Gare

Antikythera Mechanism

2011-06-27T22:04:00.003+12:00

Interested in that first video from my previous post? I know I was, so before the reconstruction seen in the previous video, here's a whole lot of background information on it, leading up to its reconstruction - the Antikythera Mechanism.

The First Electronic Computer

2011-06-27T21:33:00.003+12:00

Okay, it's not truly the very first computer EVER made. That award would probably go to this awesome piece of (ancient) technology:

Still, when I got bored and decided to find out a bit about old electronic computers, I turned to YouTube, and there, I came across the Colossus, or more specifically, the rebuilt version of the Colossus Mk.2 (Mark 2 - "Mark" meaning "version").

It's a little complicated but overall is quite interesting, so I thought I'd share with the world the two-part video that I found, showing off the Colossus Mk.2 - the electronic computer that was made in order to crack the German Lorenz cipher in World War II.

Hopefully someone else finds this as interesting as I did.

You all know what it is. Now it's time for it to harden up. POKEMON.

2011-04-12T19:10:00.001+12:00

I'm sure everyone knows what Pokemon is. Those crazy little creatures with insane abilities, like breathing fire or using leaves to chop you into little pieces. But it's become stale.

This year (or if you want to be Japanese, starting at the end of last year), the fifth generation of Pokemon was launched. A new (terribly-rated) anime was released in Japan, called "Best Wishes!" (seriously, who thought of that?!) and it was accompanied by the release of two new Nintendo DS games - Pokemon Black and Pokemon White.

So what did they do for the English dub of the anime? Called it Pokemon Black and White. Yep. Original. Who comes up with stuff? It's ridiculous.

Now, I once watched the anime like many people. When I was much younger. I was actually still watching it about three years ago. That's around about the time when it became BAD. I mean, worse than it already had become. At that point, I just stopped. But it started with the video games, and those always seem to be enjoyable in some way, even if they ARE always the same thing. So, I jumped at the chance to play the new games. In Japanese...

I played Pokemon Black. It was refreshing. Only new Pokemon until you beat the first half of the game (which is the first story arc). Not only does it make it more difficult, but it also manages to keep your attention on the game. Soon, an English translation patch was released. As with all translation patches, it wasn't 100% complete. Almost. But at the time, not all of the Pokemon had English names. Only some.

I've just got to say this - the Japanese names can sound absolutely hilarious, but don't be fooled - they're normally as badly-made as the English ones. Take the name of an animal or its attributes and play with it. A lot. It's pretty straight-forward, and that's often (but not always) how they do it.

Well, the new Pokemon are a joke. There are 156 new creatures. Really? That's an awful lot, and it takes the total number up to 649. THAT is crazy. Some of these Pokemon look fake. Some of them look to be related to older Pokemon but are NOT. I don't have a clue why not. But when I finally got a hold of the English version of Black, I realised just how bad they were. Every time I encountered a new Pokemon, there was a chance I'd either end up in a laughing fit or wondering what drugs those transimalatoring people were on. They aren't original names. They're a joke. They're BAD.

Right, so, Pokemon is old. I reckon it should end, but come on, Nintendo won't let die one of their star franchises that has been stealing the money from the pockets of little children for years. It's just not on.

So, I reckon it's about time Pokemon got mature, starting with their sixth generation. Don't change the damn creatures and make more of those abominations. I want to see a complete formula change.

Here's how it goes:

You start the game by being introduced to your gang leader. You choose your codename and specify which gender you are (with the option of man or mouse).
Appearing in one of your gang's safe-houses, you leave early in the morning to visit the gang leader's crib. He initiates you as a member by giving you the choice of three guns: an uzi, a shotgun or a bazooka.
Now it's time for you to run off on your adventure. If you run through tall grass, you might encounter wild Pokemon. If you do, you'll need to find their weak spot and blast 'em where it hurts until they're dead. Then you can take their weapons to fill up your load-out and run off before the SPCA turn up.
You'll make a rival, who also happens to be part of one of the rival gangs. He's in the same position as you, so it's a contest to get the most armaments and blast the most Pokemon into oblivion. Gotta kill 'em all. You know how it goes.
When other people see you, they pick a fight. Once they have a few flesh wounds, they'll either bugger off or join your gang.
During your journey, someone tries to offer you a branded bicycle so that you can ride it and simultaneously promote their store. Once you assure him that bicycles are for girls, you take his motorbike that he parked out back and unlock the ability to perform drive-bys.
If a Pokemon is worthy enough, you can enslave it and send it out to get you money by committing theft or arson, or use it as target practice.
To win the gang wars, you need to infiltrate each rival gang and undermine them. To do this, you'll need to defeat head mobsters from each gang and gain gang patches. You need 8 gang patches to successfully undermine all gangs.
Once your rival gets the jist - that he's no match for your awesomeness - he'll help you infiltrate Mafia headquarters where you have to find the Mafia lord (who has replaced the champion whom he killed) and blow his head off. Whilst you take aim at his face, he will attempt to stop you by unleashing rabid, flesh-eating Pokemon at you. Each one you knife to death gives you an extra life.
Extra features include:
- Trading with a friend(ly gang member) to get more or different armaments (trade a hunting rifle to turn it into a bayonet, and trade a knife to turn it into either a chainsaw or sword, depending on whether you took it from that playa-hating Pokemon during his daily patrol or if you "borrowed" it whilst he was sleeping in his crib a.k.a abandoned warehouse)
- Playing the game on a 3DS so that you can see blood splattering ON the screen, instead of behind it
- Vehicles to drive (other than the motorbike and only available at special Nintendo events held at your nearest gun shop on Independence Day and Labour Weekend).

The only thing left would be names. I'm honestly undecided on this, but here are a few ideas I came up with:

Pokemon: Crips and Bloods versions (with a third being the Mafia versions)
Pokemon: Liberty City and Vice City versions (the third would be San Andreas version, or perhaps "Pokemon: The Grand Theft Part III version")
Pokemon: Bloody Red and Cold, Dead Body Blue versions (the third would have to be Treacherously Poisoned Green version)

That's that. Pokemon needs to grow up, and if it's going to do so, then it needs a little bit more violence. Come on, you KNOW you'd buy it.

#1 Rule of Computer Nerds

2011-03-19T09:32:00.000+13:00

I don't know if this is exactly the number one rule, but it sure ranks high up there. In as much way as people are entitled to their own opinions, I came up with this "rule" because I think it makes complete sense, and it often comes up when talking about computers to someone as eager about them. It basically comes down to preference, but anyway, here it is: Rule #1: A nerd has their computer set up how they want it. Do not try to change their setup, because it belongs to them, therefore they are correct. Basically, when it comes to computers (and nerds), we all have a different way of setting up our computer, whether it be our operating system, antivirus software or web browser, amongst many other possible preferences. Each person has their particular settings and programs for their computer. You have your own. Don't mess with the other person's computer, because they have it set how they want it, and you have yours set up how you want it. Somewhat contradictory to that though is when we have to tell our families how to do things right. Ever have that feeling of needing to be a control freak over your computer at home, because else the family will destroy it? Well, I do. They don't know much about computers, so it's up to you to school them. It's simple, but over time, they learn more about computers, and they get used to your setup. You end up training them with your particular setup and preferences. This CAN confuse the more technologically-challenged, however (such as my own family). So at the end of the day, it all boils down to preference, but I think that in the same way as dismissing or insulting another's opinion, when it comes to a nerd and his/her computer, you shouldn't mess with it. Leave it the way you found it. Unless you want to keylog their computer and steal their internet banking details; then I won't stop you, but don't blame me if you end up in jail. ~Thomas

Fresh Start

2011-03-16T10:10:00.000+13:00

Something I've been planning for a while but never really had the time to get around to starting was Gare. Whilst the idea started as its own business, and more specifically, for video games, I'm far from the point where that will happen, so I planned to blog about all those nerdy technological things in the mean time. Now I'm actually starting it. I don't do an awful lot in my spare time. It usually involves sitting at a computer or playing video games. Else I'll be playing piano. Sometimes I fiddle with gadgets or build models, and I love trying to make things do something they were never meant to -I constantly am trying to find ways to improve things. However, being good at dismantling something doesn't make one good at putting it back together, especially after (heavy) modifications. If you haven't seen my ugly mug all over YouTube, then feel free to check out my channel. I'm your classic definition of nerd . I like video games. Too much. I really hope to design my own some day. I'd like to head up a team, write a ground-breaking story, and deliver some of the best material ever. Some time in the future, I'll definitely talk more about this. I actually don't watch a lot of television, but that's because I'm usually sitting at the computer or piano. Instead, I do make use of the internet or even DVDs to watch the classic nerdy things. I generally enjoy movies, as long as they're well-written. I'm pretty critical about everything I play and watch, so if it isn't good, I don't care about it. Anime is another one. I never really gave much thought to anime. Like a lot of people my age, I grew up with those well-known classics such as Dragon Ball Z and Pokémon, but no one seems to care about those any more. I definitely believe that Pokémon has gone on far too long, but The Pokémon Company and Nintendo will keep milking it for cash. Just last year, I discovered some more anime that I enjoyed, and started to explore new genres through anime, which is slowly expanding my tastes, so it's quite helpful. I really do like good mysteries, but it seems every different type of mystery has been exhausted, and they're becoming more and more predictable, so it is rare and exciting to see something so different. I also discovered a passion for fantasy over the past few months. I'll admit that I'm not way into it, but some fantasy-based stories that aren't too extremely farfetched can be enjoyable. Most notably, I bought Final Fantasy XIII - because I'd never played a Final Fantasy game, or at least not properly and I wanted to try one out - for Christmas. Music is another huge part of my life. I don't intend - at least at this stage - to study music at university, but I love it all the same. I play in a brass band, although I don't play any brass instruments in it. I used to. I still play the instrument outside the band - the cornet, which is kind of like a trumpet. I'll talk more about that some other time, too. I actually play percussion for this brass band, which I just started last year, so I'm also learning how to play the drum kit, as well as everything from the timpani (kettle drums), glockenspiel (which is simple, because I play piano, but the hand-eye co-ordination involved can make it harder to play), and even the triangle. My main instrument is, of course, the piano. I started playing it about seven years ago, around when I was ten years old (right now, I'm seventeen). It was my very first musical instrument. About two and a half years into playing the piano, I started playing the cornet, and therefore eased off of the piano, and stopped playing it. Approximately three years ago, I started playing the piano again, and it's really helpful to all my music, but most importantly, I enjoy playing it. At the end of this super-long blog post, I want to talk a little about "Gare". Basically, I found an image (my image, that red cog thing) on the internet, when I was looking for.... well, cogs. I was making a plan for a video game at that point, and I wanted a good-looking cog picture, from what I remember. This was about three or four years ago. I came across a good-looking one, and decided to edit it. I believe I rotated it a little, and I inverted the colour, then changed the hue so that I got a nice, deep red colour. I have tried with no success to find the original image again. One day, if I ever officially use the image, I will definitely get it redrawn to look more appropriate and avoid any copyright issues. If you have a good imagination (something which I have way too much of), you might be able to see the letter "G" in the image. So, "Gare" came from the word "gear". Okay, kind of obvious. A cog --> a gear. Same thing. But I also thought more about the meaning. Gears/cogs work together. That's part of what the name "Gare" implies. The ironic part is that I'm not as much of a team player as I'd like to be. Something you may notice is the name "Gare Works". Sticking with the 'working together' theme, I added "Works" to the end, as kind of a pun. See if you can figure that one out for yourself. But the main reason I added that extra word is when I was checking to see if the name "Gare" was already in use. Yes, it is. Some ancient, foreign pottery shop. Great. That's all for now. Readers can finally take a breath and breathe a sigh of relief. But from now on, I'm going to do my best to post regularly. It'll be nerdy, techie, and extremely long, but I can assure you it's worth it. I hope. ~Thomas