early which included a hoodie, some TF2 cellphone charms, various games from the Steam Holiday sale and the third volume of popular webcomic.

Myself? I don't expect to receive anything big. Friends got me a lot of games and a foam Minecraft pickaxe, I don't expect anything from my siblings until February (April if I'm unlucky), parents gave me cash and I treated myself to more games.

Thank you Dear for this one.

So, what am I going to do for the rest of the break? Hopefully see as many old friends as possible and take Theresa out on as many dates as I possibly can. Let's hope her boss doesn't keep scheduling her to work for ENTIRE WEEKS. Seriously, she's busy all the time during the school year, give her a break when she has a break.

In the meantime I have more research stuff to do. That paper isn't going to edit itself and neither is that experiment. Gah, I'm so sick of technical errors at this point. Hopefully I'll get things figured out before the term starts again.

Really want to do this to some of the computers at the lab.

I know the rest of you had a relatively more exciting Christmas holiday than me. If all goes well maybe I can get to work on some other things this break and not be a complete waste of waste. There are some recipes I need to try as well as a DIY project I've been eying.

But the computer games, they beckon.

Probably what I'll end up doing.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Seriously? I hope no one is checking my blog this weekend. All of you should be taking the day off away from your computers and enjoying the company of friends and family.

No Youtube video despite this being a short post. Get away from the computer.

Go.

LIMBO: This Game is Depressing

If it wasn't obvious enough that I'm a gamer (and that I would give internal organs to Valve if they asked) I'm not sure what else I need to do. However, I know a lot of you aren't like this and can't understand the appeal. That's fine, but whenever I do make comments on a game I will do my best to make the commentary more accessible to non-gamers.

Preemptive apologies to Beth because this isn't a book review.

Thanks to finals being done I can actually enjoy myself. So today we'll be talking about LIMBO, a game about a boy who wakes up in a forest and needs to go find his missing sister. It's a 2D platformer with physics puzzles, in layman's terms you run and jump around and manipulate the properties of the environment to move to the next stage. Sounds pretty standard so far.

And now why LIMBO is horrifying and how only a serial killer could smile during a playthrough.

This is not a happy game.

The entire game is set in black and white environments. Utilizing that grainy film effect and clever lighting it creates a ominous, dark and unwelcoming world. To further help this, the only sound effects in the game are faint background noises such as the sound of flies and soft crunching of questionable objects.

The puzzles generally take a bit of thinking and timing to figure out. Most of them consist of some variation of timed jumps, operating switches and machines as well as pulling and moving objects to help you advance. The game particularly enjoys having you desecrate the bodies of the dead.

Oh and did I mention? The entire world hates you. Everything, anything and everyone can and will kill you at a whim. Whether it be like falling from too high, drowning, cut into pieces by a sawblade.

Being eviscerated by massive spider.

And the boy dies in the saddest ways possible. You feel bad every time you watch his tiny body go limp or fly in all directions of the wind. Afterall, it is your fault he missed that jump or electrocuted himself. That being said, you do come back in a safe and reasonable location in respect to where you died. You're not going to have to redo every puzzle upon your death.

The story is sparse and is left almost entirely to the player to figure out. Some people think this is a problem but I personally found it added to the unnerving atmosphere of the game. You don't really have a sense of what's going on or why. Some people question if the boy and his sister are even alive.

It's a mystery!

That being said, it is a very solid puzzle game and has won many awards. I love supporting the independent developers because they don't produce bland and repetitive games. These guys are willing to take steps in new and unique ways and they should be rewarded for it. Unlike companies such as Electronic Arts.

(By the way, I will take as many opportunities as possible to bash EA because I hate them with every fiber of my being).

This is technically my first review of ANYTHING ever. Any comments or suggestions would be great whether it be about the post or potential future reviews. I'm really open to anything, as long as I can make it entertaining.

You can pick up LIMBO on Steam for $9.99 or try the demo for free. HOWEVER, Steam is currently having their 2011 Holiday sale so LIMBO is $4.99 until January 2nd.

Finals Week Post 2

Ok, this is coming a bit late. Posting is kind of odd for some reason so I'm doing this live. I'M DOING IT LIVE LIKE BILL O'REILLY.

I really need to get back to studying Developmental Psychology.

So to start today's videos, Yorkies are trained killers:

Derpiest assassins ever.

And now something for the sports fans:

Such grace.

And this last video is long. This is easily the longest video I've ever shared and I doubt I'll ever share anything this long again. It explains what SOPA and PIPA are and if you aren't informed I beg you to watch it because it affects you no matter where in the world you live.

It pertains to internet censorship in the most insane proportions. If either of those acts pass it would give giant companies the ability to shut down any site they want if they feel like it. An example would be if a user on a site such a Youtube has a video they don't like, all of Youtube can be shut off immediately. Or if a blog on Blogger has a picture they don't like all of Blogger is now offline.

This isn't crazy, things like this have already happened but with other sites such as Megaupload. And it will only get worse unless people stop these insane bills that Congress is pushing for. The guy in this video explains things in greater depth than I can though so listen to him.

EA supports SOPA, another reason to hate EA.

I'm Canadian, I can't do anything about this. But I like my internet freedom as much as the next guy. To all my American followers, I ask that you help the rest of us out, and help to stop either of these insane things from going through.

I'll see you guys Wednesday.

Hello Dear

When I'm offline I generally don't enjoy talking about myself or sharing information. When asked even the smallest personal question I try to be as vague as possible or distract from said question. I guess this is partially why almost no one I know in real life knows about this blog.

Note that I said almost. There are things you can hide from people for so long and all it took was a glance over my shoulder and the following question:

She probably had this expression on her face too.

So I'd like to say hello to my girlfriend Theresa, who you may or may not have heard about already. I don't know when she'll get around to reading this post, and I hope she weren't serious when she said she was going to read all the posts. My blog reads like a poorly written fanfiction.

Yes Dear, I whine about everything and everything. And yes I call my girlfriend Dear. I know it makes me sound like an old man but I think calling your significant other something like "BABEE GURL" is condescending.

I LUV U 5EVA CUZ 5 IS MOAR THEN 4.

Does this mean a change in my way of posting? Not really, I'm still going to be the same derpy Damian you've come to know and love. If anything, I can't ask you guys about gift suggestions for Theresa anymore. Can't risk having her spoil the surprise.

Oh, I guess there'll be more pictures of cute things. You guys love koalas, corgis and cats right?

Seriously, if this doesn't distract her from the rest of my blog, nothing will.

You know what, to be safe, here's another:

Puppy!

Love you Dear, hope I haven't embarrassed you too much in front of all the internet strangers.

Finals Week Post 1

Finals are consuming all my time meaning I haven't been able to visit as many blogs as I'd like OR make quality posts. Which means it's time for more Youtube videos. Yay! Don't worry, I try and keep these videos around a minute to 2 minutes, I know you're all busy and who watches 10 minute long videos anyways?

Exception are made for Bersercules however...

Animals are always popular so let's start with one of those:

Adorable.

And now something painful:

You can hear it...

Is this child abuse or animal abuse? I can't tell:

Let's see how many Soviet Russia jokes I get in the comments...

Who's still with me? This last video is only NSFW is you have a dirty mind. Do you have a dirty mind? I know I do:

Is there anything he can't do?

That's it for now. I think I have this post set to publish on Monday meaning I'm writing my Abnormal Psychology midterm soon. Wish me luck, and I'll see you guys on Thursday.

Volunteering Woes

I don't know about the rest of you but volunteering has been ingrained in my mind as something that is vital. That's what they taught me in school and all the "amazing" students were doing it. Well, it's vital if you want to contribute to your community and look like a good person.

Or buffer your resume with....

This term I was asked by a friend to join an administrative part of student group that helped with giving English lessons on Saturdays. Generally foreigners and international students sign up for classes of various levels so they can learn to better read, speak and write English.

Yeah, I had to up early on a Saturday morning but I usually didn't mind. It means I get another opportunity to see old classmates who are in completely different programs from myself. And I do try to keep in touch with people.

They tell me that things are usually hectic, especially for the admins. But due to some problems with Student Services we weren't able to operate at full capacity in the Fall. Things were kind of dead a lot of the times. I'll be honest, most days I'd only have 1 or 2 things to do then I'd derp around.

Actually next term, we won't be allowed to operate at all.

 

Wat.

Yeah, Student Services doesn't consider us a student group anymore despite the group being over 30 years old. I think some obscure line in the Terms of Service applies to us and now they have to put us on hiatus until further notice.

Until things are fixed I'll most likely be volunteering with the local Humane Society next term. Not that I mind, most of the animals seem to really appreciate being let out of their kennels for some fresh air and be able to run around for a bit.

When your home is this big at best, I'm not surprised.

And of course, Theresa has wanted a dog for a while. If any Yorkies or Corgis are found, maybe I can work something out.

End of Term!

It's a bit hard to believe but the end of the Fall semester is finally coming to an end as of tomorrow. Are you excited? I'm excited. Remember when I said I could be a massive waste of space? Well what better way to accomplish that then during the Christmas break.

Video games forever!

But we still have a few obstacles to overcome before that can happen. First, we have research related things. I've got two papers to finish up. One is simply a review of everything that I've done this term. Nothing too difficult. It's half typed up, just needs some cleaning and I think I'll be good.

The other paper is much more important. My prof believes that we have enough data and believable results so we can publish. My name will be on that paper and that would go a long ways in impressing people in the future I think. Not something a lot of undergrads can say they have.

And now she won't be the only one!

I also need to finalize some details on the next experiment that we'll be running next term. Unfortunately I've been running into a lot of technical problems so wish me luck as I work on that.

And then we have the finals for my Psychology courses. They're spread pretty far apart so I think I'll be ok. It'll give me plenty of time to study and review. And best of all, I don't have multiple exams on the same day.

I'm going to keep this post short, I really should get started with studying. I don't know what to think of this video. It's not animal abuse but I'm not sure why the cat likes it so much.

Terraria, why do you hate us?

For those of you who are not aware Steam is celebrating the holiday season with their Daily Wishlist giveaway. Simply have a Steam account with 10 items in your wishlist and then view the daily special to be entered.

What does Terraria have to do with this? Well, to celebrate version 1.1 coming out it was Thursday's daily special at 75% off. A lot of people call it a Minecraft clone but there are enough big differences between the two games so that really isn't an issue.

Diggy diggy hole hole.

Anyways my girlfriend Theresa prefers Terraria to Minecraft because 2D games don't make her nauseous. We don't understand why Minecraft makes her motionsick, we disabled headbobbing, fiddled with mouse sensitivity, etc. etc. but still she feels ill some days.

But for whatever reason, Terraria did not want to cooperate with either of us that day.

Maybe we should have stuck with Minecraft...

There are new features out for Terraria and because I want to try them out with my girlfriend I begin setting up a server. I'm not the most techy guy around but I at least I know how to go onto Youtube and research these things. Follow step by step instructions. I may be derpy but I'm not that derpy.

But no amount of research would get my router to port forward correctly. In other words, no one was able to connect to the server I was hosting. I struggled for several hours before finally giving up. Maybe it's an issue with my router, I'm tempted to reset it and try again.

Or maybe I can just stare at it until it fixes itself.

Meanwhile, Theresa was dealing with in-game issues. The game has new challenges and hazards including new monsters and traps littered around the dungeons. Our current armor isn't up to par and it became quickly apparent. BUT, there is a new NPC that exists who can help enhance your armor. Theresa set forth on a quest to find him.

The new NPCs spawn randomly in dungeons and needs to be "rescued" by you. After that they spawn where ever you've built a home allowing you to access their services more easily.

Surprisingly, my girlfriend managed to find the guy with no trouble at all. She goes up to talk to him and then....

A bug occurred that caused the NPC to glitch and disappear.

 

I imagine her expression was something like this.  

While my girlfriend goes to find where the NPC has respawned I'm tempted to just pay a bit of cash and just rent a server for as long as Theresa wants to play. It'll be easier to manage and maybe we can get other friends to join.

And if that works, maybe I can get that Minecraft server going too.