Shades of Nothingness

NationStates

2006-05-25T13:50:00.000-07:00

I've just discovered an awesome free game at NationStates. It's a political simulation--you create a nation, answer a few questions, and it generates a description of your nation. Once or twice a day (depending on which you choose) you get another question that has two or three answers and a choice to ignore, and how you answer these questions determines how your nation will grow. It's very interesting and fun to see how your nations turns out :) I've only been playing a couple days, but I have two nations going, one like me and one not like me. I suggest you at least try it out. It's a nice ride. And it's free and only demands a few minutes a day, though you can spend more time on it if you like.

A (Triumphant?) Return

2006-05-24T16:18:00.000-07:00

I was gone a long time, too long they might say. Where had this lost child of the mind gone you might ask? It is a long and turbulent story...indeed with escapades not well suited to talking (Okay, I'm lying there ;). I have figured out some things, and made some decisions. I will indeed be going back to school--but for longer than I had originally thought. No simple Bachelor's for the Nelsonian One, nay that should not do. It will take an advanced degree--something on the order of a PhD will do. What, you may ask, need has one for a Doctorate in today's job world? Well, first you should ask what Doctorate I plan to obtain. Not something 'useful' like CS--but rather the far loftier pursuit of Philosophy. I can hear you asking what in this green world you can do with a Philosophy degree. I plan to do the noblest thing I can think of with it--teach college students such as my present self the value of critical thinking and analysis, and exposing them to different possible world-views. What greater benifit could I do for society than to bring up the up-coming generations to be rounded individuals with a clear grasp of their world-view? And to think I shall be paid for doing just that! No better deal can I think of for one whose mind lives in my climes. Anyway, tirade mode off. Your friendly neighbourhood Nelson, signing off.

Writing, Mark 2

2006-04-09T13:49:00.000-07:00

So Robin had the wonderful idea that I write my daily writing on my computer. She actually suggested this humble blog, but I don't write quality writing most of the time, so I'll keep it more private, and share what I like. I've been distracted by my acquisition of an XBOX 360 and the subsequent playing that I've done, so I've not written as much as I'd like to have, but that'll be rectified when I get bored with the game I got. I also got a USB flash drive so I'll be able to do my homework and writings at the school library, which should let me do more without being distracted. Hopefully the library is open longer in the summer session than it is during the winter intersession! At any rate, here is the Nelson, signing off.

On writing

2006-03-24T12:05:00.000-08:00

So, your wayward blogger has taken up a new 'hobby' as some may call it, 'obsession' as may others. I have decided that I shall write everyday, at least a page's worth, in my binder -- in addition to any writing I do for poetry or class or what-have-you. This is, it would seem, the quickest and easiest way to improve my writing skills and to get the creative juices flowinig, as it were. I shall also begin a far more regular regimen of reading -- reading whatever, poetry, novels, shorts, essays, whatever I can get my hands on. And yes, I know I just ended a sentence in a preposition. Get over it ;) At any rate, I just thought I'd inform you on the state of affairs. This is The Nelsonian One, over and out.

Little Flower

2006-03-18T22:08:00.000-08:00

"To you my little flower
So fragile sitting there --
Should I put you in a vase
To show you that I case?
Or would it show better
To leave nature in the wild?
I think so much it would be
Live free there nature's child!"
-- me, "Little Flower"

I think from now on I'll publish everything I publish (not the rubbish that comes out most of the time I write) both here and on my devART page (http://languidnights.deviantart.com). That way people don't have to check out both. I'll do that with my photos too, once I figure out how to add them to a post. For now, you just get writings. For the picture that accompanies this particular poem, check out http://www.deviantart.com/view/30563303/

I have also gotton around to changing the links on the sidebar of my blog too. I might continue adding websites there, if I think of it, I'd like for you to at least check out the devART one, and suggest a theme for a small banner to link from there back to here. I'm open to all suggestions, it just has to be small!

Finally, I created a RSS feed for my blog. You can access it here, if you have feed aggregating software, such as "straw" for the GNOME desktop or "SharpReader" for Windows: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ShadesOfNothingness -- just thought for any of those who have such software it would be a good way to keep up with me (like anybody would want to do that).

Boom Boom Mancini

2006-03-16T22:05:00.000-08:00

"Hurry home early
Hurry on home
Boom Boom Mancini's
Fight Bobby Chacon"
-- Warren Zevon, "Boom Boom Mancini"

This is probably one of my all-time favourite songs. I suggest you guys listen to it at least once. It has some interesting history to it, too. Infact, the death of Du Ku Kim mentioned in the song changed the face of boxing forever. Not that I'm a big boxing fan, mind you, but I do find it interesting to hear a good song with real live history in it. At any rate, Sir Nelson the Valiant of the Knights of the Order of the Shield, signing out.

Party at my house!

2006-03-14T21:41:00.000-08:00

So, my parents left for the week, my father to Italy on business and my mother to Las Vegas for pleasure, and it's just my grandmother and myself now. Now I just need to find a keg and a large group of drunkards and I'll be in business. I'm at a slight disadvantage, living in a nice neighbourhood and not in a social situation currently -- oh, and I don't like drinking parties (but when has that stopped me from attending them?). All that aside, I get to eat doughnuts for dinner and listen to my music without headphones and all that hot coolness. Oh, and better than all that, I'm getting paid to watch the dogs while they're away, so I can purchase some of the stuff on my Amazon wishlist -- huzzah!

One other thing of note: in the last week, I found a local Linux Users Group (if that doesn't mean anything to you, feel free to skip this paragraph). I joined them for their first (annual? semi-annual?) Installfest, and was even able to help get someone's computer up and running Ubuntu, though we never were able to get their networking to come up. I think that was a problem on the DHCP services for the hub he was connected to. The next meeting is Thursday, so I'll see if it's a group I want to continue attending or if their meetings are dull.

Anyway, my wisdom teeth extraction process thingie went flawlessly, and when I got the stitches out the dentist said that it had healed up very well -- enough so that she had a hard time getting a couple of them out. I assumed this meant healing was 'well established' and by extension was safe for me to drink a little bit again. Lemme tell you, a week of water and more water gets dull real quick.

Well, that's all I got tonight. This is your friendly neighbourhood Nelson, signing off.

Wisdom (and the teeth thereby named)

2006-03-09T14:24:00.000-08:00

So, I had my wisdom teeth out Tuesday. It's not as big a deal as people tried to tell me it would be -- but I suppose they didn't want a nasty surprise if there were any complications. There weren't, if fact I went out shopping the next day to buy an iPod for my parents (using their money, naturally). I've been putting music on it ever since. Took me a bit to figure out how to work it, but once I did it's been pretty smooth sailing. If you're looking for a portable player, the iPod is actually really nice. It works under Linux, yay for that!, and is fairly easy to use once the music's on it. Anyways, that's my update for the time being, I'm going to veg out on the drugs they gave me and listen to music. Auf wiederschreiben!

2006-03-03T20:24:00.000-08:00

So I'm a socialist -- what did you expect?

You are a
Social Liberal
(80% permissive)

and an...
Economic Liberal
(10% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Socialist

Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid
Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

And the lord said

2006-02-24T13:09:00.000-08:00

And the Lord said "Let there be pizza and beer" and there was, and it was good.

Fixed Width Days - an ascii-art story

2006-02-22T15:59:00.000-08:00

Fixed Width Days - an ascii-art story

From one who is (admittedly) too young to remember the hey-day -- yet still appreciates the intricate art of the ASCII universe, give it a look, see what you think (remember to check how big your browser was before you entered!)

World's Funniest Joke

2006-02-22T15:14:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Laugh Lab

I know you want to click the link. Go ahead, do it. All the cool kids are doing it, and the first click's free :-P
Seriously (as serious as possible, at least), though, this is something that deserves attention. You know what you'll hear from me at any cocktail parties we attend at least, and to be forewarned is to be forarmed. Did I tell you about Alexander the Great? He was a great general, and great generals are forwarned, and to be forwarned is to be forarmed, and four is an even number, but four is definately an odd number of arms to have, and the only number that is both even and odd is infinity, ergo Alexander the Great had infinite arms.

Note, this was not the World's Funniest Joke (good thing, eh?). You'll have to actually read the site to find out the world's funniest joke. In Other Words (IOW) click on the link, *now* dammit!

The Journey

2006-02-11T17:53:00.000-08:00

You reflect the journey of the spirit. The journy
of life as we grow, learn, face our everyday
trials. You strive to accomplish tasks and
rise above. This is where your spirit finds
its strengths. Your journy is sure to have a
happy ending, in whatever small form it my
come.

Reflections of the Spirit?
brought to you by Quizilla

I have often believed that the journey is the most important thing, even beyond "the means justify the ends" -- I believe that there are no ends, just means to further means. Come with me, those who may, and together we shall make this journey through life all that it can be, for a journey is only what you make of it.

My Newfound Time

2006-02-11T17:29:00.000-08:00

What am I to do with the time I would have spent playing computer games? Listen to music, definitely, but more than that, I am going to read and begin to teach myself some elementary programming, so I can be ahead of the class when I begin studying in college; I'm also going to teach myself how much should go into a sentence before one has to put in a full-stop (known as a period to those who haven't heard the term full-stop), since I am obviously way over that count by now ;). Methinks I shall start with perl, not because it's easier or harder to learn, but because I already own a perl book. Makes sense to me at least. Anyway, I just thought I'd update those few people who unfortunately stumble across my poor attempt at a blog.

The Plunge

2006-02-07T15:05:00.000-08:00

Last night I took the plunge, and completely eradicated my Windows (TM) install on my computer. Now it's only Free software for the Nelson on his computer. I cannot tell you how much better this makes me feel about my computing. Not only am I in an idealogically better spot, I am in a far safer one! While it's true that when (not if) Linux gains a sizable market share, viri will be written for it as they currently are for M$ software, I know how to deal with things much better on Linux. Plus, since GNU/Linux programs are open-source, vulnerabilities will be fixed as they are discovered, not just when the public puts enough pressure on the software giant that it finally breaks down and acknowledges the holes. So, anyway, back to my starting point, I now have Ubuntu as my main install, with an older Debian install on the second disk. I won't get further into the Win V Lin debate, just enough to note my obvious preference. I figure the gaming consoles are best for gaming, seeing as that's what they were designed for -- and that is not what my system was designed for -- and gaming's all I do that doesn't have perfectly reasonable counterparts in the Open Source world, I'll let my console do the gaming and my PC do my browsing and office work and stuff like that, which FOSS excels at. Okay, I know I'm breaking the rule I just laid down, but I suggest you check out OpenOffice if you use MS Office on your computer. I've found it to be compatible for all the things I would even use and office suite for. For which I would use an office suite. Whatever, grammar nazis, go to hell ;) I also would extoll the virtues of Firefox, but I've already done that. Perhaps at some point I'll create a longer work-up of that post, but not the eve. This is the Nelsonian One, over and out.

Who Am I (SF/Fantasy)

2006-02-03T22:35:00.000-08:00

2006-02-03T22:11:00.000-08:00

Green

You are a very calm and contemplative person. Others are drawn to your peaceful, nurturing nature.

Find out your color at Quiz Me!

Firefox - Rediscover the Web

2006-02-01T19:20:00.000-08:00

Firefox - Rediscover the Web

Fast, standards-compliant, and infinitely extensible! What more could one ask of a web browser? It's even far more secure than IE. For me, at least, there's no comparison -- firefox wins hands-down. And that's in IE's native environment. In GNU/linux there's no comparison. In a word, switch. That's all there is to it, switch to firefox now and reclaim the internet!

Next Time Out to Sea

2006-01-31T15:24:00.000-08:00

"Next time out to sea
Bring enough soil to bury me
For I don't want my final jig
In the belly of a squid"

-- Floggy Molly - Cruel Mistress

On Job Hunting

2006-01-25T17:31:00.000-08:00

Before you embark on your first job hunt, it is important to remember a few things. You must blend into the scenery well, and since most jobs are in the city that involves gray camouflage. Also to note is that you want to take the job alive so be sure to use tranq darts. Since many jobs are abnormally robust, it'll take several darts to subdue it, and you should bring an automatic weapon to increase your firing rate.

Seriously though, I got home Sunday, found a job in the paper, called the place monday, interviewed Tuesday, and start work Thursday! Now I may decide to decline the job (it's sales, and depending on the methods they use I may be uncomfortable doing the sales) -- but it's still something to be amazed at! Hopefully this luck will continue through the future.

Anyway, I've talked too much nonsense at you, so this is the Nelson, over and out.

On Kentucky

2006-01-22T14:57:00.000-08:00

So, today I return from my triumphant voyage to the time-space nexus known as 21st Century Kentucky. (side note: next time I watch a show by Fox, I'll have to stop the TV and see if it says "21st Century Fox" or still "20th Century Fox"). I had a good time there, but that's nearly entirely because I have friends there, not the geographic localation. Although I did get to see snow again, which I had long been missing.

My suggestion: visit the state once, if you haven't friends and family there. A week should be about enough; fly into Louisville, get lost trying to extricate yourself from the city, drive to Lexington, visit the Kentucky Theater for midnight the weekend, then tool around the cities, driving back and forth as you will. (mental note: avoid run-ons and comma splices in the future).

Anyway, now that I'm back you can look forward to demi-frequent updates, by which I mean whenever I can remember to do it ;) Sir Nelson the Valiant, over and out.

2006-01-12T21:56:00.000-08:00

So, I spend the morrow packing, and then the next day (Saturday) I leave this place for a week of respite. Then I come back and it's time to knuckle down on the working thing so I have the money for a more...how shall we say, permanent...visit to the homeland (for wherever I find myself, a part of me shall always lie within the small corner of the world known as Scott and Fayette counties. At any rate, that's all for now folks, tune in next time for more shocking tales from beyond the monitor (or just my dull life, whichever you choose to call it).
Sir Nelson the Valiant, over and out.

2006-01-09T18:17:00.000-08:00

Last.fm - The Social Music Revolution

So, what would you get if you collected all the music you listen to, strung it through a computer algorithm, and let it tell you what other artists you might be interested in? Why, you would get last.fm -- after logging but four artists, it was already suggesting good musics to me! I hereby order you to check out their webpage and see for yourself if it's interesting. It did get me to listen to some of my music I hadn't in awhile, so as to get it logged by the system. This is the Nelsonian One, signing off--over and out.

2006-01-08T19:25:00.000-08:00

Greetings fellow websurfers. Long time no see, eh? I was stuck in the throes of work and failed to update many things, including the blog entry that you may or may not be currently reading. The thought of today is -- are you always "being yourself" or is the facade you put on in public truly a facade.

My answer -- you are always being yourself. The facade you put on in public is as much a part of yourself as is the sure-standing self of private times and the softness amongst your lovers.

I'd be interesting in hearing any thoughts you have on the subject, let me know any you have. Or better yet, post them online and send me a link -- that way other people can have the benefit of reading them too, and make their judgement with so much further input.

At any rate, I'll try and update more often (no gaurentees on how often, don't expect daily quite yet). Sir Nelson the Valiant of the Most Radiant Order of the Shield, over and out.

2005-12-13T01:28:00.000-08:00

The VI editor

I love my vi editor (and that is pronouced vee-eye for the unenlightened). Sure, it may be less intuitive than it's rival EMACS, but what it lacks in intuivity it makes up for in elegance. Two keystrokes can send you nine lines down a document, and not many more constitute a global search-and-replace. Simply beautirful if you ask me (and you didn't, I just volunteered the info). Anyway, if you ever find yourself on a UNIX system, remember, ESC-colon-x to write-and-quit and you'll do just fine. Trust me. Even drunk I'm doing effective document editing ;) Over and Out,

Sir Ferdinand Reginald the XIV