tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15694606855209304702024-02-19T04:39:58.203-06:00Lost In NeuronsA blog about whatever my neurons feel like thinking about.Klelithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08767894442677973716noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-52205238186339717812012-06-27T15:58:00.002-05:002012-06-27T16:01:27.113-05:00Retiring Lost In NeuronsI know not many people read this site, but for the few who do, I'm informing you that I am retiring it. At least, for now.<br />
<br />
I liked this site at first, but, over time, it became unfocused and I lost interest. Posts became few and far between. So, it's time to retire this site for the foreseeable future.<br />
<br />
All is not lost however! I have found that I have much more to say about writing and storytelling in a variety of media than any other topic. Because of this, I have created a new site which I am writing on regularly. It's called The Written Tale and if you enjoyed my writing here, you can continue to read it there.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Visit my new site:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://thewrittentale.com/"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Written Tale</span></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Klelithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08767894442677973716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-64379695402298190082011-03-18T09:00:00.004-05:002011-03-18T09:00:04.776-05:00Lost In Neurons Gets Invaded By Boxes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="250" width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQoL2fHYPTnGF35WEB8BJXZMDJiNPEh0ejerERSlwzGs3i0oxlDGihIOI6nuWsDwIgnnQC7iQZyUNKdoAtxa8JvQk-1d3ZXpwmjLMMujBxOUCS2imSSICtq9ORubbOIyglYkFb1Rhh16uL/s1600/Box+Charge.jpg" /></div>
<p>If you've read this blog before, you've probably noticed that the layout has recently been redone. With an updated design system and many more layout options in Blogger since I first created this blog, I decided it needed some sprucing up. This is the result.</p>
<p>The color theme is about the same, but the layout has been modified. Basically, Lost In Neurons now comes with more boxes!</p>
<p>Please, let me know in the comments what you think of the new look.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Klelithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08767894442677973716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-52544457831724209752011-03-14T09:00:00.005-05:002011-03-14T09:00:14.318-05:00Inverting Image Brightness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzx6Y7Q5K5Zj2BNq7Lx5-w6Bmu-lzF3z43khi-CsVsaz32le3Zadjr1IU8I-GZlUYc1ah2jN-RODa3vAqLLakU37GG9Q5Dn5zYxl7JEEbH44jlDdUfB2GWyNyAXtNruNuZMU9RvdNQwxjv/s1600/DarkLightInverted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="225" width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzx6Y7Q5K5Zj2BNq7Lx5-w6Bmu-lzF3z43khi-CsVsaz32le3Zadjr1IU8I-GZlUYc1ah2jN-RODa3vAqLLakU37GG9Q5Dn5zYxl7JEEbH44jlDdUfB2GWyNyAXtNruNuZMU9RvdNQwxjv/s400/DarkLightInverted.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>When people first start playing with image editing software, they soon discover that they can invert the color of the image. They'll play around with this for awhile and then move on after their bit of fun.</p>
<p>Last year, I got it in my head that it would be neat to try inverting the brightness of an image without messing with the color. This turned out to be much more interesting than a normal inverted image.</p>
<a name='more'></a>
<h3>Inverting Color</h3>
<p>Most everyone in this day and age has seen an image with its color inverted. These images look odd and, depending on the original image, sometimes really darn cool.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs6NLdlmaZvUnC_bWvBp55-23oN6CYm0xbGC1lIPSKM6T_HkTKbw4Juumob01cNOOzPmKGA4wcrZqRWVDEuiDrXfVPbFsl0y5L8FzVo_NDYebqBsoYrnHxrgQALNdb7tBMXJCb0aej5QJZ/s1600/Sunbeams+inverted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="206" width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs6NLdlmaZvUnC_bWvBp55-23oN6CYm0xbGC1lIPSKM6T_HkTKbw4Juumob01cNOOzPmKGA4wcrZqRWVDEuiDrXfVPbFsl0y5L8FzVo_NDYebqBsoYrnHxrgQALNdb7tBMXJCb0aej5QJZ/s400/Sunbeams+inverted.jpg" /></a>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Before/After of an inverted image.
</div>
</div>
<p>What an invert operation on an image actually does is flip the RGB values of each pixel. This has the effect of turning all colors to their opposites, and making pixels which were dark turn light and light turn dark.</p>
<h3>Inverting Brightness</h3>
<p>If we want to invert the brightness of an image, all we have to do is invert the image and then correct the color. You can correct the color by shifting the hue of the image by 180 degrees. The results are fun to look at.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTayVDsBZZfgIPr_Elinw9SvT5ASb685u1tdbciTE2AyGIWHoehGXkVBlxURgSMZWH73dXuR3UFH1fOFJM9bqORxh1Qfn2LMajECrZu4PVF0umWFHVQ-7adRR9Tvz1JY_l9yLp6ot1_vOu/s1600/Sunbeams+invert+brightness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="206" width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTayVDsBZZfgIPr_Elinw9SvT5ASb685u1tdbciTE2AyGIWHoehGXkVBlxURgSMZWH73dXuR3UFH1fOFJM9bqORxh1Qfn2LMajECrZu4PVF0umWFHVQ-7adRR9Tvz1JY_l9yLp6ot1_vOu/s400/Sunbeams+invert+brightness.jpg" /></a>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Inverting the brightness of the same image above.
</div>
</div>
<p>As you can see, in the image above, the colors stay the same. The grass is still green, the flowers are still red, and the path still brown. The difference is the brightness (obviously, since we inverted the brightness of the image).</p>
<p>The red flowers, which used to be pinkish red, are now dark red. The lush deep green of the grass has turned into a much brighter, almost florescent green. Even more stunning are the sun beams, which, after having the brightness inverted, now give the appearance of darkness breaking through the trees.</p>
<p>If you want to see more, check out the images below.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheMnpDczUuOedm9yfJ8Ye5VLFNDBlh-u_OxLze39HbMJc1ou_-QsMelM0rL1soWVDj0wTLaET-JOlznnrmFBl9n5_39H3n9Q5zuaQ1Byv9GDqfpYH9HCpRJBxBQv_tpiXasSD9p1xoU5M_/s1600/people+invert+brightness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="164" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheMnpDczUuOedm9yfJ8Ye5VLFNDBlh-u_OxLze39HbMJc1ou_-QsMelM0rL1soWVDj0wTLaET-JOlznnrmFBl9n5_39H3n9Q5zuaQ1Byv9GDqfpYH9HCpRJBxBQv_tpiXasSD9p1xoU5M_/s400/people+invert+brightness.jpg" /></a>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
After inverting the brightness, people look very creepy.
</div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin1Hv9s5paleu2y5fMIeOhnOyEYdSvLCrTsZSdyuTQxVxhrHbGrSzaH7LU8F_VnOaFuXCKY87eVTGyoruVe1yctqnnOhCj1zv9qY9mHFMaFhMk-NMsKmnv2avS_D1OdXlE4nmyJjBQxVSU/s1600/SC2+Invert+brightness1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="113" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin1Hv9s5paleu2y5fMIeOhnOyEYdSvLCrTsZSdyuTQxVxhrHbGrSzaH7LU8F_VnOaFuXCKY87eVTGyoruVe1yctqnnOhCj1zv9qY9mHFMaFhMk-NMsKmnv2avS_D1OdXlE4nmyJjBQxVSU/s400/SC2+Invert+brightness1.jpg" /></a>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
A Starcraft 2 screenshot.
</div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyh8aVvxJOXtM7guvhij5abEpTLqr6admGYzHP0SrfA_vBHHOfDdCIPGk-fSe1uDDsy7x5PpXGfT-haebECdilfdKiOrDGhTzU9R3ZIBlPhVHjYRKpdWCK6qXowXsQ1BDc9OtiZ_aULHWr/s1600/blocks+shadow+invert+brightness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="306" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyh8aVvxJOXtM7guvhij5abEpTLqr6admGYzHP0SrfA_vBHHOfDdCIPGk-fSe1uDDsy7x5PpXGfT-haebECdilfdKiOrDGhTzU9R3ZIBlPhVHjYRKpdWCK6qXowXsQ1BDc9OtiZ_aULHWr/s400/blocks+shadow+invert+brightness.jpg" /></a>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
A block shadow.
</div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwNuTVXhqjmn_ZkhXIppVD7nODE_5L0LU4Seld0VlNOXV4TwwbaJLqE0x245AHIVbllbUJGB0WBQdsX0zn3qBV8AcpFE9-clMN-Sh3uqsTF_CZbAW3MxOlO1Z_dskSKcMyz337EEx2wAS2/s1600/Electric_Dreams_by_saisao+invert+brightness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="150" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwNuTVXhqjmn_ZkhXIppVD7nODE_5L0LU4Seld0VlNOXV4TwwbaJLqE0x245AHIVbllbUJGB0WBQdsX0zn3qBV8AcpFE9-clMN-Sh3uqsTF_CZbAW3MxOlO1Z_dskSKcMyz337EEx2wAS2/s400/Electric_Dreams_by_saisao+invert+brightness.jpg" /></a>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
A desktop background I used for awhile.
</div>
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-70601334086523590642011-03-11T09:00:00.002-06:002011-03-11T21:14:36.102-06:00The Youtubes: Return of the Videos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjCaE1x_fk5mSw821orq0UUUptWFvDRDA3rKsRq65gsGKJUQeyeKoYlH8u_lk2ElBufLFnt-9IymH3IL2xMf0Bo75M9YLmgGAVPMlUoZsni0N8ccCGpwBG1uCPn3G2gcGXSHV1ec9atV61/s400/internetcelebrities.jpg" width="400"></div>
<p>It's the return of <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/search/label/The%20YouTubes">The YouTubes</a>, where I share my favorite YouTube videos. This isn't going to be a regular event, but just for when I feel I have a good amount to share.</p>
<p>This post was a blast to write, because I got to go back through my YouTube video favorites and rediscover great videos. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.</p>
<a name='more'></a>
<h3>Lag</h3>
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZcP9jiCbakw?rel=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>What would life be like if you could lag just like in video games? This video tries to answer that question.</p>
<h3>Dot Dot Dot</h3>
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4Z2Z23SAFVA?rel=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>This is a video based on an audio recording of a reading of a review of a flash game. Man, that's a mouthful. The flash game that's reviewed in this can be played <a href="http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/495903" target="_blank">here</a>. It's actually pretty good.</p>
<h3>Chain of Fools : Upgrading through every version of windows</h3>
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vPnehDhGa14?rel=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>What happens if you never install a clean copy of Windows, and always use the upgrade version? If you watched this video, you now know!</p>
<h3>Stargate Macgyver</h3>
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/tRkexJ-MBCQ?rel=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>This is my favorite outtake from Stargate SG-1.</p>
<h3>Real Life Mario Kart!</h3>
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-h4zTEwgCpQ?rel=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>It's Mario Kart in real life! What more could you want?</p>
<h3>Every Anime Opening Ever Made</h3>
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ibPCLMH1NM4?rel=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>Anime show openings are usually pretty cliche and generic. I love this video, because it shows just how similar they can get. It's an amalgamation of countless anime openings, edited to show similar scenes.</p>
<h3>The Mountain Goats - Woke Up New</h3>
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1bSdRizGYb0?rel=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>We end with a good song and a more awesome music video.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Klelithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08767894442677973716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-78975459253185259942011-03-07T09:00:00.001-06:002011-03-07T23:25:23.952-06:00When Multi-core Processors Really Matter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="346" width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx3dBXt2bU9N4_69ormF0ahQQtIWWtgKtR5bmnZCppVMiP4wDeUOk9i0VOfZXa_QfytEVTnhnTGc8RdWzu9VZWL4m1aTfRM3KB3b8d2-e91yHwNEgkCj3fWtvOiCQIFkFRh8UA8Dwc7HYk/s600/processor.jpg" /></div>
<p>A few years back, when I bought the parts for my current computer, I had a choice to make. Did I want a quad-core processor running at a slower speed, or a dual-core running at a faster speed? Because most programs back then, and many now, weren't mult-threaded, I chose the dual-core for the faster single core speed.</p>
<p>I'm happy to say, it has served me well, and I've barely noticed a hiccup in any programs ever. For most of my computer's life it has never crossed my mind that I should upgrade it. In fact, I've upgraded nearly everything else, but my processor. Recently, I've been thinking that it needs an upgrade.</p>
<h3>Encoding Hell</h3>
<p>Over the past few months, my processor has started to show its age, but in an unexpected way. Honestly, my current processor would work perfect for most people. However, my demands on my computer have changed, and I've started <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/search/label/Starcraft%202%20Split%20Screen">editing video</a>.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="41" width="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XvMJSP_wuAjtKFgaRfo2Slqos_lZNQXp0Ha1Tf2CbU0HLCKIkOxMK9Xfap2eoQPWcjryJktVmVZBf7pHWsoKRL6quEzwputCESwTNMnbHAUGwpq3wNOLz39uj1JLg70XEOKJ56KOvYX2/s400/Adobe+media+encoder+finished.jpg" /></div>
<p>Above is a screenshot of the encoding time of a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GpFmFCdlPE">26 minute video</a> I edited. It took 5 hours for my computer to put the video together, and that's with me compromising; using only single pass encoding. If I used what I wanted, two pass, it would roughly double the encoding time to 10 hours. That's an incredibly long time to wait for a video to encode, and it has me wishing for shorter encoding times.</p>
<h3>Multiply Those Cores</h3>
<p>While a lot of programs don't scale well with more CPU cores, video encoding does. The encoding process lends itself well to multi-threading, where each video frame can be processed independently from the others. All good video encoders today use this technique, spreading frames around to be processed by all cores simultaneously.</p>
<p>What this means is that if I upgrade from my dual-core processor to a quad-core, this should theoretically double how many frames are processed per second while encoding. This would half the encoding time. While being twice as fast probably will not happen, I'm convinced it will take at least 2 hours off the shown 5 hour encoding time.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Klelithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08767894442677973716noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-62348732688319880002011-02-28T09:00:00.001-06:002011-02-28T09:00:26.576-06:00Why DirectX Installs Every Time You Install A Game<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNfoiLzjBfoMHvMa5ulIMDqa_dlzF7rYLq0bJnZnFcyH7af2KhpFJE0yuX9Po14rL471JEWZzFsvDRop9022tCTopcmMxoYS-PPrOEgHsARyLcKx0MrwnpwhnA1reW_tugkPPcb6-91E1F/s1600/D4dD1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNfoiLzjBfoMHvMa5ulIMDqa_dlzF7rYLq0bJnZnFcyH7af2KhpFJE0yuX9Po14rL471JEWZzFsvDRop9022tCTopcmMxoYS-PPrOEgHsARyLcKx0MrwnpwhnA1reW_tugkPPcb6-91E1F/s400/D4dD1.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>One thing that's become more visible lately is the installation of DirectX. Thanks to Steam, this has become a lot less translucent to consumers and more in your face. Below is an example of what I'm talking about. After downloading the King's Bounty demo, and starting it for the first time, I am forced to wait for DirectX to install. You can understand how this frustrates some people who want to know why DirectX is installed again and again, even though it's already been installed.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXoKd21Er95yuqKgMaCeBL8u7Lx_L2729a1ba1qJUVoKCCktLByrPTzs-5oZX1nFqO55YSt8NsZkah36PPUx6G8Q5bICtI2ibzdnRmGeNXm7nJOa1csVqHoYlPoGc8VNiVT6oYLe2nlOcm/s1600/DirectXSSCropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="171" width="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXoKd21Er95yuqKgMaCeBL8u7Lx_L2729a1ba1qJUVoKCCktLByrPTzs-5oZX1nFqO55YSt8NsZkah36PPUx6G8Q5bICtI2ibzdnRmGeNXm7nJOa1csVqHoYlPoGc8VNiVT6oYLe2nlOcm/s400/DirectXSSCropped.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>The truth is, DirectX, which powers most Windows games, gets installed almost every time you install a game, whether it's a Steam game or not. What most people don't know is that this has been true for years. While Windows comes with DirectX already installed, that doesn't mean it's updated to the version the game needs. This means developers need to update DirectX themselves if it's necessary.</p>
<p>That's where the DirectX installation that you see with every new Steam game comes in. This installer checks to see if the computer has the correct DirectX version and components for the game. If your DirectX needs an update, it will install the update before launching the game. If your DirectX has what the game needs, the installer will leave DirectX alone and install nothing. So really, it's more of a check and install, instead of just a straight up install.</p>
<p>The last thing to talk about is why you don't always see DirectX installed with retail games. While some games that seemingly don't install DirectX truly don't install DirectX, most do, but in silent mode. The DirectX installer that Microsoft releases can be told to install quietly, without bugging the user with an installation wizard. This is what Steam uses. It installs in silent mode, so you don't have to click through an install wizard. While it runs the installer, it tells you what it's doing with the dialog box pictured above.</p>
<p>So, next time you get impatient waiting for Steam to install DirectX, just be glad you don't need to update it manually.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Klelithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08767894442677973716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-63123364994895319532010-12-29T09:00:00.001-06:002010-12-29T09:00:06.722-06:00A Hello Again and A Quick MentionI've been on, what I suppose you could call, a hiatus for the past couple months. Life happened, my health hasn't been the best, and in the midst of it all I lost my motivation. Just thought I'd let anyone still hanging around the site know I'm alive and plan to start writing again as soon as I can muster something up.<br />
<br />
In other news, my brother's blog, <a href="http://www.agreenmushroom.com/">A Green Mushroom</a>, is doing well. It even got mentioned in a <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/27/massivelys-top-10-mmo-blogs-of-2010/">Massively article</a>. I'm proud of him, staying motivated when I can't. Great work bro!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Klelithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08767894442677973716noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-47218095653732675682010-10-06T09:00:00.009-05:002010-10-06T09:00:03.607-05:00Google Keyboard Navigation: I Loathe You<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NZymAnGvqK4?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NZymAnGvqK4?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br />
<br />
Google has done a lot for the web and the internet. They are pioneers in so many things, that I probably can't remember them all off the top of my head. While Google has made many things I love (<a href="http://www.google.com/">Google Search</a>, <a href="http://mail.google.com">Gmail</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/chrome/">Google Chrome</a>), many things I feel indifferent about (<a href="https://docs.google.com">Google Docs</a>, <a href="http://desktop.google.com/">Google Desktop</a>, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Blogger</a>), and many things I don't have a use for (<a href="http://www.google.com/health/">Google Health</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/earth">Google Earth</a>, <a href="http://voice.google.com/">Google Voice</a>), I have never hated anything they have made.<br />
<br />
Seeing how I mentioned hating something by Google, you can probably guess that I finally hate something they've done.<br />
<br />
Google released <a href="http://www.google.com/instant/">Google Instant</a> recently, which instantly updates the Google results page as you type. I love it, I think it neat, cool, groovy. Then, to make it "easier" to use, they updated the results page with <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/fly-through-your-instant-search-results.html">keyboard navigation</a>. With keyboard navigation, when you hit up or down on the arrow keys, you arrow through the results, kind of like selecting something from a menu with arrow keys (video above).<br />
<br />
This is supposed to help you, but for me, it's awkward, jarring, and not what I expect when I hit the arrow keys. If you use the arrow keys often when browsing the web, like me, you should be familiar with their standard function of scrolling. You should be able to scroll on my blog, trying hitting the up and down arrow keys now. See that scrolling action? I bet you can understand how frustrating it is when that doesn't work when searching Google.<br />
<br />
Google, please remove keyboard navigation and let me scroll using arrow keys, like every other webpage on the internet.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Klelithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08767894442677973716noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-57194729693877505562010-09-20T11:48:00.000-05:002010-09-20T11:48:41.610-05:00Intel Sells 'Upgrades' to Unlock Processor Features That Should Never Have Been Locked<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs0dTUVZvkXez5yYwilOvbBFzi0uGD18sgLQvRqZEI_BZfdYaCGtWcFsKuZmOyLgXhs1bDU64GjyapLr0dMy-_IimsYLveTaMlfX63e_UY7MWCKaumYtX58KC_ixHhKkAN799hQM3C45t_/s1600/9-18-10-intel600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs0dTUVZvkXez5yYwilOvbBFzi0uGD18sgLQvRqZEI_BZfdYaCGtWcFsKuZmOyLgXhs1bDU64GjyapLr0dMy-_IimsYLveTaMlfX63e_UY7MWCKaumYtX58KC_ixHhKkAN799hQM3C45t_/s400/9-18-10-intel600.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
It was <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/18/intel-wants-to-charge-50-to-unlock-stuff-your-cpu-can-already-d/">recently discovered</a> that Intel is selling $50 cards that unlock processor features in the Intel Pentium G6951. The pre-upgrade locked version of the G6951 is a dual-core Core i3 processor running at 2.8GHz with 3MB of included L3 cache and no Hyper-Threading. With this upgrade card you are able to unlock Hyper-Threading and an additional 1MB of L3 cache. While this is a noticeable upgrade, Intel has no excuse as to why these unlockable features are locked in the first place.<br />
<br />
Locking processor features is nothing new in the industry. Intel has been doing it for years, but for reasons that aren't about ripping off customers. Traditionally, processor features are locked when it is discovered that a part of a processor is defective. Locking these defective parts of a processor allow the processor to run correctly, at the cost of some speed. These processors are then sold, as a lower end processor model, for a discounted price. There's nothing wrong with this, it's a good use of defective hardware that would otherwise be thrown away and allows customers to buy cheaper, slower processors that still work well.<br />
<br />
This upgrade plan that Intel is trying out is the opposite of good business. It's blatantly locking functional sectionals of a CPU in order to try to choke money out of unknowing customers down the line.<br />
<br />
To top it off, Hot Hardware already did the research for something that I suspected. This is what <a href="http://hothardware.com/News/Intel-Test-Marketing-Artificially-Constrained-Upgradeable-Processors/">they found out</a>:<br />
<blockquote>"The $50 price tag, however, isn't much of a deal. According to Intel's own records, the G6950 currently sells for $87 in 1K lots. $51 higher up the ladder, there's the Intel Core i3-550. Compared to the G6950/6951, the i3-550 is 400MHz faster, includes Hyper-Threading, offers the same 4MB of L3, and officially supports DDR3-1333 as opposed to just DDR3-1066. As an added bonus, its GPU is 200MHz faster than the G6950's (though we don't know the 6951's GPU clock yet). Given Intel's current price structure, a Core i3-550 system is likely to be a better deal."<br />
</blockquote>I'm very disapointed in you Intel. I thought you were better than this.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Klelithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08767894442677973716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-88403322858138341122010-08-27T09:00:00.008-05:002010-08-27T14:18:26.790-05:00To Boldly Motivate Where No One Has Motivated Before<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCWTdLHmNfQZtKg2itweIXyiEAF16WkbqpaucNfb6K75CO2jZRKAJYyUSGko9qezYuc2oM45WLOsyjzmXvgORRIWDgS_GL5JQt9Dhi-uTie3plUoBYsTIwFtywzi6OyLEoLMcJOuQ05MHA/s1600/Star+Trek+Counselers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCWTdLHmNfQZtKg2itweIXyiEAF16WkbqpaucNfb6K75CO2jZRKAJYyUSGko9qezYuc2oM45WLOsyjzmXvgORRIWDgS_GL5JQt9Dhi-uTie3plUoBYsTIwFtywzi6OyLEoLMcJOuQ05MHA/s640/Star+Trek+Counselers.jpg" width="540" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Klelithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08767894442677973716noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-18260801100881083362010-07-16T02:30:00.000-05:002010-07-16T02:30:24.366-05:00The YouTubes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjCaE1x_fk5mSw821orq0UUUptWFvDRDA3rKsRq65gsGKJUQeyeKoYlH8u_lk2ElBufLFnt-9IymH3IL2xMf0Bo75M9YLmgGAVPMlUoZsni0N8ccCGpwBG1uCPn3G2gcGXSHV1ec9atV61/s400/internetcelebrities.jpg" width="400" /></div><br />
I try to not put up youTube videos much(except StarCraft of course). I don't want to be a youTube blog, I want to be a me blog. Which might not be much better, but at least I don't spam youTube clips. Every once in a while, though, I feel that I should share some of the videos that made be smile. Today, is one of those days.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<b class="sectionheader">Double Rainbow</b><br />
<br />
This guy really love this double rainbow.<br />
<br />
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OQSNhk5ICTI&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OQSNhk5ICTI&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
<br />
So, someone made it into a song!<br />
<br />
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MX0D4oZwCsA&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MX0D4oZwCsA&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
<br />
<br />
<b class="sectionheader">Sax Guy</b><br />
<br />
Someone showed this to me today and it had me laughing my head off. Maybe it was just my friend's comments, but tell me this doesn't make you at least smile.<br />
<br />
<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9-seDrv1eQo&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9-seDrv1eQo&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br />
<br />
<br />
<b class="sectionheader">Ninja Say What?!</b><br />
<br />
Entertaining and it makes a statement.<br />
<br />
<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5Ns-kXeQCMk&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5Ns-kXeQCMk&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br />
<br />
<br />
<b class="sectionheader">Horse Race Calls</b><br />
<br />
I work at a horse race track right now, so maybe I just find these overly amusing. The first video is what happens when an announcer can't see a thing.<br />
<br />
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gFTTxz9TTTQ&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gFTTxz9TTTQ&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
<br />
This second video will make anyone laugh, it's the best horse race call I've ever seen.<br />
<br />
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MVifEvlIBBo&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MVifEvlIBBo&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
<br />
And, for good measure, another race call by the same guy, Tom Durkin, with some musical amusement in it.<br />
<br />
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5a3sdADaf5U&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5a3sdADaf5U&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
<br />
<br />
<b class="sectionheader">Amazing Horse</b><br />
<br />
Speaking of horses, here's an amazing one.<br />
<br />
<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GUl9_5kK9ts&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GUl9_5kK9ts&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br />
<br />
<br />
<b class="sectionheader">THX Lemur</b><br />
<br />
Finally, I leave you with how every movie starts, the THX promo!<br />
<br />
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sj0VnoZAGvE&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sj0VnoZAGvE&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
<br />
Wow, that's a lot of youTube videos. Hopefully, this satiates my urge to share youTube clips for awhile. Hope you enjoyed them.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Klelithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08767894442677973716noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-42635752161110070012010-06-18T12:00:00.006-05:002010-06-18T12:00:01.025-05:00DRM: Product/CD Keys<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwVAMeeoU0Dbvg8ogulf1PyxsxZ6rOWf00Gn2o9B1J_BWAYfvTSjdiTluzALsIpa4_CzDfg7nAd20HP1iKXa3SFWOpBnU3jrFZwLArbCxKWfrPhwFNTsXCsow0TEkas3mhk66x2QawQ9Dy/s400/CD+Key.jpg" width="400" /></div><br />
I remember the first time I ever saw a CD key. It was on the original StarCraft. I remember wondering why you needed it. Oh, how young and naive I was back then.<br />
<br />
CD keys or product keys were one of the very first methods of DRM used. They were quickly adopted by game companies and are still used today. They work by having a unique set of characters and/or numbers for each product sold. This key, upon installation, was used to validate a game copy's legality.<br />
<br />
At first, this validation process was just an algorithm. This algorithm checked a set of rules against the key. If it met all the rules then the copy was recognized as legit and installation would continue. If it failed this rule check, the copy was viewed as illegal and the installation would fail.<br />
<br />
The problem with this approach, is that it's very easy for pirates and hackers to discover this algorithm. Once discovered it's another short step to create an algorithm that will spit out "legit" keys. This is called a key gen and, even today, you can still find them for many games.<br />
<br />
With the spread of the internet a new method of authenticating keys came about. Instead of checking the key with an algorithm, the key is instead checked against a database online. This database holds every key ever created for a product. A lot of the time these keys still use an algorithm for their creation and still follow a set of rules. The difference is that legit keys not only have to pass this algorithm, but they also have to be in the database.<br />
<br />
This database makes it harder for pirates and hackers to install their illegal copy, but not impossible. In a case like this, pirates usually avoid using keys altogether. Instead of having it check a key you just trick the program installer into believing it did the check or, better yet, remove the check altogether.<br />
<br />
So, why are product keys still in use today? Well, they stop just anyone from stealing the game. Everyone can install a program, but not everyone can create a key gen.<br />
<br />
Why are so many other DRM solutions shunned, yet product keys aren't even blinked at? It's because product keys are unobtrusive. The user generally deals with them only once, at installation time. After that point the user is never bugged again.<br />
<br />
Lastly, why aren't product keys the be-all end-all for DRM? Because they're laughably hackable, nothing more than an annoying gnat. They're there to stop the every day Joe and Jane from stealing the game, but will be quickly swatted aside by any hacker.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Klelithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08767894442677973716noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-77176775556139440442010-06-04T22:06:00.002-05:002010-06-04T22:06:51.388-05:00DRM: SecuROM<a href="http://www2.securom.com/SonyDADC-SecuROM.1.0.html">SecuROM</a> is a class of DRM that runs disc-checks and does online activation. It is meant to tie a game to either one disc or a certain number of online activations. The disc check means you need to carry the disc with you wherever you play, but this isn't a big deal since we had been doing this for years before online retail.<br />
<br />
The problem comes up with the online activation. The activation method basically gives you a number of tokens. When you install the game on a machine, the games activates itself and uses one of these tokens. When you run out of tokens you can no longer install a new copy of the game. Effectively, this locks you to a specified number of computers.<br />
<br />
This seems like a fitting idea, until you realize that people upgrade and buy new computer. They even reinstall their operating system. In all of these cases, you have to use another token to activate your software again. In this way, you can see how people can legitimately run out of tokens and need more. You can also extrapolate that this will get some people mad.<br />
<br />
This can be clearly seen with BioShock. BioShock, using SecuROM, came with a limit of five activations and, at first, there was no way to get your activation back. As expected, <a href="http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8989">some</a> <a href="http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17154">people</a> <a href="http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12412">had trouble</a>. And as one user <a href="http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8989#7">tactfully put it</a>, "2k has screwed us over. We are renting this game."<br />
<br />
The developers of BioShock quickly came out with a <a href="http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13554">Activation Revoke Tool</a> to allow recovery of activations, but the damage had been done and the backlash continued and six months later, the activation limit was <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/20/bioshock-pc-install-limits-removed-drm-remains/">completely removed</a>. Even more telling, when BioShock 2 came out, <a href="http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55023">activations had been removed and SecuROM was relegated to disc-checking only</a>.<br />
<br />
This is a popular trend with companies that <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/07/spore-mass-effect-to-require-online-validation-every-10-days/">once used</a> SecuROM's activation deciding to <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/10/bioware-drops-10-day-valdiation-from-mass-effect-pc/">jump</a> <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2009/11/25/mass-effect-2-system-requirements-revealed-restrictive-drm-remo/">ship</a>. Other's have seen the hassle online activation has caused and decided to <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/30/fallout-3-relies-on-securom-only-for-disc-check/">avoid it</a> <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2008/11/29/pc-version-of-gta-iv-to-include-securom-no-install-limit/">all</a> <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/06/pc-dragon-age-to-forego-securom-relies-on-disc-check/">together</a>.<br />
<br />
But with all the problems that SecuROM causes, does it work? The answer is no, it does not. BioShock was cracked <a href="http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7891">within days</a> of its release. Spore, <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/07/spore-mass-effect-to-require-online-validation-every-10-days/">which has SecuROM</a>, was the <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2008/12/07/spore-tops-list-of-most-pirated-pc-games-of-2008/">most pirated game of 2008</a>. So, for all the hassle SecuROM causes customer, it in no way stops hackers from cracking the game. It even makes some people <a href="http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10137">turn to</a> <a href="http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8989&highlight=activation+limit#9">pirating</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Klelithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08767894442677973716noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-52376043747976372552010-04-08T11:00:00.000-05:002010-04-08T11:00:06.092-05:00Thought Experiment: The Seer<i>I am going to tell you the same situation twice, once from an external point of view and again from an internal. Everything stated is true.</i><br />
<br />
<hr /><br />
A woman sits at a bar murmuring to herself. A guy walks in and sits next to her. He attempts to strike up a conversation.<br />
<br />
The woman promptly freaks out, calling him a murderer and screaming for him to get away. The guy, now surprised and flustered, backs off. The woman continues to scream, now yelling at others, telling them to stop this man before he murders again.<br />
<br />
The other customers are shocked and do nothing. Seeing that no help is coming, the woman takes it into her own hands. She grabs a knife from behind the bar and goes at the guy, stabbing him over and over, until the other customers managed to restrain her.<br />
<br />
<hr /><br />
She had been born with a gift to be able to see the future. This future sight had manifested as voices in her head. They talked to her, telling her things throughout the day and she thanked them whenever they helped her avoid something unpleasant. Sometimes she'd even strike up a conversions with the beings in her head over some drinks.<br />
<br />
Which is what they had been doing when the guy sat next to her at the bar. Her bodiless companions quickly told her that the guy planned on drugging her and killing her later that night, and that she had to get away as quickly as possible.<br />
<br />
She might have over reacted just a touch, calling him a murderer, but she had panicked. The voices had always been right before and if they told her to get away from something or she'd die, she did as she was told.<br />
<br />
After being called a murderer, the guy backed off. Relief shot through her until her companions told her the obvious, if he wasn't targeting her, then he would target another innocent girl. She had to stop him, before he got away and killed someone.<br />
<br />
Turning to the other customers for help, she screamed at them. Trying franticly to get them to stop the murdering man before he got away. Why were they just staring at her? Why wouldn't they help?<br />
<br />
She looked around quickly, her eyes landing on the knife behind the bar. Taking it up she rushed him. He had to be stopped.<br />
<br />
She thrust the knife into him, not stopping until she was pulled away.<br />
<br />
<hr /><br />
<i>Here's the list of symptoms the woman exibits from the external view:<br />
<ul><li>Auditory Hallucinations (Hearing Voices)</li>
<li>Delusions (He's going to murder me)</li>
<li>Paranoia</li>
</ul><br />
From the outside this looks like an obvious <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia">Schizophrenic</a> case.<br />
<br />
But we must remember, as I stated earlier, all facts are true. In other words, the voices in her head really can predict the future. Therefore, the guy was going to kill her and he was going to kill someone else if he wasn't stopped.<br />
<br />
This being so, here are the questions I would like you to try to answer...<br />
<ul><li>Is she schizophrenic?</li>
<li>If not, what is she?</li>
</ul></i><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-36416654471437267732010-03-30T03:16:00.000-05:002010-03-30T03:17:14.362-05:00A Rant on Blog NetworkingEveryone wants to know how they can get more people to visit their blog. The answer is first, write good content. No one's going to want to hang around your blog if you don't write things they want to read. The second answer is to do, what I like to call, Blog Networking.<br />
<br />
Blog Networking is when you comment on other people's posts. This can just be a random thought or you might relate it to a post you wrote, linking to it in the process. Either way, this helps get people to your blog. With the normal comments, if there's a link to your profile and your profile has a link to your blog, people that look at your profile could possibly come to your site. This, however, does not bring nearly as many people to your blog as the linking comment. These comments put a direct link right in front of people's faces and many more people will be willing to click through that link to your post.<br />
<br />
The problem I find with this is that every time I do a linking comment I feel dirty. It feels almost like spam, like all you're saying is, "Look at me!", even though whenever I do it, I try to make it relevant. So, I don't do it much. Which means my blog doesn't get noticed and it doesn't grow, because, with all the blogs out there nowadays, you have to do something special to get noticed. It's like you have to be a spammer of sorts, writing these comment, if you want to get anywhere.<br />
<br />
Which brings up the question of why I'm doing this. Is it just for the attention? Well, I write this blog to practice my writing. People kept telling me I was a good writer and without this blog I tended to not use my writing skill. So, I started this blog to better myself and have fun while doing it. However, I can only do this for so long before I feel like I'm shouting off into empty space and start to get discouraged with that running on a treadmill feeling. So, I need readers to help encourage me, even if it is just a small group.<br />
<br />
<hr /><i><br />
Well, this turned into a rant. I didn't mean it to, but it is what it is. So, if you made it this far I have a proposal for you for some Blog Networking.<br />
<br />
I've been meaning to ask about good blogs that are out there. I want to start reading other blogs and have no idea how to find one's I'm interested in. If you have some suggestions, be it your own blog or someone else's, I'd love to know about them. Just leave any suggestions in the comments and I'll take a look.</i><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-3251562034517596952010-03-30T02:11:00.000-05:002010-03-30T02:11:42.816-05:00Just a Thought: Filling A PostI <a href="http://lostinneurons.blogspot.com/2010/03/shotgunning-answers.html">just answered</a> some <a href="http://lostinneurons.blogspot.com/2010/03/open-saturday-thread-1-upping-tobold.html">Open Saturday</a> questions in a batch, saying it would be to much work to put them in separate posts. While this seems odd, in that I should write the same amount no matter how or where I answer the questions, this isn't the case.<br />
<br />
You see, when I write a blog post there's this feeling that it can't be to short. I end up writing filler and while I try to go into more detail with the filler, it was not content I'd planned on writing when I started the post. This filler does, usually, makes the post better, but, in a trade off, it makes me take longer writing it.<br />
<br />
So, combining posts can save me some time.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-77561660065389894942010-03-24T06:52:00.000-05:002010-03-24T06:53:10.755-05:00Just a Thought: DefenestrateI get a <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/">word of the day</a> from <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/">dictionary.com</a> and usually I kinda know the word. Today, however, I did not at all.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/defenestrate">defenestrate</a></b><br />
To throw out of a window.<br />
<br />
That's a complicated and very situational words right there. Now, get out of here, before I defenestrate you.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-55700886738166715282010-03-21T08:38:00.000-05:002010-03-21T08:39:02.408-05:00Just a Thought: Texting AwakeQuite often I'll text my brother the one word question, "Awake?" It's an odd question. It's a question that you can't answer no too, because you have to be awake to answer it. So, really, in truth, the answer is perpetually no until you get a response, at which point, the response is always yes.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-25727930361627992742010-02-15T04:17:00.000-06:002010-02-15T04:19:55.886-06:00The Name GameWhat's in a name? A lot.<br />
<br />
Every time you create a new character, there comes a time where they need a name. If you think this is easy then chances are, you don't write stories. For me, the name is everything. The name is the character and the character is the name.<br />
<br />
What sucks for me is lists of names don't work. This universe my characters come from isn't earth and they don't have earth names unless they come from earth. Some characters do, but not many. In the giant database in my brain where this universe exists, I can only think of three characters with earth names. The rest are up to me to create and it's a hard thing to do.<br />
<br />
Usually I'll end up staring at my computer, pecking at the keyboard trying to come up with something that works, that fits who they are or who they will be. Tonight, I'm completely stumped. This is why there's no part 2 of <a href="http://lostinneurons.blogspot.com/2010/02/life-reborn-part-1.html">Life Reborn</a> so far.<br />
<br />
I tried to get by without giving her a name yet. It worked too, until I planned ahead some more and realized, she needs a name here so that it will be connected to future events. I need you, the reader, to connected multiple scenes together and I see now that the connection is her name. So, I'm stuck, staring at my screen, stumped and nameless.<br />
<br />
Wish me luck, I'll get part 2 up as soon as I can.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-50891815564707128122010-02-14T23:58:00.000-06:002010-02-14T23:59:12.260-06:00Just a Thought: Olympic GameI'm watching the Olympics and I feel like I should have a bingo card with countries so I can mark them off as I see them. Maybe a map that I can color in countries.<br />
<br />
You know, in case the Olympics isn't exciting enough.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-40295442032494565072010-02-11T14:33:00.000-06:002010-02-12T16:38:53.293-06:00Google Chrome Starts Fast!I've use Google Chrome exclusively for about 4 months now and love it. There's been a few times where I've had to move over to firefox because something doesn't work, but it's no big deal. One thing that I lover about chrome is how fast it starts. It's almost instantaneous. Well, Google made an ad to show this and let me say, this is one of the best ads I've ever seen.<br />
<br />
<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/w7VNjGuSK_k&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/w7VNjGuSK_k&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-61391751033166779552010-02-10T14:04:00.000-06:002010-02-10T14:04:02.548-06:00Just a Thought: Cruise PoolsWhy do we put pools on boats? Think about it, you make a boat to keep out water and then you install a pool? What the hell.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-28404309368910901602010-02-10T01:53:00.000-06:002010-02-12T23:06:32.957-06:00Blogger Toolkit: Webmaster Tools<i>So, you started a blog and aren’t sure how to make it better? Blogger Toolkit is about some tools of the blogging trade that I’ve found useful.</i><br />
<br />
Even if you've used blogger for awhile you may not have noticed the <a href="https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/">Webmaster Tools</a> hang out at the bottom of blogger's dashboard.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJDJKSv119AwwmB_tuPn9NmF6PN-71qdEuDh7UhMsTmkOHFr7k9bc5ipeHzwi1Iyv3gUn43q0i3qYhCD_zQnyhpmmR6OEH7Ksj-1XuTE6rIDiLyzzMpncTBbmQIs4EIYYj8NbNL4MT1U/s400/WebmasterToolsScreen.jpg" width="400" /></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 0.8em;">"Hey guys what's up?"</span></div><br />
Well, it's there and it's very useful.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b class="sectionheader">What Webmaster Tools Is</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/">Webmaster Tools</a> is a tool, created by Google, to help web admins monitor how their site is seen by Google's search engine. It will tell you what searches your site appears in, what keywords are associated with your site and any potential errors that might prevent Google from indexing it. For optimizing searching, this is your best friend.<br />
<br />
<b class="sectionheader">Setting Up Webmaster Tools</b><br />
<br />
Visit this <a href="http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=100452">Google Help page</a> and follow the instructions to add your blog and verify it.<br />
<br />
After your blog is added there's one more thing that should be done to help Google index your page better, add a sitemap of your blog. A sitemap will help give Google a complete view of what's in your blog and make indexing easier for them. Your blog sitemap can be found at http://yourblogname.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?orderby=updated.<br />
<br />
The astute among you by now have realized this is not a true sitemap but is in fact your RSS feed. Blogger does not create a true sitemap for your blog, but that really doesn't matter. Google will accept an RSS feed in place of a true sitemap. So, lets add it.<br />
<ol><li>Go to the <a href="https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/">Webmaster Tools home page</a> and select your blog to get to the site's dashboard.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuKJPiiCWAnxc2TdKlqGV1Dwp06lgnZCZLRoZDBoDSFFCp0cfmW7EJFuxiM2qZeupKgVcxKigJNa5HU1cNz-bP4zUKs74ETAGB1R1KgNMBGShF6Ep2GxkXc48D_1rMdEyWzU3ahND0phg/s400/WebmasterToolsDashboard.jpg" width="400" /></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 0.8em;">Webmaster Tools Site Dashboard</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 0.8em;"><br />
</span></div></li>
<li>Near the bottom of the page under Sitemaps, click Submit a Sitemap.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYuWqUqF6zaSHB19KF9zRh4Wc0Dll1EwvsVy5nC_5WFHVdldaECNeLW1Xr9uX7epqykzDmW74bchGjqUJZl_oRDiOqeM7N6HN2M1UfUAw48s45EhPcRY42k8yfFrYxShkUc-vO5O6izwM/s400/WebmasterToolsDashboardCircle.jpg" width="400" /></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 0.8em;">Submit a Sitemap</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 0.8em;"><br />
</span></div></li>
<li>On the next page click Submit a Sitemap again. In the drop down dialog that appears type in the URL to the RSS feed. Don't include the domain. Click Submit Sitemap<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Z6gU6r35Fs_RdJaKIL2aAmHsAdgQeqUjpPa0ylAV3HkTdT2I7wAFwLVcuiAxt_VKqW_hBxIti6eg9z6OEFsIbiCRP4pQgvSD3f3n6VU5ReOikXrCNWPw5rhyUrD7WccQ7aBJ2K4mJ8Y/s1600-h/AddSitemap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Z6gU6r35Fs_RdJaKIL2aAmHsAdgQeqUjpPa0ylAV3HkTdT2I7wAFwLVcuiAxt_VKqW_hBxIti6eg9z6OEFsIbiCRP4pQgvSD3f3n6VU5ReOikXrCNWPw5rhyUrD7WccQ7aBJ2K4mJ8Y/s400/AddSitemap.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></li>
<li>Congrats, you're all setup. Your sitemap list should now look something like this.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="55" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpEYJuSPMLXczQLIU1oK5yCB5hKOyPc3ZyM4NLv18sK6hQwJ6qkXHAvuhaBFfEXebumMyQJ4ValNeWVF6GYYh66wmU_Rcd9UfZzuLLImEGAKW9tk7rkEsln2gja4wRBDDdQnEkkvME2ZI/s400/sitemaplist.jpg" width="400" /></div></li>
</ol><br />
<b class="sectionheader">Webmaster Tools Overview</b><br />
<br />
So you're setup. Now what? At this point there most likely isn't any data on <a href="https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/">Webmaster Tools</a> for your site. Be patient, Google will periodically update your site dashboard with information. It can sometimes be days between updates. So, like I said, be patient.<br />
<br />
In the mean time, here's an overview of what <a href="https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/">Webmaster Tools</a> has to offer.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjOnUMI-GA1DjgtLZ3-hBUW-rPxnd14axrWORqPF_AmIO-oyq16HYkhPSMNEFWoxaI5Wa4NZxxukza9BjUinnwpDlma1C-JE6t6KjiaSDfV3RJQceWb-vDxb2ErpBmBtgxgTi_KULhd_w/s400/WebmastetToolsOverview.jpg" width="400" /></div><br />
Red - Menu to access site settings and information.<br />
<br />
Blue - The top search queries for your site. These are searchs people have done on google.com where your site has appeared.<br />
<br />
Green - Pages that have links to your site.<br />
<br />
Yellow - All crawler errors that have occurred when Google tries to index your site. Depending on the error this could indicate a problem with your site.<br />
<br />
Purple - Keywords for your site ordered by significance (number of times they occur).<br />
<br />
Orange - Sitemaps you have registered for your site.<br />
<br />
I hope you found this post helpful and I plan to add more to the Blogger Toolkit series in the future.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-20946056288909135962010-02-09T04:33:00.000-06:002010-02-09T15:33:54.323-06:00Brotherly BloggingMy brother just started a blog about gaming. I spent a good chunk of my night helping him set it up. He's really demanding, but I love him anyways.<br />
<br />
He should have some interesting things to says. Check it out <a href="http://agreenmushroom.blogspot.com/">here</a>.<br />
<br />
P.S. His blog looks so much nicer than mine. I've been to lazy to make a banner and change colors. Hopefully I'll get to that this week.<br />
<br />
P.P.S. He made me a banner. I knew I liked him for a reason.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1569460685520930470.post-2260201837110307122010-02-07T19:56:00.000-06:002010-02-07T20:02:11.686-06:00Just a Thought: AdholicsWhat has this country come to when we watch the Super Bowl for the commercials? Of course, I really can't complain, I watch it too. I feel sorry for the people who want to see the actual game. When do you go to the bathroom? Just went to the bathroom between commercials, when the game was on. How sad.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>
<i>From the blog <a href="http://www.lostinneurons.com/">Lost In Neurons</a>.</i>
</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3