Living in a Frozen Tundra

League of Legends

2011-11-18T21:39:00.001-08:00

So me and a few buddies have been playing it alot and we are starting to stream now Link will be posted later!

Like Wow...

2011-06-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

Hey all i should be back now life has been twisting up and down side to side. I think it should be fairly straight now due to the fact i have actually been working. Just wish my hours weren't so hectic like they were for a while and im finally getting used to them again! 4 am is the time i am working now so it took a while to get used to getting up at 2 am to get ready/eat. Well i will post more in the upcoming days take care all!

Thanks Everybody

2011-03-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

Thanks y'all for the kind words about my math course. I was only reading since i was on spring break but i have been hitting the studies hard and been preoccupied with other issues such as looking for a job that this has fallen behind. ANYWAY besides all the bad shit that has happened to me stuff has been looking up for me. But my main question is has anyone ever met someone that has looked like an ex and had all those feelings rush back? Any way here are a few pictures i found a good laugh in and maybe you will too.

Well this sucks

2011-03-14T18:04:00.000-07:00

Found out i failed my math midterm go me! well if i fail this math class i am fucked beyond belief for getting my degree since i will be kicked out of school for it. I am already on academic probation since i failed the same class last semester. I will have to also put the contest on hold due to Finacial reasons I am sorry to those that have already entered. These circumstances are beyond my control at this moment. I have been reading alot lately mainly the Temeraire series that is based in an alternate timeline where dragons are alive. It takes place back in the Napoleon era. I found it to be an awesome read that keeps me entertained for hours. I have read each book the day i got it having to make multiple trips to Barnes and Noble. The series has 6 books currently starting with His Majesty's Dragon. If you enjoy reading you should look it up well that is it for now sorry about me not posting lately.

Been awhile

2011-03-09T11:56:00.000-08:00

So it has been awhile since my last post due to having midterms. I have been studying and shit trying to pass and it has started snowing again! Mother nature must hate us here in minnesota since it won't stop snowing! Anyway i will make anotther post later tonight.

End of another week....

2011-03-03T08:30:00.000-08:00

Well Guys it's the end of Another week and it is starting to get warm here and the flood season is coming up quickly for us here in Minnesota/North Dakota. Also i know there was a few more then 4 people that wanted to be in thee contest and yet only 4 people have joined. There needs to be more if i am to put on this contest, but sadly if a few more do not join i will have to cancel and send the few that have joined their prize.

But on other news i have 1 more week till i am on my Spring break which i will be able to enjoy a peaceful and relaxing time. And be able to post more! Here is a picture have a good one y'all

~Zekie

Life

2011-02-27T17:43:00.000-08:00

Well since my last post i have been on a roller coaster. But tonight is looking like fun i am going to hang out with a bunch of friends for college night at Buffalo Wild Wings . It shall be an amusing time before i come home and do more work. I also got an email about a possible job! so i am happy

Well thats all for now i hope more people join in on the contest!

~Zekie

Mid terms! and Viruses!

2011-02-24T08:15:00.000-08:00

So I have mid terms coming up next week or so, I will not be posting as much due to trying to study and make sure i am prepared for them. This will be difficult since I have a math mid term and I really hate math. Last night i was surfing the web trying to find something to watch on netflix and such, when all of a sudden i get a message saying that my computer is infected with malware.... Now let me set the scene for you all. I am running a windows 7 OS. Now this "Anti Virus" randomly pops up when I started to make my way to google. Now everyone knows that your Anti Virus if you have one will pop up on your computer itself and not make a new tab in your browser. So this "Anti Virus" makes a tab in my Google Chrome browser and shows me a Window XP OS and i just sit there and laugh my ass off due to the failure it has done.

I shut down that tab and take the time to scan my computer. It was most amusing since it showed me the wrong OS. Now since i am an IT professional and knew how to handle these types of problems. What do you all think about the Fake Anti viruses that are actually viruses?

Contest! It's coming fast!

2011-02-21T09:59:00.000-08:00

Well Guys/Ladies i figured i would bring this up again. The contest is set to begin March 15th to go with the new format or the blog there is a contest entry form. It needs to be completely filled out. If you forget your email or Blogger user name you will not be eligible for winning any of the prizes. Again the prizes are...

One $50 Dollar gift card to Best Buy

Two $25 Dollar prepaid visa cards.

Two 550 Paracord Lanyards

The contest goes from march 15th to the 31st. You are able to comment twice a day on Contest related posts. Each post will have a point value depending on on the amount of thought put into it. Meaning answering asked questions or simply sharing your opinions.

If you have any questions please leave a comment.

Thanks,

Zekie

look guys...

2011-02-21T00:40:00.000-08:00

If you haven't noticed at all but we have a new look here on this blog. It looks Awesome to me what do you guys think? Like this one better or did you like the last one? Leave me feed back guys i always appreciate your comments and i want to see what y'all think about this! let me know.

Thanks,

~Zekie

End of the world....Enjoy...

2011-02-19T12:50:00.000-08:00

Ok gentlemen/ladies today i have that tutorial i promised for you on how to make the end of the world that i showed a few days ago.

Step 1:

Make it fairly large 1280 x 1280 will do just fine (final comp will be a bit bigger).

Press D to reset FG/BG-color, then add a new Gradient Fill Layer – Name it “City Lights”. Pick a Radial gradient that goes from a white center to a black edge.

Step 2:

Now we will add some filters, it can be helpful to use the Filter Gallery to append these three filters…

Filter > Artistic > Plastic Wrap

Filter > Stylize > Glowing Edges

Filter > Texture > Stained Glass

Step 3:

Go to Image > Canvas Size and set it to 2048 x 1536px or whatever size you want your final composition size to be (note: the image will be scaled down later on).

Duplicate the City Lights Layer, then scale down the original (City Lights) to the size you want for the earth on your final piece.

Merge City Lights with Background. Name the Layers as shown below.

Step 5:

Working on the layer Flames. Select Filter > Blur > Radial Blur.

Select Filter > Distort > Wave.

Repeat the filter 2 or 3 times, each time click the Randomize-button (Ctrl + Alt + F). Set the blending mode of Flames to Screen, and lower the opacity to about 70%.

Step 7:

Duplicate Background and place it on the top of your layer stack, name it Smoke. Press D to reset your FG/BG-color, then select Filter > Render > Difference Clouds. Repeat the filter 5-6 times (or until you see a nice fire effect). Set the Blending Mode of Smoke to Color Dodge.

Step 8:

Add a new Color Balance Adjustment Layer, place it on the top of the layer stack.

Step 9:

Open up the picture in Photoshop, select the earth using the Circular Marquee Tool copy it and paste it in our fire document (I suggest you select a bit inside the actual edge, to leave out any white). Click here for image (save it.)

Step 10:

Resize the earth so that it fits your “fireball” thingy ;) It does not matter if there are some white dots outside the earth. In fact, it might even look cooler!

Step 11:

Create a Layer Mask for Earth layer. Use a medium sized brush and start brushing the mask with Black/White to hide and reveal details.

Power tip: Use the smudge tool to mess up the edge of the mask, to make the fire look more natural

Step 12:

Add a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer, choose to use previous layer as Clipping Mask. Lower the Saturation and Lightness.

Step 13:

Create a new document 4000 x 3000 px, render some default colored clouds, copy and paste to our composition as a new layer Clouds.

Step 14:

Set the Blending Mode to Lighten for Clouds. Add a Layer Mask, fill it with black. Grab a soft large brush, set the opacity to about 5%, then paint in some clouds by drawing on the mask with a white color. Draw around the earth, then crank up the opacity and lower the size of the brush when you get more close to the edge.

Step 15:

Ctrl + Click on the Layer Icon for Earth. Create a new Fill Layer, any color. Set Fill (located below Opacity) of the Layer to 0%.

Double-click the layer and add an Inner Glow effect (dark red color).

Step 16:

Duplicate the Inner Glow layer you just created. Move the layer down so that it gets placed just above Background. Un-check the Outer Glow effect, then add an Outer Glow instead.

Duplicate the top Inner Glow again, this time make the inner glow a bright red color and decrease the effect. Set outer glow of this layer to a bright red color and decrease the effect.

Step 17:

For the star sky, create a new layer on top of all other layers. Fill it with black, then go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise.

Select Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, set it to about 0,4-0,8. Add a Levels Adjustment Layer, use Previous layer as Clipping Mask and drag the Midtones-slider to the right until you see a nice sky. Mask out the earth, then set the Blending Mode of the sky to Lighten.

Step 18:

Adding one final Color Balance Adjustment Layer on top of the whole layer stack will help you to tweak the colors of the final image. Add some blue for midtones and shadows, then crank up the yellow and red for highlights. Also on the Earthlayer you can set the Lightness and Saturation to almost 0 and control the effect with a radial gradient + brush mask instead. If you want the lava less textured, you can duplicate the Background and blur it, then mask parts of the fire that you want to blur.

When you are happy with the result, save a copy of the image then go to Image > Resize.

Setting re-sampling algorithm to Bicubic Sharper will keep the stars and the lava crisp.

Step 19:

Select the Background layer and go to Filter > Render > Lens Flare. You may have to play around with the position to get the flare right.

Step 20:

Create a new layer on top of all other layers. Then repeat the Lens Flare filter (Ctrl + F). Lower the Opacity of the layer a bit and set the Blending Mode to Screen. You might want to mask out some of the details on this one.

There you go everyone. Here is that Tutorial... Might do a few others... Good luck

Photoshop...

2011-02-18T10:55:00.000-08:00

This program is amazing if you don't know it already. Later on today i will be posting my tutorial on how to make the exploding planet. So today has been a quiet slow day here in the thawing tundra had to drive 20 minutes into town for a 50 minute class and drive back home. Kinda annoying ya know i spent almost as much time driving as I did to my class. Are there any other Tutorials or ideas you want me to show in photoshop? Just Drop me a comment... Oh speaking of comments i just want to remind everyone that March 15th is when the contest is Starting.. So tell your friends, Tell your familys hell even tell your animals about it and lets see some awesome comments!If you have left me a comment and don't see it don't worry I just have so many to go through that I am taking my time reading them and publishing them. Take care till later today

Caio!!!

Ethics...

2011-02-17T08:22:00.000-08:00

So this morning at 8:30 am i had to be at my college for my Ethics class, now a lot of people say ok that ain't so bad. Well thats what i thought when i signed up for the course, well then i meet the instructor... Thats where shit went south, let me describe the guy for. He is monotoned and stops speaking for about 20 seconds after every 4th to 6th word. I have his class for 2 hours every Tuesday and Thursday. Well lets just say it is the hardest class I have since i can't manage to stay awake more then 20 minutes. Well today i had a quiz that to say the least i was not prepared for but luckily I already had most of the answers from a friend who had already taken the quiz the week before. Managed to get 3 out of 5 correct.

Now my question to everyone is have you ever had an instructor like that?

Another question is how many people would like to see how i made the exploding earth in Photoshop?

Think about it.

2011-02-16T13:31:00.000-08:00

Well everyone I am deciding to make this post to raise awareness to Charity foundations. We all know there are many different forms of Charity foundations around the world. Most of the ones many people really know about are the ones that are trying to find cures for cancer, AIDS, and other disease the reason i am bringing up this topic is because on my way home from school/work on the radio they were having a fund raiser for our local children hospital. Now i know a lot of people who do say " So what I am not going to donate my hard earned money to something i will probably never need"

When i hear people say that it just sickens me because even if you don't need or and hopefully know no one that does the matter of fact is there is still someone somewhere who does need the help or is living with that disease. You never know what type of curve ball will be thrown at you in life. I for one m happy to donate to these causes because i have known people who have had to be in a children's hospital. I know people who have suffered from a form of Cancer, I try to help by donating a few days of whatever change i have on me. Now i will share a very personal story that someone did to help me and my family back when i was younger.

So back when I was 13 or 14 my mother being a single parent could not afford to get me school supplies that i needed. We where told about the near by community church that was giving away some food and school supplies to those families that were needing it. My mother decided to suck up her pride and we ended up going to the church. After waiting for a few hours and receiving school supplies and some food my mother sat down to talk to one of the ministers i believe. She told him what we had been going through recently and out of the goodness of his heart he stood up pulled out his wallet and gave my mother some money to help ease our struggles. now i don't remember the amount nor does it really matter right now. He was a generous man for doing so and showing there is still some good left in this world.

There are people that are complete snobs and do not want to help out foundations that are trying to help out man kind and the snobs do not want to donate at all. So all in all what I am saying is that if you hear of a fundraiser that is for something good but only have a few coins in your pocket or a couple of 1's you don't need. Donate to that cause because you never know what life might throw at you.

Thanks for reading,

~Zekie

Contest? Math? Photoshop?

2011-02-16T10:30:00.001-08:00

Well shit, Looks like this blog is becoming popular with the contest ideas. For now i will not be thinking about that. I just got back my grade for my online college math class test. I ended up getting a 72% on it which i am happy to get since i am terrible at math. On other news at the time of this post i am up to 111 Followers and i would like to say thank you! I never thought that this blog would be this successful. But now back on track. It has been extremly warm here in minnsota lately causing the snow to melt (Yay!) but what sucks about the snow melting as fast as it is the danger of a flood. So yea it will suck if the river floods like it has done the past two years but thats life eh? Enjoy a picture i made in photoshop.

High Res click here

Contest? Yes a Contest!

2011-02-15T08:20:00.001-08:00

So yesterday i posted about a contest it got y'all excited for the chance to win free swag. I have decided that the prizes that will be given out are...

One $50 Dollar gift card to Best Buy
Two $25 Dollar prepaid visa cards.
Two 550 Paracord Lanyards

Now of course there are terms and conditions for winning or not winning but it is quite simple. The contest will begin March 15th to March 31st. It is a simple two comments a day. That sounds easy right? Well the hard thing is they have to actually mean something nothing like "nice work" or along those lines. Since I am taking the time of doing this and giving out free swag the most the participants can do is give a decent comment. If any of y'all got any other ideas for this contest please let me know and I will consider them.

Thanks for readin!

~Zekie

Didn't realize this but did you?

2011-02-14T23:04:00.000-08:00

Alright guys, I recently found something that had me a bit concerned, and realized that it was putting my adsense account at risk. That something is a privacy policy. I hadn't realized I needed to make one of these, but it's listed clearly in the program policies.

Knowing this, I searched around, and got to finding some instructions and making a privacy policy, which you can all now see linked in the upper right corner of my blog. If you're using adsense, you *must* also have a privacy policy on your site, or risk getting a nice lifetime ban from the program. So, without further ado, here are those instructions:

1. Open my adsense policy from Click Here
2. Copy and paste it into notepad.
3. Search and replce my url and replace it with yours.
4. Create a new post on your blog and paste it in.
5. Go to the post options at the bottom of the post window.
6. Set the date and time to before your first post date
7. Add a tag(label) called Privacy Policy (if you'd like...not 100% necessary)
8. Submit the post.
9. Navigate to your Privacy Policy and copy the URL

Now, you need to add a gadget on your blog, like you can see I did.

1. Go to the design tab on your dashboard
2. Edit Layout
3. Click "Add a Gadget" where you would like to place the box
4. Scroll down and select the "HTML/Javascript" Gadget
5. Give it an appropriate title
6. Link your privacy policy using the URL you copied earlier

Add the gadget, and you're done!

Hopefully this post will be helpful to many of you guys, as I can't imagine the frustration I'd feel if I got banned for not doing something as simple as this. The reason Google requires us to post this is because it actually violates US law if we don't, and that can turn around and bite them in the ass. They aren't willing to risk problems with the law just because us small fish don't bother posting a privacy policy. I hadn't known I needed one, but as should be apparent by now, I've added one. Adsense is a great program, that allows us bloggers to receive compensation for doing the writing we all enjoy. The least we can do is abide by the rules, and at the same time, insure our continued use of the program.

I hope this post helped you guys out. If you have any questions/comments, as always, let me know in the comments.

2011-02-14T15:20:00.000-08:00

What is this? Another post? This makes what 3 today? Well i have an idea that i think most everyone will enjoy. In march if i get enough followers and daily views i will have a contest giving away a few gift cards and other items! Well thats it for now will probably have one more post before i head to bed tonight not sure though. Let me know if anyone likes or dislikes this idea.

2011-02-14T11:17:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

So i was going through my followers and noticed a lot of people do not have a link to their blog in their profile. I would love to see them but unforunatly(sp?) without a link in your profile i can't. So if you could all please double check to make sure that is in your profile. It would help everyone out when you follow them! Well thats all for this service announcement back to you daily program...>.>

Thanks!

Zekie

2011-02-14T08:35:00.001-08:00

Well shit I hate to admit it but last night after I posted it went shitty. Looking over the comments from my question I asked it seems like y'all came to the same conclustion I did. Let's just say shit did not end well.... Now in other news if you have followed me and I have yet gotten a chance to look at your blogs don't worry today I will get to them all. Also I will be starting a featured blog of the day with links to tha blog. Well maybe haha for now I am heading to my first college class of the day! Take Care!

2011-02-13T20:17:00.000-08:00

Well today has had it's ups and downs but im glad it is almost over. Not a whole lot to post about tonight But i will instead ask a question. If you were sorta dating someone and you found out that they were basically sexting someone would you be mad/upset? Comment with your answer here is a picture to enjoy.

2011-02-13T10:16:00.001-08:00

Well all i didn't get a chance to play Dead Space 2 last night but first things this morning i hooked up the PS3 and played for about 2 hours. Wow...i got fucked up big time by the introduction part. I mean if you have played the first one you should remember the first time where you run from the monsters. In this one there is shit to dodge and a close encounter. Already on chapter 2 almost out of ammo. No ammo in sight this shit will suck. But luckily i have melee to fall back too, Today i get to go to a birthday dinner(not mine) and have some fun with my friends family. Anyone know any other great games i should get for the PS3? i have the resistance series in mind also Killzone 2 and 3. But what other good ones? Let me know! expect another post later on today till them i leave some more pictures! Have a great Day!

Wow..

2011-02-12T19:09:00.001-08:00

Wow guys thanks to all who have been following me! Almost hit 60 followers today that is just Awesome! In my last post i talked about getting new shoes well here are the pictures for them..

I also just went out and purchased a PS3 along with Dead Space 2! going to try it out later tonight on the 52in TV we have down stairs. Can't wait to actually im done paying for xbox 360 live... just a waste of money at times. I'm in a great mood tonight had a great day except a small little incident that i got into with a friend but oh well. Life is life eh?

Just like the Picture above life sucks at time. But as i have heard in the past you can shit in one hand and wish in the other. Which one you think will fill up first? Haha. Well i will probably make another post later tonight when i try the PS3

2011-02-12T13:08:00.000-08:00

Well shit sorry about the late post today but my friend dragged me out of the house before i could post. Went out had some lunch with an amazing temp of 38f out! The snow and ice is melting sadly as tonight it will turn into black ice and suck to drive on... Also got a new pair of shoes that i needed since mine are falling apart. They were a reg. 100 bucks but got them on sale for 35 now that is a savings to me. Might attempt a jog today since it is so warm out!

2011-02-11T22:35:00.000-08:00

Well it's been a long day just sitting back drinking some whiskey. Here are a few pictures to keep y'all entertained till my next post in probably 8 hours or so...