Game Night

Tonight was the last Sunday night game night at #9.

Mark, Jason, and I have lived in the Rivertowne Apartments for a year. Jason has bought a house, and so we're moving into that.

Memories of Apartment #9 include:

The back to school party and subsequent photo shoot.

 Our band when it was "Who Brought Edgar"

Then Mark joining the band, and we became "Frequent Visitors". 

We play Tetris and Bomberman more than we play music.

And of course, game nights.

Farewell #9, we will miss you.
Don't worry folks, game nights will continue once we move in.

Nerd Word: OS

I like the idea of segments, and so I came up with Nerd Word. I'll throw out a word that a lot of people don't understand, but is dropped a lot when you hang out with nerds. 

Oh, and thanks for hanging out with us. 

The word of the day is "OS". It stands for operating system. I will now explain what an operating system is. Hang with me, it gets a little complex.

If you want to skip to the really basic stuff, skip to the bottom.

So when your computer is off, it's just a pile of circuits, circuit boards, disks, and other assorted hardware. Hardware is the physical part of the computer. 

Below is a picture of hardware.

If you smash your computer with a hammer, you break the hardware. 

When you turn the computer on, an operating system starts. The operating system is a complex program that tells the hardware how to react to different programs. 

Below is a picture of an operating system.

A virus breaks the operating system. 

Because the operating system is not part of the hardware, this means you can delete Windows off your computer, and install Linux, OSX, and other operating systems, on the same computer. The hardware does not determine the operating systems necessarily. 

It's the big mother program that tells all the other little programs how to act.

An example of how an operating system functions:

Tetris for Windows.

You start a program called Tetris. It sends a ton of code to the operating system.

The operating system reads the code it received from the program that looks like this:

if(KeyDown(UP))

{

    RotatePiece(CLOCKWISE);

}

and turns it into this:

1010100101011101010100101001010100110101010101011010110...

(sidenote: the code above is called binary code. It's a code that tells little switches what to do. The one's and zero's just mean on or off. Your computer is made of millions of tiny switches and circuits.)

And these numbers tell the hardware to listen to the keyboard and mouse, and show little colored shapes on the screen. 

Still with me?

So because each operating system speaks a different language, programs are written differently for different operating systems. That's why you can't install a Windows program on a Mac computer. Or vice versa.

What are some examples of operating systems?

Windows (We all know this one.)

OSX (The operating system on Macs, sometimes called Mac OS.)

Linux (Don't worry, this one's for nerds.)

Android (On a lot of cellular phones.)

iOS (The operating system for iPhone, iPad, and iTouch)

Sample sentences:

"Oh man, I liked Windows machines, but I love Mac OS."

Or,

"Seriously, I just need to update my machine's OS."  

Or,

"I prefer Android OS."

So now you know. 

Real Simple Stuff

OS just stands for operating system. 

Examples of an operating system are Windows, OSX, Linux, Android, and iOS.

It just tells the computer how to react to games, browsers, and other programs you run on it. 

You can't install programs for Windows on your Mac, because each operating system has a different language it speaks.

That my friends, is what OS means.

The most wonderful time of the year

Late summer to December 31 is my favorite time of the year. 

It starts out with lazy afternoons with the family, swims in the bathwater lakes, and last ditch efforts to have legendary stories from the summer.

It continues on with those first four weeks of school where you're excited about what you're doing. Academia is never as inspiring as it is in September. With school comes college football. Football, family, friends, and a large pot of home-grown sweet corn is as close to heaven as you can get. 

Around October, the trees turn yellow, brown, and orange, the moon starts getting fuzzy, and the nights get cold. Friends get a little closer, football gets more serious, and days get shorter.

Halloween comes with its costumes, November brings its turkey. The family eats too much, sits on the couch and catches up with each other, while the pumpkin pie waits.

Christmas frenzy turns into Christmas contemplation which turns into good Christian faith. Then you get to New Years, ending the year with a bang. 

And it all starts now.

I Want That Job: NPR Music Guy

I've decided to create a segment for my blog called: I Want That Job. Coming up with this segment was  part me deciding what I want to do with my life, part practice in research and writing, and part a starting point for any blog entry. I'm sure more segments will follow. Anyways, back to I Want That Job. I list a job that I want.

Pretty self-explanatory.

First, watch this video.

Here's the description for what just happened.

...intimate video performances, recorded live at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen in the NPR Music office.

This guy, Bob Boilen, convinces the big wigs of the indie scene to sit at his desk, and perform live. Don't believe it happened more than once?

Still don't believe me? (man that guy looked like Johnny Depp...)

So who exactly is this Bob Boilen, and how did he get this super cool job?


I Googled him.

This is taken from NPR's site, and you can find the whole biography here.

Before coming to NPR, Boilen found many ways to share his passion for music. From 1982 to 1986 he worked for Baltimore's Impossible Theater, where he held many posts, including composer, technician, and recording engineer. Boilen became part of music history in 1983 with the Impossible Theater production Whiz Bang, a History of Sound. In it, Boilen became one of the first composers to use audio sampling — in this case, sounds from nature and the industrial revolution. He was interviewed about Whiz Bang by Susan Stamberg on All Things Considered.

In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.

Inspiring stuff.

The lesson to learn from Bob Boilen is to know your field, and be persistent. 

Then you get to sit at the tiny desk where this happens.

Sweet summer nights.

Camp is over, I'm back in eugene, and august might be my new favorite month.

End of camp.

Well, I've had a blast kicking it with my man Tyler here at camp. We rode horses, jetskiid, swam, boated, and sang. This camp is amazing, it's full of all kinds of miracles. Can't wait to come back next year.

Camp Attitude

Google it.

Filler

Another busy day with my little sisters wedding reception.

Here's something to fill the post. 

I apologize for filling my blog posts with stereotypical baby animal youtube videos. 

I don't apologize for the cuteness.

Conspiracy Theory Time

Alright everybody, time to argue over conspiracy theories.

Here's one for you.

Does Big Oil keep electric cars and other alternative fuel sources for transportation down?

Watch this video.

Now read this article.

Now read this one.

I believe these sources to be credible, and so the air car is possible. So what about this article?

Why haven't these cars been brought to light yet? Why haven't we seen these produced? Who would profit from these NOT being produced?

You be the judge.

Insomnia

I've been on some antibiotics lately, and they have wreaked havoc on my stomach, which has resulted in a lack of sleep. Photos like this usually follow. Longer blog posts may also happen.

This summer has been an unusual one for me. I started it out with 4 weeks of intense school, then left almost immediately for Hawaii for my little sisters wedding, then came home, and did nothing. I have kept myself semi-busy with working on my website, writing new music, and watching reruns of Parks and Recreation, but I have yet to really find something to fill my time. 

Usually, I settle into a routine. I am a man of routines, I like things to go according to plan. This summer, that's not going to happen. Sunday, I head to Camp Attitude with my good friend Tyler Young. I'm there for a week, and then I come back. I then have ten days to pack, clean, and move my stuff. Once I get settled in, I take off for Texas with a friend the 5th through the 12th. I then come back and get ready for school. 

I'm not complaining at all, it's been an exciting summer, and I it's just going to continue to be more exciting. It's just interesting to me that I miss having a routine. I think my mind is somewhat bi-polar when it comes to monotony. I love being in a routine, but I hate being in a rut. Where's the middle ground? 

Anyways, it's been an interesting summer, and I can't wait for fall.

Why everything hurt.

Thanks for the care and responses guys.

I'm fine, I had a neck sprain, and the fever and shaking came from a foot injury that I should have taken care of. Just a rugby injury left over from Hawaii.

You guys are the best.

Why everything hurt?

Interesting night last night.

7:00 Started a game of ultimate frisbee.
7:40? Dove for a frisbee, both elbows connected with the ground, heard a sharp click that sounded like it came from the back of my neck.
7:41 Felt dizzy and nauseous.
8:30 Went home and watched The Eagle, people came and watched.
2:30 People left, crawled to bed. Shivered uncontrollably for an hour. Pounding headache.
3:30 Fell asleep.
5:30 Woke up extremely hot, went downstairs and ate cereal. Played guitar with my eyes closed for half an hour.
6:00 Went upstairs, went to sleep.
2:00 Woke up.

What happened? Any medical people have any theories?

Head, shoulders, knees, and toes.

That's everything that hurts right now. Ultimate frisbee is a cruel mistress.

An interesting view.

http://blog.beliefnet.com/projectconversion/2011/07/latter-day-saints-the-conclusion.html

I recommend this blog post. It's a guy who goes and tries to understand different religions by jumping into them for a month. What a great idea. He decides to try Mormonism this month. Read it, love it, share it. 

And... because I feel my blog posts should have more content...

Cat picture.

I know, what a cop-out.