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

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.

Things Annoying Me

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.

Halloween Anywhere

Living in downtown trick or treating is hard.Bare with me as i am exhausted and about to pass to sleep. But I got a brilliant idea for next year for everyone in city centers, Adult dressed in costumes, any costumes, even the classic zombie. We each have bags of candy and wander through town approaching people in costume saying "treat or trick" .... they'll like look at us odd but the kids will most likely be the first to get it and hold out their bag. Drop in some candy then do a little joke, goofy jig, something as you move on to seek the next group. If you come to a group that looks puzzled instead and doesn't figure it out after a moment, then you play a joke on them somehow, a simple verbal joke that has no real meaning or answer, a word puzzle, etc. just to confuse them a bit more. just wander about in small groups doing this, of course you must act in the spirit of Halloween whenever you pass another group, getting mixed up and maybe making a new group. When other people want to join in they just do.

It wouldn't have to be that organized, but it would be a blast, only a few people starting would get attention for more to join in. The point is, have fun, make trick or treating something to do in major city centers, like downtown Seattle where there's almost nowhere to trick or treat but lots of kids and other people in costume, shy should they have to sacrifice Halloween just to stand in lines for the later night events? Let's, next year, strengthen the tradition and remind everyone it's not just for the children.

I will be trying to do this in my city for certain, but if other cities get the idea that would be great to hear. Post what you know, your experiences with something like this, and post the smiles on people's faces most importantly! :P

You may wonder what happens when you have given up hope for humanity? You find one thing you can start and do it. Those who decide to could be considered the ancient spirits returned to remind people of the importance this tradition has ... though behind our makeup and masks we really are just like them, looking to enjoy a holiday that makes death seem less worrisome.

Victims

"As a species we are fundamentally insane."

I have been on many forums, many places online, I've traveled the net for far too long. But one "type" of person that still truly bothers me is the victim. They are easy to spot, they ask for advice or offer an opinion then whine about people being rude or "attacking" them, even when they are just interjecting their own views. This is typically compounded by them posting and "I'm leaving" message only to return a few days or weeks later to do it all over again. There is a good reason why these people still annoy me, because they lack respect for other people's views.

In real life it's hard to ignore things you don't like sometimes, people manage to find ways to corner you, though you still eventually learn to do just that. Online though, ignoring what you don't like is too easy, so easy that anyone who doesn't is looking for something to fight about (the troll), to regulate (the cop), or to whine about (the victim). Now the troll you just plain learn to ignore, and pretty quickly. The cop is a little more difficult to spot but when you do you learn to ignore as well. The victim however will vanish just long enough for you to forget then pops right back up letting you think they are new and lure you back into their trap just so they can whine more.

The victim is so hard to spot that sometimes even the moderators of a message board fail to see them for years, which usually results in a lot of reputations hurt by the posters who figure it out sooner. The reason for this is the victim is very good at hiding their true intent. Usually the advice they ask is very typical and convincing, their stories are often hard to see as having other purposes, but the end result is always the same. The hard thing is what to do with them. The typical response is to just say "bye" every time they pull the whining, but there is a better way, learn who they are and ignore them when they whine.

Ignoring them is also harder than ignoring other internet problems though, this is because of their story being so convincing you actually feel sorry for them each time. Many people will see no harm in the victims antics, but they do create a disruption in the web. Usually this disruption is between the other posters and moderators, or it may even generate flame wars between other posters as some who don't see the problem will fly to defend them. This is not the intent of the victim though it does happen.

To the "victim" posters who read this, keep this in mind, for your tiny amount of attention from others you are ruining it for others. Is this really worth being felt sorry for?

That Offends Me

I wander through forums, use to be a regular forum poster even a moderator, but one thing that still bothers me is the Dark Age notion that other people's, especially family's, opinions should dictate how a person behaves all the time. Now granted there are some social opinions that matter, like murder being wrong or violence without cause being wrong, but anything that does not directly effect other people is simply no one else's concern, period. How one dresses, for instance, is not your brother's business. So I started thinking more on the subject and this is what I came up with.

First, family is just a genetic link, you don't get to choose them anyway so really their opinion of you is less important than your own. That's all it is anyway, opinion. Who you date, how you dress, where you live, what you eat, what is right and wrong is all opinion. So your family should love you unconditionally, period, if they think less of a boy who wants to wear dresses they need to learn what love is. I have been through a lot in my life, and only half my family was there, the other half just judged. My response to the half that decided to judge me was I disowned them. Yep, half my family does not exist in my mind, I don't worry about them, I barely even think about them except in the odd case I encounter some other judgemental moron on the street.

It's actually pretty easy to disown family, really. People do it all the time for stupid reasons, why not do it for the right reasons now? All you do is STOP ACKNOWLEDGING THEM. Trust me, you can be happy with who you are, people don't have to live in misery anymore just because their family doesn't "approve" of their choices. Now here's the catch, everything, and I do mean everything, you do or any choice you make will offend someone. So worrying about what other people think is just stupid. Eat meat, half the world will think you are an animal abuser. Don't eat meat, the other half will think you're insane. Be gay, half the world will think you're a pervert. Be straight, the other half will think you're a breeder.

Now look at me, I'm a nonsexual, I hate sex. I don't think marriage should even exist, it's just legalized prostitution when you look at it really, you get paid to have a sexual servant. People will find that offensive, but I dimply don't care. Half my family thought I was insane because of it, funny huh, but it's true. Since I disowned them though, I'm happy. Even when I was living in a homeless shelter with nothing to my name, I was still happy, because I was happy with my own choices. Now I'm really happy with my life, or at least when clinical depression doesn't find some way to make me feel bad, but that's a different matter and I'm learning to combat it by reminding myself, I'm happier now than I have ever been.

Now friends, these are a different matter. People seem to fear being alone, so they try to please as many other people as they can just so they have friends. However, due to this false need friendship has lost all meaning, add in Failbook and such things and friendship has become nothing but a number. Those who have such an account, look at all the people who want to "friend" you on there, how many do you really know, in real life not just through messages? Can you be absolutely certain they are what they even say they are? I have one real friend, a few online friends, that's it. I like it that way. Even though I can't be certain of the online ones, we do have fun chatting and killing time when there is nothing to do in real life. My one real life friend, wouldn't care how I changed. We are friends because we get along.

The primary ingredient to a true friendship, just getting along. We disagree on a lot of things, our opinions do not match even half the time, but we enjoy each other's company and get along even when we disagree. The second most important ingredient to a true friend is being able to enjoy their real company (not online) in a situation where you can't get away from them for long periods of time. Why is this important? Because a friend is who you can turn to when you need a hug. Touchy feelly sounding but that's the real reason you need at least one friend. They don't have to stroke your ego and make you feel like you're perfect, they just need to be there when you are feeling bad.

Which leads to another important part of a friendship, honesty. A real friend tells you when your clothes are ugly, they don't always say you look great, even when you do. They are not suppose to think you are perfect, a real friend doesn't care if you are perfect in their eyes or not. So here's the thing, you will offend your family, that's unavoidable, and it's okay if you offend your friends. Really loving family will just accept you, and true friends will be there as long as you are. So stop worrying about offending people, live, you will find your lives far better for it. Think of all the time you waste thinking about if you would offend someone, that's a lot of wasted time. Think of all the missed opportunities you have had by avoiding things that would offend someone, it is often more than the opportunities taken with great success. The founding fathers of the US did not worry about offending anyone, if they had, the Brittish would still rule here. ;)

Environmentalism Scares

I love nature ... always have, but I hate environmentalists. Why? They have turned everything about nature into a joke. Now when you say you like nature in anyway everyone looks at you like you are one of the environmentalist nut jobs. But here's the irony, it's all just another doomsday conspiracy, one in a million. Even taking religion out of the equation and people still can't stop these idiotic notions. There have been a lot of great debunkers on this subject already, one pointed out the myth of landfills being such a problem. Seriously, they are still so small that they don't even cover one state in the US if you combine every single one, so give that up already. Global warming? We're cooler than we were a few million years ago still ... and that warming period was natural. Sheesh, we can't stop it even if we tried.

Anyway, instead of posting all the evidence other debunkers have spent a great amount of time gathering I will avoid boring you with this redundancy and give you the easy logic to follow. Nature will always find a way to balance itself, usually through creating species that will do the work for it. One thing needed for evolution is hardships, and lots of them. The perfect species doesn't just appear, many challenges must be faced to weed out the imperfections and often species are driven extinct in this effort. But what happens when one species threatens all the others? The others evolve or die, yes, we see this in the eras that the dinosaurs ruled the planet. One of natures ultimate tests for life and likely the one that spurred out evolution in the first place. They to altered the environment and drove billions of species extinct over their reign.

Now, someone will say "but we use ...", something that sound really bad. Here's the catch to that, matter and energy cannot be destroyed or CREATED, so what we use already exists. We just change it's shape. Think about it, all the oil we use already exists, refining is just a purification process (to over simplify), and personally I would rather they use something from under the surface instead of the trees I love for fuel.

So while they are whining about some species of something becoming extinct they are forgetting the simple rules of nature, a species must evolve to survive all odds, or perish. Survival of the fittest isn't just a slogan for some game show, it's reality and natural. The truly strange thing is that humans have a lot more flaws than other species, so technically we shouldn't survive long anyway and we are our own worst enemy. We will never destroy all life on the planet, that is impossible. But we will destroy ourselves, and likely this is nature's plan for us from the start.

So here's the logic, we are not destroying or even damaging anything, we are in fact testing the latest evolutionary steps nature has made in it's attempt to make the perfect life forms. We haven't even changed the world a quarter of what the dinosaurs did, and they were created by nature. Why not stop worrying about the thing that created us and start worrying about ourselves more, as we over-breed we are going to run low on resources, we already are very close to that as it is. If there weren't so many of us on the planet, there would be more nature to explore. Just a thought.