Sunday, August 28, 2011

Human Revolution

My apologies. College started this week, so my posts got kinda limited by that.


So, a certain game came out this week. Deus Ex: Human Revolution is the third installment in the Deus Ex series. It takes place in the year 2027 in a cyberpunk world, where major companies have advanced into the world of bio-mechanical augmentation. You play Adam Jensen, a private investigator investigating attacks on the company you work for. Throughout the game, certain events lead to you replacing parts of your body with bio-mechanical prosthetics. While it's only a few at first, you eventually get free reign on new parts that really augment your body and grant you the ability to do some really amazing feats that normal humans wouldn't be capable of. I just downloaded the game but I haven't started it, but I've heard that it's an amazing game by all means (the first game in 2000 was hailed at the greatest PC game of all time, so I see why this one would be good).


The year 2027, and we can replace body parts easily and still act completely normal. Really? That's a small time frame to me. That's only 16 years away!


Maybe "only 16 years" is all we need. I was chatting with my friend tonight as we were on our way to a local game store. He brought up a professor at a major university that I can't recall right now. The guy was a literal "D" student in college, and he is now the head of the prosthetics research department (or something like that, it's been a long night!) at the university. This guy lost his legs in an accident when he was younger, and now he is using a pair of prototype prosthetic legs to get around. The pair of legs are really advanced. The professor says that he predicts that It will be maybe by 2020 when we have prosthetic limbs that are connected to a chip in our heads that allows us to control them with our minds.


But like all technology, it starts up slow and picks up speed. As soon as new technology is made available, only the richest and most notorious get access to it. However, eventually it gets mass-produced and everyone as access to the technology. That's what I'm thinking of: a future where robotic human-like limbs are available publicly for anyone to snag when they need it. It sounds cool, but honestly it sounds more and more like a certain awesome anime series about Human augmentation and human minds inside robots.


Okay, let's be honest. Who would willingly chop off their arm to accept a robotic one? In the future, I expect incidents to drop a bit lower as more and more people progress to computer jobs and stay at home more (and new vehicle technology reducing crashes). You have no need for a robotic arm if you still have your arms. Drive safe? No wild stunts? You're good to go for a 100% human body, my friend.

That's what I'm scared of, though. In an interview with the professor, he was asked if he would take his original human legs back if he was given the chance. And shockingly, he aid "no." He said that he the robotic legs he possessed were far more advanced than human legs. He could perform athletically with his robot legs than he could with his original human legs. That is what scares me. He prefers robotic parts to human parts.



I say that's where the line is crossed. I will accept that in the future, we may enter a time where we can trade our human parts for superior robotic parts. There's one problem, though. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about actually putting robotic parts to use? Manual Labor. Poor people that can't afford a good education must rely on manual labor to make a living; it's all they have. They may not be able to afford such human-augmenting parts. The rich people, however, will be able to. They'll use their new parts to work manual labor jobs, and of course they'll be hired because they'll perform better than the poor pure-blood humans. It's another idea of the rich getting richer, and the poor getting poorer.

I mean, robotic parts aren't all bad. If you break your real arm, it's going to take a few months for it to fully heal. You may be out of work for awhile. However, what happens if you break your prosthetic arm? Get a new one. It's that simple. Heck, we can even have interchangeable parts. With how easy it could be to repair and replace a robotic part, people would be getting out more. People would be taking more risks. This world would become so much more active.


The progress on bio-mechanical prosthetic technology is advancing. The breakthroughs will open up so many new possibilities that we, as humans, could hope to advance the greatness of the human race. But, I'll ask the question again; would you willingly chop your own arm off to break your own limits?

Regards,

Kyle
Ganrokh

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Portal to Purgatory



So has anyone thought about how Portal is a giant allusion to Purgatory?

There is (seemingly) no reason to be putting Chell through these horrible experiments - it's for GLaDOS' sadistic pleasure.

But what if it's REALLY a test?

Not a scientific test, but a test of character and determination as to redeem oneself? Perhaps GLaDOS' taunts of "All your other friends couldn't come either because you don't have any other friends because of how unlikable you are. It says so right in your personal file: 'Unlikable. Liked by no one. A bitter, unlikable loner whose passing shall not be mourned...' It says you were adopted. So that's funny too." isn't just pointless mocking but a reminder of Chell's former life?

It's also heavily implied that GLaDOS could possibly be a much more knowing being as some kind of tester for Purgatory. Quotes like, "Speaking of curiosity, you're curious about what happens after you die, right? Guess what? I know."

Quotes like this have a much more significant meaning when thought of in this context.

"I feel sorry for you, really. Because you're not even in the right place."

"This is your fault. It didn't have to be like this."

"You're not a good person. Yo know that, right? Good people don't end up here."

See ya,

Kyle
Ganrokh

Monday, August 22, 2011

Wake Me Up When You Go-Go...

Ugh. First day of classes in the morning. As you may or may not know, I'm majoring in accounting and minoring in CIS. I have a Tuesday/Thursday only schedule this year, but I still have to wake up at 6:00am to make it to school on time. But hey, Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays off is pretty rad.

Why do we do it? To be successful. We have all sorts of people around us, but only some go to college to be successful. Sure, you can be successful without college. But, the road to more education leads to more wisdom.

Honestly, I don't want to not be learning something. I want to always be expanding my mind. I'll probably always be studying something. I honestly want to learn something new everyday. Why not? That sounds enlightening, if you think about it. To learn something everyday! To always be learning! Our minds should always be growing; we're humans! We should always strive to be successful! No matter how much hard work you put into something, always remember; strive to be successful! Don't just be a couch potato.

Anyone have a problem with that? Screw 'em. You're the one doing the hard work. Strive for excellence.

Keep it real,

Kyle
Ganrokh

When You Thought You've Been Kicked in the Nuts Too Many Times...

Sorry, I had an epic post planned out for today, but one game of Magic Online went on waaaay too long, and my tiredness will degrade this post to me ranting.

You know those types of gamers. The power gamers. The type that strive to beat you in everyway possible. There's many different types out there. They may be the players in Magic who play blue decks. They may be 4000-resilience PvPers on WoW ready to destroy you. They may be the Tic-Tac-Toe player whose ready to win or draw trying. Whatever the case, the fact is that we know them.

I consider myself a power gamer. I always try to be the best. I've always tried to be the best hunter on WoW. I've been studying Day[9] religiously over the past few weeks to get better at Starcraft II. Honestly, it kinda bugs me. Why WOULDN'T you strive to be the best? I don't like knowing there's improvement... there's always improvement.

Either way, power gamers usually ruin the game for everyone. They're ready to drop you at any sign of life. They're the bullies of the game world, kicking you until you stay down. They may be nice guys, but honestly? Join me now in saying "screw you, power gamers!" and let's get some sleep.

Sweet Dreams,

Kyle
Ganrokh

Saturday, August 20, 2011

To Wish Upon a Magic Card

What is Magic?

That's Magic. Nah, on a serious note, I'm referring to a card game called Magic: The Gathering. I'm an avid player; I run a green/black Infect deck as my main deck. So, my friends and I went to Friday Night Magic last nite to have some fun. I was ready to win. There's only one problem, though; besides Online, I haven't even touched my deck in months. When I made this deck, it was when Scars of Mirrodin was fresh on the market. What does that mean? My deck has a few cards I was using as proxies for other cards. They were usable in my deck, but only served as meatshields.

It was only two cards. So, I thought, "nah, it wont be much of a problem." Boy was I wrong. I drew at least one of them every game. The night ran 5 rounds, 3 games each. Best of 2 won the round. I know it cost me a few victories; I only won 2 rounds last night, and two of the losing rounds were really close. Victory may have been sealed if I had the real cards. So many mistakes I made.

What does all this mean? Nothing, really. When I get really into a game, sometimes my eyes open up and I may pick up a new habit. Anyone ever watch Yu-Gi-Oh!? Yugi was always like "believe in the Heart of the Cards." We laugh at it, but honestly, maybe it's true? I know the order of cards in a deck are random, but sometimes RNG kicks in and you may draw a God hand or draw a trash hand. That's why you gotta wish upon the cards. You gotta believe in the cards.

Perhaps I'm onto something here. Sometimes, people are more successful if they keep up a habit. Maybe they keep a rabbit's foot on them. Maybe they adjust their necklaces and wish. What about me? I think I'll keep a Magic card on me - and wish upon it when I need.

With Regards,

Kyle
Ganrokh

The Internet: The Final Frontier



Woah, woah, woah.


So, there I was on the internet, just trollin' along. When all of a sudden, my buddy Carson appeared in the data stream next to me. "Sup?" I asked. "Not much dude, just started my own blog! I'm going to be rich!" "WhAAAAT?!"

Okay, reality check, folks. Making money on the internet? BS. No. Not happening. You make money from a job, silly. You silly goose you. Money on the internet? It takes your money, not give you money!

But that's besides the point. Let me introduce myself. I am Kyle, or Ganrokh if you play WoW with me. I'm your typical nerd college student, who enjoys some WoW, Starcraft 2, Magic, Warmachine/Hordes, D&D, etc. Nothing ordinary about me, right? Well that's where you're wrong. I've been an Internet troll for years.

What's an Internet troll, you ask? Let me break it down for you. I know what you're thinking. "What is the internet? Oh, I know how that works. You just click around, and nuzzle the webpages all cute-like, right?" You know what a troll is best at, when it comes to the internet? Nuzzling. And then when the troll posts on the internet, that's when the internet goes crazy. The internet to trolls are a lot like craaaazy significant others, you know? "I love you soo much, you're my little slice of angel fruit cake, you're my lil' cuddle-snuggle-DINOSAUR-FUZZY-SNOOKUMS-PUPPY-CHEEKS!", and you're like "Okay, you're getting a lil' clingy" and they're like "I LOVE YOU SOO MUCH what do you want to name our children?" and you're like "WE'VE BEEN MARRI-err, we're not married -DATING FOR LIKE THREE DAYS!" and they're like "you don't love me anymore?!" And that's when the internet bursts. That's when the rest of the internet responds to the troll.

That's right, trolls are basically Internet commentators. Sometimes, the internet bursts, and when it does, it doesnt just hurt the troll it was nuzzling, it hurts all of the trolls around him. Doesn't that sound familiar, fellas? Or ladies? You know, anytime I ever posted on the internet, I always felt like I was talking to only guys,  and of course I know you wonderful amazing girls are out there too and here's hearts to them!!! <3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3.

You know, I feel sorry for you nerd girls out there. Why? Because you have to deal with nerd guys. Seriously, I'm not sure if you've ever been to a traditional game store, and there will be a girl there, and there's so many guys that are like "*GASP* oh my god! She's into this stuff? She's the girl of my dreams! Now let me talk to her and find out anything and all about her!" And the guys are all sorta like RAAAAWRGG and they cling onto her like piranhas and kinda gnaw at her, sigh.. poor things! Nerd girls, I admire you for your endurance!

Uh... what were we talking about before I went on a big rant? Oh, yeah. I'm a nerd, and this is my blog for me to post my musings and such daily. I hope you enjoy reading my random fun facts and thoughts, and to my future viewers, I salute you.

Enjoy,

Kyle
Ganrokh