Scientific research has allowed us to answer many of the questions in our reality, allowed us to begin to explore this cave we live in and see it with clarity no religion can offer. But there is one question no living thing has an answer too, the question of "why?"
I recently contemplated death, and life, the difference between living and existing. As I thought about death I came to a better understanding of why religion was invented, the sheer terror of thinking about just ceasing to exist sent me into a panic. For the first time in my nearly four decades of existence I was afraid of something, but it wasn't death, it was ceasing to exist.
So I pondered a bit, there is something unique about the human species, something that did change. Scientific research indicates that all our qualities and abilities exist in other species, so I had to dig for a difference between us and the other animals. That difference was not an easy thing to find, but it dawned on me, we ask "why?"
Whether the other species are capable of asking that one question, or they are simply unwilling too ask it, we cannot tell at this time. Though it's probably the single most important question in the universe. Eventually I came to the one question I cannot figure out an answer too, why am I aware?
Awareness is common, many species are aware of the self, but it dawned on me that we are the only ones who appear to have asked why we are aware. The discovery that I have made is that not all humans have, or are even willing too ask that question. Instead they take whatever promise they are handed and accept their fates. So maybe it's not all humans who are unique in this manner, perhaps it's only a few of us that are truly unique.
The problem with this line of thinking is the long list of implications that could, potentially, destroy the very fabric of society. In fact, it has several times in the past. Someone asked these questions, dreamed up some answer that they hoped was correct, and someone else, who was unwilling to ask these questions, saw the answers as fuel to placate the masses, to control the masses. We call these dreams "religion" now.
So here, as an atheist, I propose the new religion of the masses, the one with no invented answers, with only your own hopes to consider in place of a mass produced placebo. There has to be more than this life, not a continual life, or some form or reincarnation, but simply something more. How we live is not an issue, but consider that helping humanity progress and survive does help you to forgo death a bit longer, as well as ensure you at least have a chance to live on after your body dies in the memories of others.
Instead of accepting the dreams and hopes of someone else, keep asking the question, for if there is any hope of something beyond this, it's the questions that cannot be answered that will be the keys to gate. Instead of making decisions based on some ancient texts written to drive the masses into wars, make decisions based on well thought out logic.
The more you look at the universe with logic, the more sense all the simple answers make, like "how" or "when." Logic for these answers will also help you to make better decisions than some ancient texts filled with pipe dreams of barbarians and troglodytes. The most important question to ask is why you are.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Surviving is Not Living - The Medical Nightmare
Yes, I am still surviving, surprisingly enough, in spite of the medical industry of the USA. A quaint little story of my life will illustrate what I mean by that.
I have had some medical problems, lots of them recently, and each one has always been diagnosed wrong, resulting in nearly dying. Now I live with a lot of pain, and suffer every day because of the failure of doctors to diagnose something not only preventable, but common. So I went in to a specialist one time, they told me "pain is not a symptom," flat out denied the first symptom of any ailment.
I was attempting to get something diagnosed and stopped this time, before it became worse, before it cost taxpayers more money to correct. Yes, all my medical bills are covered by the taxpayers. Anyhow, the doctor simply denied there was anything wrong without a single test, the last time this happened I was admitted to the emergency room several times and needed an expensive, life saving, operation that could have cost only a few thousand dollars, but wound up costing the taxpayers more than $30,000 .... plus the costs of all those emergency room visits.
Anyhow, the answer to my complaint about it being a real problem was them attempting to lock me up, claiming I was suicidal in spite of me actually trying to save my own life again. A few thousand more from the taxpayers and they finally let me go. This is what psychiatrists are, a scam to be used by the state as a means of justifying more tax dollars to be funneled into the medical industry, nothing more.
So now the problem is getting worse, I am sleepless most nights, the pain becoming too great at times. But here's the real problem, doctors are not interested in the patients living, they are only interested in keeping the patients breathing so they can milk the insurance companies, and states, for every penny possible. Sounds like a bit of paranoia? Well, I would have thought it was nothing but paranoia 10 years ago, but nothing beats actually going through it.
But wait, there are statistics that help my case. This is where the patients are failing, you all need to start doing some research and demanding that doctors do their jobs. A majority of gallstone cases are diagnosed as "irritable bowel syndrome," basically means they are saying it's all in your head instead of something that will eventually kill you. Yep, my biggest brush with death was gallstones that were misdiagnosed. Thinking I was a rare case I didn't think too much of it.
Then I go online, yes, the internet. While there is a lot of junk online, there is also a ton of useful information, like the fact that my case is far from rare. Turns out I knew, personally, a dozen people online who had the exact same story about the gallstones. That piqued my interest and I started searching for more. To my shock, a Google search turned up more than a few hundred stories that were exactly the same.
Here's the kicker, the surgery for removing the gallbladder, in optimal situations, is only a few thousand dollars, and minimally invasive with a high success rate. The surgery required if there are complications is extremely expensive, and can be very invasive, requiring a longer recovery and hospital stay. Not to mention, there is a high chance of developing medical issues in the future because of the complications and invasive surgery.
This is a gold mine for the medical system, not the insurance companies mind you, but the actual doctors and institutions. Insurance companies have to pay for this, and if they don't, the taxpayers will pay for it all. The medical professionals are paid, in full, for their mistakes for the rest of what they call your life. But it's not really a life, is it? You are just surviving, pain and other problems making living very difficult, if possible at all.
This is the reality of the medical system in the US, the reality that is often whitewashed by the doctors and nurses, and administration. They point the finger at the insurance companies, to make sure you ignore their mistakes. It is time the US changes for the better, instead of one step forward, two steps back. We need to force this country to leap ahead.
I have had some medical problems, lots of them recently, and each one has always been diagnosed wrong, resulting in nearly dying. Now I live with a lot of pain, and suffer every day because of the failure of doctors to diagnose something not only preventable, but common. So I went in to a specialist one time, they told me "pain is not a symptom," flat out denied the first symptom of any ailment.
I was attempting to get something diagnosed and stopped this time, before it became worse, before it cost taxpayers more money to correct. Yes, all my medical bills are covered by the taxpayers. Anyhow, the doctor simply denied there was anything wrong without a single test, the last time this happened I was admitted to the emergency room several times and needed an expensive, life saving, operation that could have cost only a few thousand dollars, but wound up costing the taxpayers more than $30,000 .... plus the costs of all those emergency room visits.
Anyhow, the answer to my complaint about it being a real problem was them attempting to lock me up, claiming I was suicidal in spite of me actually trying to save my own life again. A few thousand more from the taxpayers and they finally let me go. This is what psychiatrists are, a scam to be used by the state as a means of justifying more tax dollars to be funneled into the medical industry, nothing more.
So now the problem is getting worse, I am sleepless most nights, the pain becoming too great at times. But here's the real problem, doctors are not interested in the patients living, they are only interested in keeping the patients breathing so they can milk the insurance companies, and states, for every penny possible. Sounds like a bit of paranoia? Well, I would have thought it was nothing but paranoia 10 years ago, but nothing beats actually going through it.
But wait, there are statistics that help my case. This is where the patients are failing, you all need to start doing some research and demanding that doctors do their jobs. A majority of gallstone cases are diagnosed as "irritable bowel syndrome," basically means they are saying it's all in your head instead of something that will eventually kill you. Yep, my biggest brush with death was gallstones that were misdiagnosed. Thinking I was a rare case I didn't think too much of it.
Then I go online, yes, the internet. While there is a lot of junk online, there is also a ton of useful information, like the fact that my case is far from rare. Turns out I knew, personally, a dozen people online who had the exact same story about the gallstones. That piqued my interest and I started searching for more. To my shock, a Google search turned up more than a few hundred stories that were exactly the same.
Here's the kicker, the surgery for removing the gallbladder, in optimal situations, is only a few thousand dollars, and minimally invasive with a high success rate. The surgery required if there are complications is extremely expensive, and can be very invasive, requiring a longer recovery and hospital stay. Not to mention, there is a high chance of developing medical issues in the future because of the complications and invasive surgery.
This is a gold mine for the medical system, not the insurance companies mind you, but the actual doctors and institutions. Insurance companies have to pay for this, and if they don't, the taxpayers will pay for it all. The medical professionals are paid, in full, for their mistakes for the rest of what they call your life. But it's not really a life, is it? You are just surviving, pain and other problems making living very difficult, if possible at all.
This is the reality of the medical system in the US, the reality that is often whitewashed by the doctors and nurses, and administration. They point the finger at the insurance companies, to make sure you ignore their mistakes. It is time the US changes for the better, instead of one step forward, two steps back. We need to force this country to leap ahead.
Monday, January 23, 2012
The Level Playing Field
Yeah, this is about the latest pet peeve in the political scam arena. The idea that there is a "playing field" in the first place fails, unless you are talking about sports. But politics and business are not sports. So, comparing them to sports is inherently a failure. But the "level" part annoys me even more.
In a truly equal and level system everyone plays by the same rules. Rules are laws, regulations, etc. and to be truly equal, or "level", they must all apply to everyone exactly the same regardless of ... well ... anything. Gay, straight, black, green, purple, butt for head ... the laws (or rules) should be exactly the same, and that would be equality. But let's look at specifically the economic portion of this, business. Too many people think that businesses are what determine the rules, they do not. We do, though less directly because we have to push the government to enact the rules and enforce them.
But this is not what people are claiming, at least many many people. They are claiming business makes the rules, because "they have more money". Well, who is "they" ... singular, because for some reason these same people think that "they" is one huge entity that somehow lives on it's own. Here's a wake up though, businesses are "they" plural, as in you, me, and ... everyone who buys or deals with them. The truly ignorant part of this whole "level playing field" idea is the concept that we cannot control businesses.
Actually, we can make businesses do what we want far easier than we can make the government. The government can enact laws and such to silence us, businesses do not have that power. Businesses can suggest such actions to the government, but ultimately it is the government making them into laws. But how do we control businesses? By choosing where to buy products from. It's that easy. Well, it's that easy as long as the government doesn't enact laws preventing us from making a choice.
Yep, outlawing certain products, "encouraging" others with subsidies, all of that is taking away our ability to choose and control businesses. But will people crying about a "level playing field" ever see that? Not likely. Instead of choosing to let companies they don't like fall (bankruptcy and such) they instead want to give subsidies to others. Remember corn? Yeah, now they want the products made from the corn, that they pushed to be given a "helping hand", banned for reasons that it's unhealthy for us.
Come to think of it, the corn fiasco is the perfect example of how these "level playing field" cries are so bad for our world. Back in the past corn farms were exactly even with everything else. It was great, there was a variety of products people could choose from. But then people stopped buying so much corn. Why? The consumers didn't want it as much. So many of the farms were failing. Suddenly the outcry from people gave strength to lobbyists to run to the government and cry "help the corn farms!"
They did, they gave a bunch of money to corn farmers and incentives to new corn farmers. So the corn industry exploded, but no one was buying more corn yet. So, what to do with all that corn? Candy, soda pop, all the tasty treats you can imagine became so cheap and easy to produce. Well, the corn farmers weren't worried about losing money, so they kept making corn and the government kept giving the more money, and the people just bought junk food.
Then, someone says "we might be able to use this excess corn for fuel!" ... and instead of leaving the system alone, which was already broken, they added more subsidies and more money to the corn farmers. Increasing corn products even more. But, turns out that it was not as useful for fuel, so the corn was still being used for junk foods, since that was the only thing they had to do with all this corn.
Ahh, the system was broken so badly now, but .... it gets worse. Recently a group of doctors decided to rally against jun foods, "it's so bad for us we need to ban it!" But, no, we can't ban it for two reasons, the biggest reason being: The government's idiotic spending on corn farms would be found out.
So, instead let's tax it. The government hoping to get some of that money back. However they only succeeded in breaking the system, and making it far less equal and far less "level". Corn farmers make a fortune, all other farms have to struggle, so those other farms are moving to Mexico, does that really sound level?
I may continue this more, because this topic is pissing me off. But here's the thing, we all have the same opportunities until the government steps in and changes that. If you can't make a product anyone else wants, that's your lack of ability, not an unfair system, but if someone comes in and hands you money anyway, then you still lack skill and ability but have an advantage.
Yeah, this is about the latest pet peeve in the political scam arena. The idea that there is a "playing field" in the first place fails, unless you are talking about sports. But politics and business are not sports. So, comparing them to sports is inherently a failure. But the "level" part annoys me even more.
In a truly equal and level system everyone plays by the same rules. Rules are laws, regulations, etc. and to be truly equal, or "level", they must all apply to everyone exactly the same regardless of ... well ... anything. Gay, straight, black, green, purple, butt for head ... the laws (or rules) should be exactly the same, and that would be equality. But let's look at specifically the economic portion of this, business. Too many people think that businesses are what determine the rules, they do not. We do, though less directly because we have to push the government to enact the rules and enforce them.
But this is not what people are claiming, at least many many people. They are claiming business makes the rules, because "they have more money". Well, who is "they" ... singular, because for some reason these same people think that "they" is one huge entity that somehow lives on it's own. Here's a wake up though, businesses are "they" plural, as in you, me, and ... everyone who buys or deals with them. The truly ignorant part of this whole "level playing field" idea is the concept that we cannot control businesses.
Actually, we can make businesses do what we want far easier than we can make the government. The government can enact laws and such to silence us, businesses do not have that power. Businesses can suggest such actions to the government, but ultimately it is the government making them into laws. But how do we control businesses? By choosing where to buy products from. It's that easy. Well, it's that easy as long as the government doesn't enact laws preventing us from making a choice.
Yep, outlawing certain products, "encouraging" others with subsidies, all of that is taking away our ability to choose and control businesses. But will people crying about a "level playing field" ever see that? Not likely. Instead of choosing to let companies they don't like fall (bankruptcy and such) they instead want to give subsidies to others. Remember corn? Yeah, now they want the products made from the corn, that they pushed to be given a "helping hand", banned for reasons that it's unhealthy for us.
Come to think of it, the corn fiasco is the perfect example of how these "level playing field" cries are so bad for our world. Back in the past corn farms were exactly even with everything else. It was great, there was a variety of products people could choose from. But then people stopped buying so much corn. Why? The consumers didn't want it as much. So many of the farms were failing. Suddenly the outcry from people gave strength to lobbyists to run to the government and cry "help the corn farms!"
They did, they gave a bunch of money to corn farmers and incentives to new corn farmers. So the corn industry exploded, but no one was buying more corn yet. So, what to do with all that corn? Candy, soda pop, all the tasty treats you can imagine became so cheap and easy to produce. Well, the corn farmers weren't worried about losing money, so they kept making corn and the government kept giving the more money, and the people just bought junk food.
Then, someone says "we might be able to use this excess corn for fuel!" ... and instead of leaving the system alone, which was already broken, they added more subsidies and more money to the corn farmers. Increasing corn products even more. But, turns out that it was not as useful for fuel, so the corn was still being used for junk foods, since that was the only thing they had to do with all this corn.
Ahh, the system was broken so badly now, but .... it gets worse. Recently a group of doctors decided to rally against jun foods, "it's so bad for us we need to ban it!" But, no, we can't ban it for two reasons, the biggest reason being: The government's idiotic spending on corn farms would be found out.
So, instead let's tax it. The government hoping to get some of that money back. However they only succeeded in breaking the system, and making it far less equal and far less "level". Corn farmers make a fortune, all other farms have to struggle, so those other farms are moving to Mexico, does that really sound level?
I may continue this more, because this topic is pissing me off. But here's the thing, we all have the same opportunities until the government steps in and changes that. If you can't make a product anyone else wants, that's your lack of ability, not an unfair system, but if someone comes in and hands you money anyway, then you still lack skill and ability but have an advantage.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
How to Make Money Online
You thought I was above this .... fooled you! Well, not really. I have watched a ton of videos online, read a bunch of blogs, and come to a few conclusions. None of the people making money posting their work online ever ask that question.
Yep, the easiest way to make money with your content is not to try for that. Put what you want on there, enjoy making it. Because if you start making things with the intent of making money, you will fail. Even then, the only reason to want to make money on content is so you can make more content.
Which brings me to my gripe about some of those who do make it big online. They change their content or stop making more. That's just not cool. When you make a video or song for the internet and post somewhere, do it because you love making art. Do it for the fans. But most of all, do it because you want to. There is no excuse for changing what you do after the fact.
Which brings me to my new website, which will be officially launched soon. Digital Noise Graffiti which is 100% free, free as in freedom of speech and free in cost. But, and there's always a catch, you cannot make an impression on me if you are looking to make money so to get artist status you have to do what you enjoy with no other goal than to entertain the masses, or just yourself. You don't have to be popular.
I know a bunch of "get rich quick" seekers will find this, and I hope they do and read the whole thing. There is no magic bullet to financial gain, anywhere. People who make money adding content online didn't just wake up one day and find an email in their box saying "let us pay you for that!" They did what they enjoy. So, what makes their content popular?
Now there's a good question. Popularity is something everyone wants, even if you don't care about getting paid, and not all popularity is the same. So here's a list of things that make people popular on Youtube specifically:
In closing, don't worry about making money online, just don't. You will most likely be hurt by a scam if you are searching for it, and scams hurt. Just sit back and enjoy the ride, one day you can be famous at least.
You thought I was above this .... fooled you! Well, not really. I have watched a ton of videos online, read a bunch of blogs, and come to a few conclusions. None of the people making money posting their work online ever ask that question.
Yep, the easiest way to make money with your content is not to try for that. Put what you want on there, enjoy making it. Because if you start making things with the intent of making money, you will fail. Even then, the only reason to want to make money on content is so you can make more content.
Which brings me to my gripe about some of those who do make it big online. They change their content or stop making more. That's just not cool. When you make a video or song for the internet and post somewhere, do it because you love making art. Do it for the fans. But most of all, do it because you want to. There is no excuse for changing what you do after the fact.
Which brings me to my new website, which will be officially launched soon. Digital Noise Graffiti which is 100% free, free as in freedom of speech and free in cost. But, and there's always a catch, you cannot make an impression on me if you are looking to make money so to get artist status you have to do what you enjoy with no other goal than to entertain the masses, or just yourself. You don't have to be popular.
I know a bunch of "get rich quick" seekers will find this, and I hope they do and read the whole thing. There is no magic bullet to financial gain, anywhere. People who make money adding content online didn't just wake up one day and find an email in their box saying "let us pay you for that!" They did what they enjoy. So, what makes their content popular?
Now there's a good question. Popularity is something everyone wants, even if you don't care about getting paid, and not all popularity is the same. So here's a list of things that make people popular on Youtube specifically:
- Fun - they enjoy what they are doing and have fun making it. It's not about getting ahead in anyway. The most successful content makers for Youtube don't complain about being unpopular and they don't worry if they get some dislikes. It's just for fun.
- Originality - the biggest and most important element. Imitating your favorite ... whatever ... can be fun, yes, but not always original. Parodies are pretty much out dated now. Not that you should never do them, just, there's a lot of them already. Animations, been done to death, but animations using certain methods can be very unique. Just don't expect that parody of Lady Gaga to attract many viewers.
- Engaging - something I have come to learn is that engaging the audience will get you more subscribers. In the video actually ask for their comments. Don't beg, just ask. Give them a question, that seems to work well. Don't discourage constructive criticism either, if anything engage those commenters more. Viewers can't resist coming up with humorous or insane answers to even the most inane question. Not only will this get people watching more it will also give you a lot of laughs. Win-win.
- Moderation - too much of anything can be a bad thing, and special effects are one of those. Don't use them unless it's part of your art, even then, don't use them too much. CGI is great as an art form, but using it to replace reality will only detriment your work. Yep, one of the great things about computers is fading like a fad. People want real or art, not the replacement of reality. This is also a good thing for CG artists who can't make realistic work, people want to watch your disfigured images more than those who can make things like Dances with Smurfs .... oh wait, that was called Avatar.
In closing, don't worry about making money online, just don't. You will most likely be hurt by a scam if you are searching for it, and scams hurt. Just sit back and enjoy the ride, one day you can be famous at least.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
The Political Horizon
We see it now, at least we can if we open our eyes. The entire world leadership is on the brink of a massive and rapid change, especially in nations with some form of democracy or election system in place. The next generation that will inherit the ability to invoke change will outnumber the rest of the world very soon. While this shift will happen in other nations, I will explain it using the US, since I live here.
Most of the young voters are not choosing candidates based on political parties, it's oddly the middle aged and older generation more likely to still hold to such labels. Instead the younger voters are staying informed. How? The one thing that the government here has been trying to find some way to censor for over a decade now, the world wide web. We call it "the internet," but really it's just the largest internet. But that's a different story. Back on track. Yes, the younger generations are reading blogs, news stories, and even fact checking any report they encounter through Google and other search engines. They are being more informed.
Now we factor in the connectivity and "friends" online. I use quotes because they are more dynamic than traditional friends. An online friend, whether through a social networking or casual find on some forum, can vary from simple "look what I found" friends to allies. It's the allies that we need to consider here. Imagine if a young Youtuber suddenly ran for president. Not only would they get more exposure to the younger voters, they would also be featured in more detail across the net. All their dirty laundry and scandals are out in the open already, online. Their subscribers would cheer them on, even vote for them when possible. Their campaign ads would be plastered across the internet for free, reaching every corner of the web.
Now consider a "classic" campaign run by an older person on television and radio ... and cue crickets. Even road trips would not garner the attention one well made, inexpensive, video online would. Television has lost most of it's control over media, radio is almost dead, everything streams through the net now, and almost everything can be obtained virtually free legally through the net. None of the younger voters would know enough about the older candidate to make an informed decision, and since they care more about knowing things, the older candidate would stand no chance against a younger and more well known internet personality.
Thus, the shift will happen soon, as these younger people are becoming old enough to vote you can already witness the effect of one idea rippling through the net, SOPA/PIPA. Look online and millions of blogs, videos, even tweets, spread the word about this attack on our freedom. Just for considering passing such a bill, the entire government was brought into question. All the politicians became enemy number one in the internet's social system.
So yes, the entire political system world wide was hurt by the internet, well, the political system as it is. But this is a very good thing. It's a wonderful thing. All that "change" the politicians and world leaders continue to sell the people is actually possible, thanks to the next generation .... and the internet. So to any younger folks reading this, get out and vote, take control, but don't just vote, run for office! You have the same connections politicians have, probably many more. You know how to use tools given to you to improve your knowledge. So if you want to be president of the US, do it. Post your campaign online, for free. Youtube, Google+, even Facebook. You have the support and we need you now more than ever.
Thanks for reading. Tell me who you want to run, post here or on my Youtube channel: http://youtube.com/user/kittenkoder
We see it now, at least we can if we open our eyes. The entire world leadership is on the brink of a massive and rapid change, especially in nations with some form of democracy or election system in place. The next generation that will inherit the ability to invoke change will outnumber the rest of the world very soon. While this shift will happen in other nations, I will explain it using the US, since I live here.
Most of the young voters are not choosing candidates based on political parties, it's oddly the middle aged and older generation more likely to still hold to such labels. Instead the younger voters are staying informed. How? The one thing that the government here has been trying to find some way to censor for over a decade now, the world wide web. We call it "the internet," but really it's just the largest internet. But that's a different story. Back on track. Yes, the younger generations are reading blogs, news stories, and even fact checking any report they encounter through Google and other search engines. They are being more informed.
Now we factor in the connectivity and "friends" online. I use quotes because they are more dynamic than traditional friends. An online friend, whether through a social networking or casual find on some forum, can vary from simple "look what I found" friends to allies. It's the allies that we need to consider here. Imagine if a young Youtuber suddenly ran for president. Not only would they get more exposure to the younger voters, they would also be featured in more detail across the net. All their dirty laundry and scandals are out in the open already, online. Their subscribers would cheer them on, even vote for them when possible. Their campaign ads would be plastered across the internet for free, reaching every corner of the web.
Now consider a "classic" campaign run by an older person on television and radio ... and cue crickets. Even road trips would not garner the attention one well made, inexpensive, video online would. Television has lost most of it's control over media, radio is almost dead, everything streams through the net now, and almost everything can be obtained virtually free legally through the net. None of the younger voters would know enough about the older candidate to make an informed decision, and since they care more about knowing things, the older candidate would stand no chance against a younger and more well known internet personality.
Thus, the shift will happen soon, as these younger people are becoming old enough to vote you can already witness the effect of one idea rippling through the net, SOPA/PIPA. Look online and millions of blogs, videos, even tweets, spread the word about this attack on our freedom. Just for considering passing such a bill, the entire government was brought into question. All the politicians became enemy number one in the internet's social system.
So yes, the entire political system world wide was hurt by the internet, well, the political system as it is. But this is a very good thing. It's a wonderful thing. All that "change" the politicians and world leaders continue to sell the people is actually possible, thanks to the next generation .... and the internet. So to any younger folks reading this, get out and vote, take control, but don't just vote, run for office! You have the same connections politicians have, probably many more. You know how to use tools given to you to improve your knowledge. So if you want to be president of the US, do it. Post your campaign online, for free. Youtube, Google+, even Facebook. You have the support and we need you now more than ever.
Thanks for reading. Tell me who you want to run, post here or on my Youtube channel: http://youtube.com/user/kittenkoder
Monday, December 12, 2011
When is Change Good?
Alright, someone has to be wondering why I am making so many changes to my models and my animation style. Well, there are several answers to that. Let me just explain them a bit.
First, better computer. I got a better computer a while ago and it can now keep up with me. So now Blender runs like a dream. Instead of just making more of the old animations I am updating to match the power of my new machine. That means more detail, higher quality, and yes, better video rendering. Which leads to the next reason.
More practice. They say "practice makes perfect," and that is so true. I can now model a human mesh from nothing but two photos, profile and facing the camera. From that I can mold the mesh around the correct points at a speed and accuracy I never thought I'd reach. Honestly, I thought I'd be animating primitives at this point still. I also understand armatures and materials a lot more, and have practiced using them so I know things to watch out for. Cloth simulation in Blender has never been easy, but even that I am setting up with ease now. Essentially, my learning curve matches my enjoyment of what I am learning, and I really enjoy modeling 3D animations.
Last reason, it's time for a change. Until now all my models have appeared ... well meh. Just simple meshes with a few movements, which were all pretty robotic and rigid. Now I have an actual style, an appearance to models that's my own. I also use to dress them up based on other characters made by other people, now they are all my own originals. Check out my G+ album to keep up on new ones: Google+ Photo Album
Note: The last one is my pride and joy, utilizing so many features in the materials and animation system, she's almost perfect.
Tell me what you think.
Alright, someone has to be wondering why I am making so many changes to my models and my animation style. Well, there are several answers to that. Let me just explain them a bit.
First, better computer. I got a better computer a while ago and it can now keep up with me. So now Blender runs like a dream. Instead of just making more of the old animations I am updating to match the power of my new machine. That means more detail, higher quality, and yes, better video rendering. Which leads to the next reason.
More practice. They say "practice makes perfect," and that is so true. I can now model a human mesh from nothing but two photos, profile and facing the camera. From that I can mold the mesh around the correct points at a speed and accuracy I never thought I'd reach. Honestly, I thought I'd be animating primitives at this point still. I also understand armatures and materials a lot more, and have practiced using them so I know things to watch out for. Cloth simulation in Blender has never been easy, but even that I am setting up with ease now. Essentially, my learning curve matches my enjoyment of what I am learning, and I really enjoy modeling 3D animations.
Note: The last one is my pride and joy, utilizing so many features in the materials and animation system, she's almost perfect.
Tell me what you think.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Things Annoying Me
Several things have been annoying me lately. The first being this "protect copyrights" garbage. They are just using that as an excuse to censor internet content, like "videos make people violent" or "rock and roll makes you use drugs" it's just about controlling something that can't be controlled. All of us internet denizens know one thing, freedom of speech has a dark side that must be tolerated in order to protect freedom of speech as a whole, but pirating isn't that dark side. Pirating is a very tiny portion of the internet's content, there is more pirating by those at home who used VHS and audio cassette tapes to record their favorites from the TV and radio. But shhh, we aren't suppose to mention those because that's old tech. Well, it is relevant because the only people who are being hurt by online content are the obsolete music label and movie production companies.
Yep, music labels are being hurt the most because now musicians can not only become well known without them, they can also make more money, and still keep the rights to their music. Thanks to great places like Youtube, a musician can give their music to their fans for free and still make money by advertising, and it's easy for them. That's what scares the labels, they can no longer bully the rights away from the musicians. Music labels were a necessary evil in the past, it was the only way artists could get their art out to the world and make enough money to continue being artists. But what were the artists giving up their rights to the music for? Advertising and distribution, which is being replaced by internet websites.
So this is why they keep pushing the government in the US harder and harder for censorship of the internet, it has nothing to do with protecting the artist. Thank Sky Net that there are enough geeks, nerds, techies, and fans online to create a huge backlash. Do a search on Youtube and you can see the huge number of videos voicing against SOPA and PIPA. It's awesome to see people coming together on a massive scale to stop something like this. That's the part the government itself fears. You can't keep anything behind closed doors with the internet, it's not possible. It will get leaked, it will come forward, and though there will be a bunch of conspiracy theories as well, people will see the truth more than not.
Another thing that's been annoying me, cyber bullying and trolling. People, I just don't know how to say this any more clearly, if you don't like what someone has to say online, ignore them. Every single site has some form of ignore feature. in case you are incapable of ignoring them by just not reading what they post or they get too offensive for your tastes. On Youtube you can even block them from posting on your videos and channel! Use this. It's a tool, and tools are only good when used. In real life you can't just turn off people like that, so I do get the worry about real life bullying and such, but online you can.
That is the most beautiful thing about the internet, you can avoid everything you don't like. But as to trolling, and this is why I put a difference between trolling and flaming, most trolls are just doing it for laughs. It's not their intent to hurt your feelings. See, they have mastered the art of separating real life feelings from the internet. To them, what they post online is just online and doesn't effect how they live, and they simply cannot fathom anyone who takes things so serious. They don't troll to hurt, they troll to make the internet interesting, and they actually do accomplish that. Check out Art of Trolling ... it's really funny.
Flaming however is different from trolling, the intent of the flamer is to make themselves feel better by insulting others. Which ironically makes them the exact opposite of the troll. Flamers are incapable of letting go, while trolls can be harmless, flamers can completely destroy a conversation or thread by turning it into nothing but a stream of insults and one ups. Don't fall for these people, click ignore or block if someone does nothing but toss back personal insults after three or four responses. A "troll for lulz" will likely stop after a few (unless others play along for more lulz) but a flamer will hold a grudge and keep trying to hurt you.
The line between the two is hard to define most of the time, but for the love of Sky Net, stop taking things so hard people. It's not that bad. So what if someone thinks you suck, look into their content and I'd wager they suck more and are just trying to make themselves feel better. True example, someone posted (a while back) on my Youtube channel, saying mys stuff sucked. I have never in any way once said I was anything more than an amateur just diving into a new hobby. I clicked on his profile, and behold, not one video. Yep. They had the audacity to say I sucked at making vids but didn't even have one video of their own. They are now blocked simply because of being disruptive, until they at least post as many vids as I have with some actually creative content (I promise I will unblock them if that ever happens).
So use those buttons, on Youtube it's to the right of their name when they post.
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