A Logical Conclusion

Dogs Eating Dogs is OUT!!

2012-12-17T18:35:00.004-08:00

If you pre-ordered the EP of blink-182's site sign in and go to 'My Rabbit Hole' and you will see a download for the EP.

I'm listening to it now, so far I like all of it ,but the few lines of rap in "Pretty Little Girl".

Dogs Eating Dogs is now #1 on iTunes, hell yeah!!

FYI The download is in 320 kbps MP3 from their site.

Buy on blink-182.com. or Buy on iTunes.
(I do not know if you will get instant access if purchased now, and it still seems to be considered a pre-order on the US iTunes site.)

[I will not put the download here, please buy the EP instead.]

blink-182 Teaser!!

2012-12-11T17:20:00.001-08:00

Blink-182 released a teaser!! Short samples of songs in the background, artwork for, as well as commentary about the album. Who am I kidding we just want to hear the music, so enjoy!!

[Update (12/13): If you pre-ordered the EP you should see a download for "Boxing Day" on your account page!!]

"Boxing Day" by blink-182 (UPDATE: w/ song and Download!!!)

2012-12-10T10:58:00.000-08:00

[Update (12/13): If you pre-ordered the EP you should see a download for "Boxing Day" on your account page!!]

UPDATE:
You can also listen and DOWNLOAD from Soundcloud here: [Shout out to Chris @SkreamDub]

Someone got it up on YouTube!!! Credit for upload goes to @Jaimeehickey

YES!!!!!!!!!

The first debut off of Dogs Eating Dogs EP is being aired on BBC Radio One during Zane Lowe's show. According to a tweet by Mark Hoppus himself.

The song is called "Boxing Day".

I will be posting the song as soon after it is available!

UPDATE: It already aired on BBC One! "Boxing Day" is a nice acoustic Christmas song. I tried to record it to post up here but I was too late, so I will have to wait for an official post or someone who was faster than I. I will announce on twitter once I get it up @dialecticum.

A Year As A Ghost

2012-12-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Often people like a song because they get it, sometimes you feel like the song gets you.

Well thanks to Spotify I got into The Wonder Years and they are awesome! I feel like a lot of their songs get me and I get them. The Wonder Years is a pop-punk band from Philadelphia, they also have been tagged as realist pop punk. They don't glorify life, they just sing about it.

They are similar to Four Year Strong, New Found Glory, and Set Your Goals. They fit into pop punk, beardcore, and melodic hardcore tags, but if that info isn't enough here are some of their songs:

- Came Out Swinging

It's the first song I heard from them and I'm glad it was.

-Local Man Ruins Everything

"'Cause what I learned was

It’s not about forcing happiness;

It’s about not letting the sadness win."

Those just might be my favorite lines from any song!

-My Last Semester

"And I don't make sense to anyone but my best friends."

True story.

- Melrose Diner

(Song begins after 1:20)

Good song, enough said.

Want more check out their music:

Spotify: The Wonder Years

The Wonder Years on Last.fm

http://thewonderyearsband.com/

They also recently released a book entitled "A Year As A Ghost" about the bands life.

Dogs Eating Dogs [EP] by blink-182

2012-11-26T17:31:00.000-08:00

[Update (12/13): If you already pre-ordered the EP you should have "Boxing Day" available to download on the website!!]

Source: Last.fm

I'm so frakkin excited to hear some new blink-182 music! AHH!!!1!

If you haven't heard, blink-182 is an independent band now and they will be releasing their next EP Dogs Eating Dogs digitally on December 18.

I have been listening to blink-182 since middle school and I know almost every song from all their albums and all the lyrics to dozens of their songs.

I already pre-ordered, did you? Go check out the page at blink-182.com.
It's gonna be a blink-182 Christmas!!

I suck at blogging

2012-10-18T12:25:00.003-07:00

Yeah... I pretty much suck at blogging.

I do have some ideas that I may share, and I may do some reviews of some of my favorite songs, bands, and shows, as well as some of the new music I have heard. On the off chance that anyone is reading this and you like any of my posts please share and let me know, I may try to do more, more often.

"I'll be back..."

Learn Code as a First Grader

2012-09-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

No the title is not a lie or deception, soon first graders will be taught how to code. Before any nerdy parents get too excited, it is not in America, UK, or even China; the country that will be teaching 100% of first graders to code will be Estonia. (Not your first guess, was it?)

Source: CIA World Factbook

The program is called ProgeTiiger, and will be teaching publicly educated students starting in first grade (7-8 years old there) and throughout their public education (until about 16 years old). Private IT companies are assisting in training and development of the program and students. The goal is to convert kids from technology consumers to technology developers.

I think this is awesome and I hope this will be successful. U.S. public education should see how well ProgeTiiger works and develop a program that can be a model for school systems to be able to adopt. While U.S. companies may not be able to domestically produce physical products at a competitive price, if we add computer science to the public education curriculum then we can lead software development for years to come.

While some public school systems may have computer science classes or even curricula, most are likely limited in scope or funding. (The school system that I graduated from had some form of comp sci class, but it was separate from each high school, at a central school run by the school system for vocational and technical classes.) If we were to have computer science mandatory or widely accessible in public school, computer and computing-related companies would have more opportunities to grow with a growing number of skilled workers. The computer and software industry could advance in technological development and investment. The companies might be willing to invest in computer education programs in public education, which could decrease some burden on public school systems with limited technological resources.

In conclusion, Estonia will be teaching computer science in public schools from first grade till end of their public education (until about 16 years old). Private companies are assisting in the program and the program will be in 100% of schools. I believe other countries should follow the ideas of this program, by turning consumers into developers, and beyond that better public education in all aspects. This will help Estonia with a competitive advantage over countries without a national computer science education initiative (*cough* America *cough*).

I applaud you Estonia!!

Good job Estonia!
Source: Gifsforum.com

I heard the story from The Philip DeFranco Show (Here is the specific episode) on YouTube.com

Source: Guess who’s winning the brains race, with 100% of first graders learning to code? | VentureBeat

Personal Update

2012-09-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted as often as I'd like, and I just want to let anyone who may read this blog that I will be posting in the future.

I was not hibernating or ignoring the blog, but I was distracted and stressed a bit. I was finishing my summer semester, enjoying the time home, and preparing for the fall semester. I finished my first week of classes and starting to settle in.

I will hopefully start writing more regularly as I get used to my schedule and relax more. If you have anything you might want me to write about, ask or tell me.
In the meantime, you can listen to some of my favorite music on Spotify here: Starred Music or check out my Last.fm library.

Side note: I still am a little conflicted on the direction I want to take with A Logical Conclusion, (this blog). I haven't decided if I want to be informative, educational, and/or entertaining; or if I will include more personal or reflective posts. Post a comment of what you would like to see in this blog.

Welcome to Facebook Penitentiary!

2012-08-09T22:03:00.002-07:00

900,000,000 inmates. Nine hundred million users of Facebook, nearly triple the entire United States population, and it would be the third most populous country if it was one. It charges users nothing and yet it is worth over a billion dollars. I am one of those users, or should I say inmates. Facebook allows us to connect to friends, family and coworkers from the past, present and future, so why are we Facebook’s inmates?

Facebook is a glass prison that many of us have put ourselves in. Some of us are first-time offenders serving very little time, others repeat offenders bouncing in and out, and then those who are serving a life-sentence. These are not physical confinements being controlled by others, but rather social confinements given out to and by ourselves. There are only glass walls that separate Facebook and the old ‘normal’ social media. We often make the choice to reinforce the glass then to break it down, but we are not a few, we are many.

Facebook was founded on February 4, 2004, which may be a surprise to some because Myspace seemed to be on top of social media at the time, but Facebook grew to 200 million users in a year. To put that into perspective, it took about thirty years before TV viewership reached 50 million, and the web took 8 years to reach 200 million users. We are so engrossed with the social media juggernaut (half of the 900 million users accessing it through a mobile app) that when we meet someone we don’t ask “What’s your number?” rather we say “Add me on Facebook.”

Socializing was much different in the time B.FB (Before Facebook) not just before the site was created but before your social environment (e.g. work, school, or clubs) was placed into the glass walls. Think back to the lunch cafeteria during grade school on the first day or week of the school year, you walk into the room and find a spot, if you aren’t one of the first then you find a person or group of people to sit by. Maybe you see a friend or classmate, so you sit by them. You introduce yourself and your friend to someone else who sat nearby and have a conversation to get to know each other. Lunch ends and you don’t see each other for the rest of the day, but the same process happens in your other classes. The next day at lunch you sit down where you did the day before, just as most people will be doing. The person you talked to sits down and you likely continue the conversation and you feel as engaged in the conversation as you did before. Of course lunch ends, but you decide to meet back at lunch the next day. That is how, for the most part, we made friends before Facebook.

Now, on the first day of a college semester, you go to the dining commons and find a seat. Instead of finding an open seat with someone you don’t know, you pull out your iPhone (or other smartphone) and get on Facebook and message your friend to meet you. Maybe your friends are in class when you are between and vice versa, then you Facebook message or text them in class. Meanwhile someone who decides to sit next to or across from you decides on the same, whether to socialize with friends who are not there or to simply avoid the awkwardness of being alone in a crowded room. Welcome to Facebook Penitentiary! Where you are an inmate and a warden, you choose which role you want to take.

Facebook is creating a virtual social environment which is allowing us to block out the real social environment around us. As you may have seen on TV or YouTube, a commercial for the Toyota Venza with a young woman using Facebook as if she has her 687 “friends” in her living room, while her parents are out being with real people socializing. Many of us are feeding a delusion that Facebooking is active socializing, but there is a context collapse while using Facebook. Meaning that we our words, thoughts, and actions are shown on their own and not within context of our in environment that we would otherwise have in person. We also can forget how to make new connections in person, since we can converse with anyone anywhere.

Half of the nearly one billion Facebook users use or have used Facebook’s mobile app or text service. With ever expanding mobile data service, Facebook can be accessed almost anywhere at anytime. While it may allow you to continue conversations with a friend and reinforce your relationship with current friends, you begin to inadvertently alienate peers around you. Hence the the glass prison analogy, if we allow ourselves to ignore real world we put ourselves in a social prison in which we can easily look in and out of, but we are limited with social interaction outside the walls.

My first week here at Penn State I realized this first-hand. I walked up the stairs into the dining hall and handed my id to enter. I grabbed a tray and walked through the lines for the all you care to eat buffet. I grabbed a cheese burger, some fries, and a chicken breast at the first station. At the other side I saw some pizza and pasta, so I grabbed that as well. Wend to the soda machine and filled my glass with Pepsi, wishing it was Coca-Cola instead. Satisfied with what I had on my tray I start looking for a table and a couple people to talk to. There were plenty of empty tables and spaces by people, some tables were full of people that obviously had met previously, some with a few people sitting quietly. Being a little shy, I sat by some of the quieter people, but instead of greeting, I noticed they were using Facebook on their iPhones and Android smartphones. I am from Georgia and did not know of anyone of my friends or classmates going to Penn State, so I sat and ate quietly. Feeling awkward, instead of trying to introduce myself, I also pulled my phone out and got on Facebook. Maybe that’s what they were doing too, but that’s the problem Facebook has introduced to our generation.

You either think I believe Facebook is evil or should be protested, but this is not the case. With many problems there seems to be black or white solutions, but Facebook can be great to get back in touch with friends you haven’t seen in a while or for distant friends. We don’t need to escape from the glass cells of social media, however we need to break the walls so that we can use the space but not be confined to it. When we are in a lunchroom type setting, instead of going on Facebook and chatting with distant friends, individuals should find an empty seat at a crowded table. Groups should ask if a person sitting by themselves want some company, instead of finding an empty table. It is much more important to get to know someone in conversation than it is from a profile, and get to know the person, not their Facebook page.

Philip Defranco loves them Booties [GIF]

2012-08-05T14:01:00.000-07:00

Philip Defranco was talking about the lovely ladies of Olympic volleyball and then said (@ ~ 3:54) "Life should be about love. Also, booties. MMMM booties." This is they internet so why not make it into a GIF, so I too the liberty of making it and here it is. Enjoy.

(Click on the photo if the captions are stacking or the link below)

(If the GIF doesn't work click here.)

Here is the full, original video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pcujOrwUAk

To skip to "Sexy Time News" [3:01-4:00]

Philip Defranco's channel http://www.youtube.com/sxephil

Time to "Get Nice!"

2012-08-01T19:01:00.001-07:00

Do you know how to Get Nice! ? So-Cal alternative rock band Zebrahead sure does with their most recent album, Get Nice!. The title track, “Get Nice!”, released 9 July 2011, is an anthemic, feel-good song inspiring listeners for “A brand new start” (Zebrahead & Palmer). The album is filled with upbeat sounds and overcoming adversity.
Zebrahead formed in La Habra, California in 1996, by guitarist, vocalist Justin Mauriello; guitarist Greg Bergdorf; vocalist Ali Tabatabaee; bassist Ben Osmundson; and drummer Ed Udhus. Their unique sound is largely attributed to the addition of rap vocals by Ali Tabatabaee, while still maintaining dominantly part of the punk rock genre. They have evolved and focused their sound through the years,and kept strong even when frontman Justin Mauriello left in 2004, Matty Lewis replaced him. Despite crossing and mixing musical bounds, their mainstream popularity is limited in the United States, but international popularity and loyal fan base keeps Zebrahead successful.
They debuted with Waste of Mind in 1998 gaining enough popularity with “Get Back” reaching #32 on U.S Hot Modern Rock Tracks. Their next studio album Playmate of the Year did not see as much success in the United States, but peaked at 20 on Japanese charts. Zebrahead’s music began to mature and is evident in their 2003 studio album MFZB, the name was taken from their fanclub. They released three single in the United States from MFZB and four in Japan. The album went gold in Japan and rose to ninth on the charts overseas. After releasing Waste of MFZB, a Japan exclusive of songs written for MFZB but not included, Justin Mauriello left due to “creative differences”. They invited Matty Lewis to replace Justin and were very impressed, so he officially became a member of Zebrahead.
Broadcast to the World was released in Japan in February 2006, and Zebrahead’s first album with new vocalist Matty Lewis. Broadcast to the World features “Anthem”, an upbeat song about being you and not being shut out from the world. The album also features more serious songs, such as “Karma Flavored Whiskey” which is about someone finally getting what they have been giving and being exposed. Zebrahead toured extensively in 2006 with the Van’s Warped Tour in the summer and in the fall for promoting their album.
Zebrahead took two months off of touring to right their new album. They headlined a UK tour and co-headlined with popular punk band MxPx in May 2007 in Europe. Zebrahead also took part in the Get Happy Tour with several other bands including Army of Freshmen, The Bloodhound Gang, and Bowling for Soup. Zebrahead got back into the studio in March 2008 to record Phoenix.
The name of the album, Phoenix, relates to what the band went through after Justin leaving and the addition of Matty Lewis. Overall the album is well rounded musically and lyrically, and Ali Tabatabaee claims that it was the easiest to write in terms of inspiration. Themes of the album include bad relationships, “Mental Health” and cheating, “Sorry, But Your Friends are Hot”. The album varies from a fast, heavy rap in “HMP” to the pop-punk, humorous “Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right, But Three Rights Make a Left”, which caters to a spectrum of fans from multiple genres. Zebrahead also makes a statement with Phoenix purely through humorous choice of track titles including the ones I mentioned as well as “Mike Dexter is a God, Mike Dexter is a Role Model, Mike Dexter is an Asshole”.
Zebrahead also made a statement with Panty Raid, but one that was not very popular with fans. Panty Raid is a collection of covers Zebrahead recorded from female artists, including Fergie and Avril Lavigne. Although it was not well liked by most, I found it humorous and worth at least one listen or even watch a cover of one the music videos they did.
Zebrahead did not stop making music or touring though. They toured very extensively in Europe and Japan between 2008 and 2010, and then they began work on Get Nice!. Zebrahead got the name from one of their close friends who would always say “Let’s get nice!”, which was meant to do anything to make them feel good, which the album does.
While there were many things going poorly in 2010 and 2011; the economy, unemployment, and natural disasters, especially in Japan; Zebrahead wanted to write something to avoid the negativity and feel good. The band’s positive energy is very apparent in the title track “Get Nice!” and the extremely catchy “She Don’t Wanna Rock”. Zebrahead’s well-rounded and genre-bending sound is not lost in Get Nice! with a heavy rap-rock mixture in “Ricky Bobby” and catchy pop-punk “This is Gonna Hurt You Way More Than It’s Gonna Hurt Me”.
Zebrahead’s unique musical personality is taken for granted in the United States, but thankfully not forgotten. While they only have mild success at home, Phoenix can debut at No. 1 in Japan beating out new titles from Coldplay and The Offspring. With punk and rap influences in their infallibly catchy music, it is only a matter of time before you Get Nice! with Zebrahead. So go to your favorite music service and get a taste of the genre-bending geniuses known as Zebrahead.

Here is the video for their song "Get Nice!"

This was written for my English class, but I figured I'd put it here as well.

Inactivity to Boost Productivity

2012-07-19T17:40:00.000-07:00

An article published by Lifehacker and written by Thorin Klosowski refutes our preconceived notion that boredom, distractions and procrastination are bad. While this "Holy Trinity" in excess can have a negative impact on productivity, it helps our brain filter information better, foster creativity, and think outside the box. It is important to note that your brain and productivity are positively affected from boredom, distractions and procrastination in moderation.

When we work or study, we often have just too much information to process and a lot isn't remembered for more than a short period of time, if at all. So our brains try to adapt, you become bored as a device to sort out important, relevant information. A New York Times columnist wrote,

"Some experts say that people tune things out for good reasons, and that over time boredom becomes a tool for sorting information — an increasingly sensitive spam filter. In various fields including neuroscience and education, research suggests that falling into a numbed trance allows the brain to recast the outside world in ways that can be productive and creative at least as often as they are disruptive."

Problems requiring insight are the most positively impacted by distraction. If you get stuck on a problem at off-peak times, clicking on random Wikipedia articles from the page relevant to your topic may help. As explained by Scientific American,

"At off-peak times we are less focused, and may consider a broader range of information. This wider scope gives us access to more alternatives and diverse interpretations, thus fostering innovation and insight."

Procrastination is probably the most shunned of the "Holy Trinity", and is placed side-by-side with failure and poor performance. Very few people ever think of procrastination as a good thing for the brain or tasks. Procrastination can be great for decision making especially. Author Frank Partnoy explains his process,

"1)Think about what the greatest amount of time you could delay before taking an action or making a decision. 2) Wait until the last possible moment in that time frame."

The time that you spent procrastinating gave your brain time to think about the problem and make decisions more effectively. If you are aware of how much time you actually need, then procrastination can give you time to develop a well-thought decision (whether it is a single problem or a paper). Partnoy adds a disclaimer,

"Some scientists have argued that there are two kinds of procrastination: active procrastination and passive procrastination. Active procrastination means you realize that you are unduly delaying mowing the lawn or cleaning your closet, but you are doing something that is more valuable instead. Passive procrastination is just sitting around on your sofa not doing anything."

Now that you think boredom, distractions and procrastination are good for you, you have to plan accordingly when you have a task at hand. Remember that the work won't get done unless you do it, and to take such breaks in moderation. Be aware of what you need to do, how long you have to do it, and how long you need to finish it. The best way utilize benefits of inactivity is to understand how long you can break without having trouble getting back to work and when you can afford to wast time. A good way to waste time is to take a walk, go to a coffee shop (while leaving your phone, computer, and headphones at home), or just take time, sit somewhere quietly and reflect on anything.

Source: "The Holy Trinity of Inactivity: How Boredom, Distraction, and Procrastination Are Vital to Healthy Living." Klosowski, Thorin. Lifehacker.

Dust 514: A New Game or A New Precedent for Shooters.

2012-07-16T15:13:00.001-07:00

"One Universe // One War" & "Your next shot will topple empires" are not just tag lines for CCP's Dust 514, they are features in this massively multiplayer shooter that will be connected with the ever-expanding EVE Online universe and will be free-to-play on the PS3. Interested yet?

First off, EVE Online is a MMORPG set in space, and like other titles you have numerous roles available and skill choices, but in EVE the community doesn't just partake in the universe, they Control it. And that is probably why it has one of the most active and dedicated fanbases of any MMO game. Also I said "the universe" not "the game", that's because it is entirely one universe, not copies of the game on hundreds of servers that players choose from.

Dust 514 will be in that universe; while EVE capsuleers (i.e. EVE players) trade, control, explore, and fight out in space; Dust Mercenaries will fight on some of the thousands of terrestrial planets already in the EVE universe. As a mercenary in Dust you will be able to establish corporations (i.e. guilds or clans) with other mercenaries and/or capsuleers and fight to own territories or whole planets. Maybe your corporation can't or doesn't want the hassle of overseeing control of planetary outposts, be for-hire and fight for an alliance or the highest bidder. Are you a Lone Ranger type, fight for your faction in matchmaking games, avoiding the fierce politics of player-run corporations.

Dust battles will be up to 24v24 (which could be significantly increased in the future: I'm looking for source) battles in a particular district, but multiple battles can happen simultaneously on each planet with the ability to impact each other in real time. Cross battle impact is not limited to Dust, EVE players can be called upon or contracted to perform strikes on a planetary battle, and Dust players can attack nearby EVE ships from the ground.

Dust mercenaries will experience some of the same or similar user interface as EVE. Players will use dropsuit and vehicle fitting screens to build their loadouts. The skill systems also stands out from FPS with MMO-like skill tree and, like EVE, features passive skilling, which prevents 'grinding'.Unlike EVE's passive skilling, you do earn skill points actively from performing well in-game. You also earn ISK, in-game currency, from in-game actions in which you can upgrade your dropsuit or buy vehicles, but to support development CCP offers Aurum (AUR) through the PSN store. Then it's just pay-to-win, No, no unfair advantage is gained from purchasing AUR items, but it does allow for more customization and various play styles.

Dust 514 is currently in beta and scheduled to be released later this year, free-to-play on the PS Store.

*Also to note that Dust 514 will be a product in development (e.g. patches,feature updates and add-ons) after release, and it has been said by CCP (the developer) add-ons will be free like in EVE Online.

Learn more about Dust 514 here and also register for a chance to participate in the beta.
Want to know more about the background of Dust 514 or about EVE Online itself, click here.

Sources:
Dust 514 website http://www.dust514.com/
EVE Online http://www.eveonline.com/

The Walking Dead season 3 trailer

2012-07-14T13:48:00.001-07:00

I can't wait!! One of my favorite tv series.

Nuclear explosion caused by Baseball?!

2012-07-14T11:36:00.001-07:00

XKCD comic creator Randall Munroe recently started "What If?" on his site xkcd. On http://what-if.xkcd.com you can ask an hypothetical question and he will answer it with physics. The first question states "What would happen if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90% the speed of light?"- Ellen McManis
The simple answer is a nuclear explosion, for why? click here

XKCD updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
"Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)." (xkcd.com)

Click here for more about xkcd and its author.

Hello Internet (Day 0)

2012-07-13T17:07:00.000-07:00

Hello Internet,
I am Kevin and I'm currently a first-year student at Penn State University. I am starting a personal experiment with a goal of understanding online social interaction, how it compares with in-person social interaction and what effects both have on each other. By actively participating in a personal blog and other social media, outside of Facebook and Twitter, is how I plan to understand on a personal level.
Also, my reason for my blogging experiment is to increase my communication skills. I am an introvert, so I became very shy and limited social interaction. Because of that, I don't have as much social confidence or skills as I would like.This is one way I am overcoming my shyness and become an overall happier person.
My future posts won't always be this boring or personal, most likely they will be about something that interests (see my profile) or intrigues me. Feel free to message me about anything, and also follow me for future posts.