AR, VR, AC, MTV, VCR, VHS, DVD... Wait, just the first 2?

Hey guys! Sorry it has been a while since I discussed a topic here on this page, but I am here now. So, recently I have found myself thinking a lot about augmented reality, the art of merging VR and real life. Pokemon, Occulus and other things of the like have put me in the mood to discuss this topic at length. AR could be our future. Do me a favor. Look around the room and really think about what actually needs to exist physically. As it turns out, not much, not even the people necessarily need to be there. Imagine, instead of a $20 chess set and a several thousand dollar TV, you buy them in the app store for a few dollars and use them anywhere, any time, at any size. Imagine being in the same room as a person across the globe, for a game of chess, a conference, or just a conversation. Imagine a world, where we can all be together, social, and having a good time. That is the issue with our current technological age. People are losing ability to communicate. Society is undergoing a paradigm shift. We can let it go as is, and evolve society to be fat, language-less creatures that communicate by typing on cold, non-personal computers. There is another way. We can push the shift to utilize AR and regain our humanity, get the brightest minds together to kill disease, and even truly play Pokemon in real life.
There are also many concerns behind AR as well, but I feel they lack ground. People are concerned that this will put many people out of work, having their service or product become purely digital. It will, but without AR, this shift away from the necessity of those jobs will happen anyway. In every paradigm shift, people lose their lives work. Between cave men and early civilization, people had to abandon hunting and gathering, and learn to farm. They then had to learn to build. The list goes on and on. Every time society changes, people have to adapt. Some more than others. This world is changing either way, it may as well be for the better. Some are concerned that this will cause too great a reliance on electricity, and make power plants a main target for terrorists, making it easy to take out a country. Yes and no. This, again would happen anyway if we let the shift go as is. However, incorporating AR will allow the best minds to come together to create new, hyper-efficient renewable energy sources. It will also allow us to all become closer together, a little bit of kindness and realization of ones own humanity will make it easier to avoid people becoming violent extremists, and could even prevent wars. People are also concerned that it will end the age of good, hard work. That age is already over. I value hard work in all forms, physical and mental, and feel that AR will make it easier for us select few, who, in addition to efficiency and enjoyment, crave a challenge, to keep that ideal alive.
We could advance all areas of science.Medicines to extend life, cold fusion in a jar, and hyperspacial travel are all very real possibilities that can now become a reality in our lifetimes, if only the right people could come together. Finally, not enjoying your first date? Hit end AR call and you are gone. See ya and allons-y.

Cursed Time Consumer

Hey guys. So as you all may know, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child just dropped, and I was absolutely thrilled. Even though I was slammed with work, things at home, and a few other things I can not discuss at the moment, I read it within 3 days of it coming out, and day 3 was just the last chapter. So, I have decided to review it, spoilers, but, not really. I just have to call it so that no one gets mad. Anyways, since my first reading of it so little time ago, I have reread it more times than I like to admit, and have read every review I could find. I think that I was getting too much hate. I will explain why the bad emotions were out of proportion, and then why the book is good. One reason why I believe people have been hating on it so much is because of the format. It was written as a script, as for a play. This format can be unfamiliar to those who are not actors, or lovers of Shakespeare. Things that are strange and unfamiliar can be uncomfortable for people, and this format can make it difficult to immerse oneself in the story. I am an actor and a lover of old Billy Shakes(sorry Mr.Shakespeare), but to immerse myself in a script was a learned skill, and one that not many have. However, the main reason it is getting such bipolar reviews is because people went into this expecting it to be as good as the original 7 books. There was absolutely no way that this new book could compare to the original series. You have to take it, although as a canonical part of the series, as a separate book. It is made to tell an after story, to give another ending, and renewed life, to all the characters we know and love.

Billy Shakes

Now, to explain why this book is a work of art. Here spoilers may get a little worse, so beware, but not really. I drove home from my local bookshop, and I could feel the book burning a hole in the seat behind me, where I placed it so I could restrain myself. It had beautiful art on the cover, and promised me the story of Harry's son. The inside was even better. As I opened the cover, I was instantly back in the wizarding world. This book transports us into the head of the teenage child of a legend, the one who, from the moment he started at Hogwarts, felt like a disappointment. He had only one friend, and constantly feeling like he had failed. I think this boy, Albus Severus Potter, is the most relate-able character in any of the series. We all know what it's like to try and escape someones shadow, only to end up disappointed. We know what it's like to feel alone. Furthermore, as the book progressed we got to reunite with our old friends of the past, grown older, and see what their lives became. They all had great lives, which is what we all wanted to know for true. Some characters, through portraits, and Albus' screwing up time to undo the mistakes of his father, we got to see some deceased friends, come back, in perfect character. We got to see how everything could have turned out, with the tiniest of changes. This book, in true harry potter fashion, ended in good morals and lessons, as well as new beautiful quotes. So remember to be close to your loved ones, to learn from your mistakes, that everything happens for a reason, and that we all must make sacrifices, for the greater good of others. See ya and allons-y!

Contest!

Ei guys! For those of you out there who know what country this is already, good job! The rest of you can learn that it is indeed Portuguese, the language of Portugal. I would like to announce a contest.. My google plus page needs a cover, and I want one that is fan made. Every entry will be featured on the blog of your choice, and my favorite will go up on the page. Email me the entries at bibobottrell@gmail.com See ya and allons-y.

How to Nuzlocke

Hey guys! So today I wanted to talk about Pokemon. To be more specific, I wanted to talk about a way to lose the game. Of course, I speak of the Nuzlocke challenge. There is a lot of dispute on what the base rule set is and what clauses are available. I am here to clear it up and tell you how I believe it should be played. The base rules are as follows; If a Pokemon faints it is considered dead, and must be released into the wild; When you are out of Pokemon, you lose and must erase the save file; You can only catch the first Pokemon you encounter in any given area;If you fail to catch that first encounter, you can not try again; You must nickname every Pokemon. Now, there are of course several applicable clauses to this, that add difficulty to the challenge. The duplicate clause, which I always play with, says that you can not catch a Pokemon that you have at any time possessed. If it is your first encounter, it doesn't count as such, and your next encounter can be the functional catch. This rule not only forces you to have a more varied team, but it prevents breeding, and can stop you from getting a catch on certain routes if you already have everything on it. There is the no healing in battle clause, which I use sometimes, and it dictates that you not heal in battle. There is the one use building clause which says that you can only use any given Poke mart or center one time. I don't use that. There is the no running clause, stating you can't run from battle, which I think is more trouble than it's worth. There is the full party clause, which says you must have your party as full as possible(for example, if you have 6 Pokemon, you must have them all in the party, instead of splitting them in some way between your party and PC so that you can have a backup). There is also the defeat all clause which states you must defeat every trainer in an area before moving on. I never really state that I am doing this, but I almost always end up doing it, as I hate unfinished business. There are many more available clauses, and you can make your own, but I feel these are the most important to know. Any clause is optional of course. The final rule of any Nuzlocke is not to chicken out. This challenge is self-enforced, but it is very rewarding to complete. I want to suggest that everyone try it. I find it fun to write a story in conjunction with the challenge about how the team in working out, about their personal fears and triumphs, and about how they cope with the death. A good YouTube series depicting my favorite rule set to most extents as well as having a good story, once you get a few episodes in and he gets used to making the videos, is the Super Carlin Gaming Pokemon Fire Red Nuzlocke Challenge. That is it for me today. See ya and allons-y.

Living the Vive-a Loca

Hey guys. Yesterday I had the privilege of going to a family friend's house to try his new HTC Vive. He has it connected to an awesome gaming computer and has an Oculus Rift coming in the mail. Y'all know what time it is, Dope or Nope. The moment that helmet fell into place over my eyes, I was completely immersed, in a menu. I'm nopeing that I had to do a menu first. The game was a demo called The Blu. I used the wands, which I am dopeing for being such an intuitive interface, to select a whales tale, I had seen this one on a screen before, and at the time it seemed cartoony, so I figured it would be a good one to see first, because I knew what was coming. After a brief loading screen (Nope), I realized I couldn't be more wrong. I was standing on the surface of a boat, a bit animated looking (Nope), but within seconds I forgot that this was not how the world looked (Dope). I walked around the ship, with a feeling of needing to swim and to hold my breath. I bent down to examine a fish that was awesome, unconsciously reaching out to touch it, it freaked and swam away. (Dope) I looked up, and a school of fish, accompanied by a manta ray, was swimming in front of the sun. A whales swam up beside me and my sunken ship, I walked up to it and looked it in the eye, I then realized that I had walked off the boat and jumped back, scared, to the boat. The whale got even closer, the eye filled my vision and it blinked. As it began to swim away, I watched, leaning on the railing, I fell forward, as there was no railing. The whale swam away, tail flashing before my face. This was ten minutes of my several hour experience, and the least cool part of it. I won't waste your time by telling you the rest of it, all I will say is the whale was nothing. Dooooooooope is the end result with an experience well worth the hefty price tag.

First tech review

Hey guys. So I feel it is about time for me to review something. This will be based on a dope or nope basis. To explain this reviewing system, it is first impressions only, and each attribute of the product or program is awarded a point dope or a point nope. They are not directly correlated with the end result, only taken into account.
Quizlet recently came out with a new thing called Quizlet live. Quizlet was previously only a great online flashcard making and sharing service. Dope for branding. Quizlet live allows an instructor to quiz a whole class on their knowledge of the material in form of a fun game. It divides the class, all using their own devices, into teams of about 3. This of course is after they pick their name to be shown as each game, which teachers can remove if inappropriate. Nope for not having an adoption to go solo, dope for team dynamic of random team assignment, which is a constant.  Dope for naming system. The teams are randomly named after animals by the system and the game begins. Each team member is shown a set of answers that their team doesn't have. A question is shown simultaneously on all team members screens, and the one with the answer clicks it, and then they have one less answer to choose from in the future. Nope for not being able to answer every time. Dope for having it be like a checklist for each person. If anyone misses a question, their teams progress is reset. Dope for high stakes on each question. When all of the questions have been answered or cards have been paired by one team without error, they win.

So, overall first impressions, it is still in the works and they have a lot of improvements to make. However, even now it is a very useful tool for studying as a group and is very enjoyable for everyone. Overall, it is a dope. Dope as an end result just means it seems better than it is bad, so go check it out yourself. Nope would be I don't even recommend giving it a look.

Real Plan

Hey guys! So what is actually going on right now is I don't know how often I will be able to write entries and posts for either blog. I will, of course see what I can do but for now no schedule will be maintained. Keep looking on both for updates, or follow by email on the right of the page. I will post fun things about science, history, and literature on this one as well. I hope that will help me be able to post more, and to be able to write entries faster. Please excuse the ads, they are something new I added to pull in just a bit more income, if you could just give one a click now and then, it would help a lot. See ya and allons-y.

Pundertale (spoiler alert)

Hey guys, you guessed it! We have added the UK to out number! I'm sorry for doing that to you... Anyways, as of late I have been playing the popular video game Undertale, (that the main fandom destroyed itself) UI have really enjoyed it as a game, and have noticed that those writers don't leave a detail out. Toby, Temmie, Melissa, y'all are great! I have completed the pacifist run (viewing the neutral ending) It really got me thinking and feeling for these characters, with no particular favorite. Of course, now I feel obligated to do a genocide run, searching for flavor text. I felt the pain first when killing (tu)Toriel, But the guilt persisted as I murdered the silliest of fonts Papyrus, and when I tried to kill monster kid. I evacuated Snowdin and am now in the fight with Undyne. God, I feel for these blobs of 16 bit marvelousness and now am being forced to pick them off one by one. Just a final thing, after the pacifist ending, I don't know what I want more, Toriel with Sans, or with Asgore... I just wish I could know. Game has best soundtrack of them all btw. Sorry for the short post but see ya and allons-y.

The Poke a Mans

Hey guys, right now, there are no new countries to say hi to. Right now, the biggest thing in the geek multiverse that is new is the announcement of Pokemon games Sun and Moon. Now, as much as I want to believe that it takes place in the Sinnoh, due to Cyrus and Cynthia, being sun and moon respectively, or in the Hoenn because of Solrock and Lunatone, it doesn't appear we are going back in time, but instead into a new Generation 7 due to a tweet from the Pokemon people calling it the next generation of Pokemon games. Magearna, a man made Pokemon is set to be a Pokemon in the new game as well as having an appearance in the new movie. The game will be released late this year, I assume between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Look up the official trailer and then check out the following two links for all you need to know. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr7hj1m2K_w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4oafR3F8nA . Now, One more thing for today, I am in the process of writing a book right now, and on this and maybe more on the other blog I will talk about it, to help myself work forward through the story myself. See ya and allons-y.

Dead Pools and a Rather Harry Headcannon

Hallå, and Здравствуйте everybody! That's right, we did get Sweden and the Ukraine! I have decided to take back the time element, and just have you guys know that it will be uploaded sometime Tuesdays and Fridays, based on MST. Right now there is a lot of craze about the new Deadpool movie. Staying true to good old Deadpool spirit, it is rated R for most everything something can be rated R for. Despite not being much of a family film, it is a beautiful movie nonetheless. Our schizophrenic protagonist is keeping up with his ka-tahh-nas and chi-mi-changas. Just saying, if you are over 18 go check it out! If not, stay home.
I also promised a head cannon, this is a favorite of mine, I don't remember when I first got it but... here you go.
In Mcgonnagal's Office Mcgonnagal's sitting at her chair
Enter George
Professor: Yes, Mr.Weasly, what is it?
George: Well you see Professor, well, um... Would you go, to the Yule ball, with me?
Professor draws in a deep breath and goes to speak
Fred bursts in through doors
Fred: George! How could you! You know how I feel. I wanted to ask her!
McGonnagal, is at this point trying to keep it together, and maintain a semblance of strictness, as inside she is remembering when James and Sirius did the same thing, but with Professor Dumbledoor
See ya and Allons-y

New Blog!

Hey guys! While the blog entitled The Random Geek will remain active at ctherandomgeek.blogspot.com, from now on it will only be for geek news and advice, still to be posted Tuesdays for advice and thoughts, with Friday being for news, Musings by The Random Geek will be a bit more personal, and will be updated the same times and days of the week at musingsbytherandomgeek.blogspot.com. It will be structured loosely like a log of my life. It will consist of whatever is on my mind. I intend to use code names for all involved to conceal identity. Also, please note that Musings will be just that, musings, which are opinions. Please do not feel offended by anything I post. I am kept to a strict honor code to not divulge names for any persons. See ya and Allons-y

How to Convince People You Don't Need Help

Hey Guys. So, as great as this is, I have a friend, who we shall now call Nico, has been dealing with some stuff  as of late. People want him to go seek help, but he doesn't feel he needs it. I remain neutral on the issue, however, he has told me that he can't find any help on the internet to convince people he doesn't need help. When you search the title of this blog post on google, you will find many guides to ask for psychological help, or help form a counselor, or an HR rep. But this is to teach you how to avoid such help.

1. Be sure in yourself that you don't need help

Ask yourself, often times you will know, inside, if you need it or not. Stop lying to yourself if you are.

Test yourself, see how people react to what you say and do, gauge if these are normal things to say and do based on that, and if others do similar things.

Look up symptoms of the problem they say you have. Again, just be sure of what you are talking about before you conclude.

Ask the people why they are concerned, be receptive, care for what they say, they only want to help you because they care about you

     2.Know what they want you to be helped with

• A big key to prove people wrong is to know what you are proving wrong.
• Know the symptoms if it is a mental illness.

     3. Prove them wrong.

• Talking about the issue right off the bat, is, of course, metaphorical suicide. Instead, act perfectly normal, be a happy and engaging person! Get your work done, talk with friends, joke around, even if it is painful(Which is a good point to needing help, but I digress), just be normal, at least for a few days.
• This will plant a message in their brain that just maybe, they were wrong maybe you are fine.

     4. Talk to them

• Any and all people that want to get you help, talk to them at this point, maybe over email, maybe in person.
• Email is best if you are afraid, or will get emotional, you can hide your feelings that are necessary to, and express those that are necessary
• Face to face is preferable, if you are able, because they can see the emotion you express, and it makes them feel as if they are, in fact, talking to a person.
• Be straight with them, but kind, don't try to avoid words, but treat it as if, and excuse the morbid metaphor, you are telling them a family member has died, and explaining the details, or as if you are telling them they can't afford to repair the roof on their home, and laying out the numbers.
• Use short phrases, not in the respect to shorten their sentence, but in the respect of letting them talk, it is a conversation, not a narrative.

      5. Decide together

• Make the decision as a team, to get you help or not, always remember, they care about you, they want you to be happy. That is why they are doing this.

Just remember, no matter what is decided, seeking help is not a bad thing, and whether you need it or not, it is probably going to be just the one session. It is a small chunk of your time, and, if it is really going to be that bad of an experience, you may need the help. No pain no gain.

I hope this was helpful! See ya and Allons-y!

Hello's Up To Now

I lied, advice post next. So, we have a lot of new page views since last time. Here are my current stats, I see a lot of France, also, Russia has come into play, 2 of the page views in the last month. In order of page views, here we go. 

Hey, Bon Jour, Hallo, Здравствуйте(Zdravstvuyte),Здравейте(Zdraveĭte), Hallo(Main language is German),G'day, 您好(Nín hǎo), Hallo(Netherlandshas 3 official languages, Dutch being largest so that's what I did), and finally, cześć

I'm Back For Good!

That's right, for good. I am never leaving again. You can expect a post every Tuesday and Friday at 5 o’clock PM PST, (6 MST, 7 CST, 8 EST) as well as others whenever I feel like it. I feel that I need to speak my mind again, and that will be what this blog is all about. I will post about geek news, thoughts, etc. on Fridays, Tuesdays like this will be advice, and like a log of my life. Two days, two themes, Geek, and Random thoughts and feelings. I expect to see frequent page views. I intend to keep up my promise to learn hellos in all the languages of the countries that view the blog. I hope that today's post, an advice post to be posted tonight. Well, I am going to start writing the next post. See ya and allons-y!