Esoteric Drifter

Ive neglected my destitute blog. Im cleaning it up a bit, tossing some new paint on the walls and tossing out all those cluttered categories.

The categories are, I think the one of the most important tools for maintaining sanity and order. (I’m talking about order as if I know what it is.) And I’m going to commit to only a dozen or so Categories from now on. Leaving the rest to the tags.

No, that does not mean I will stop posting whatever the hell I feel like on my blog. It is an honest representation of my current thoughts.

New Theme: Elegant Grunge by: Michael Tyson

New (updated) Plugin: WP to Twitter by:Joe Dolson

Thank you hard working Devs for making this fun!

I’ve been Planning a Road Trip from LA to Chicago by car.
Stopping in:

• Vegas
• Salt Lake City
• Mt. Rushmore
• Souix Falls
• Sussex, MO

Check out the itinerary: http://bit.ly/RTitinerary

And the Mapquest route http://bit.ly/RTmapquest

Im posting an Add on Craigslist in every town I plan on stopping in. I hope to meet some interesting people.

Lets look at why we eat: The cells in our body are constantly dividing, and they don’t do this magically. Just split a cell in half, it has to first double its DNA/RNA. Those amino acids are protein, so the protein you eat is being used by your cells to reproduce.

As humans we eat two different types of protein: animal, and plant. Animal protein is more efficient than Plant protein, that is it has more of the different types of protein your body needs to do its thing. Actually, the most efficient type of meat you can eat, is human meat, it contains all of the protein your body needs. (disgusting right) Plants, on the other hand, are much less efficient, from a scientific point of view, than animal protein. Anyone who does not eat meat should be aware of this.

As a vegetarian I get a good amount of animal protein (and B12) from eggs and sparse dairy products. but I don’t eat eggs every day, and it is not my main source of protein. If you eat only soy, which is the most common form of plant protein, you can get yourself into some trouble. The key is to vary your protein intake, use soy in moderation as it can easily overtake your diet. Most of my protein comes from plants, not just soy, but a good variety of beans, seeds, and nuts.

Vegetarianism is not a fad diet, its not something a quack invented to sell books. It takes deliberation and planning in what you eat. I take my heath seriously, and Ive been a vegitarian for years now. It is essencially a lifestyle, and I thoroughly enjoy it. I constantly joke that of all the things I ‘am’ Student, Veteran, Firefighter, Reservist… people most often introduce me as a Vegetarian. I guess its true what they say, you are what you eat.

There are a lot of health benefits to being a vegetarian including significantly lowered rates of cancer (prostate, and colon), high blood pressure, and drastic reductions in obesity. Although the statics may be off a little, people who eat little to no meat usually also have more healthy habits than omnivores (more exercise and a lower occurrence of smoking)

Anyway, for a little fun, check out the Meatless Monday website for an easy way to get onto the veggie bandwagon. Trust me those cows can wait until Tuesday to be slaughtered, and it will give you a good idea of how being a vegetarian can be fun, save a buck, and challenge you to think about what you eat. (its actually pretty exciting)

Its been years since Ive logged onto an Massive Multiplayer Online Game from my computer. And there are few gaming franchises that would incite me to do so. Fallout is one of those.

Interplay has opened up their teaser site for Fallout Online, and their forum is already buzzing with suggestions on how Project V13 should be. I should point out, the franchise has been around since the late nineties, and has a devoute following of loyal ‘vault dwellers’ myself included. Its been buzzing since early 2008, so apparently Im not as loyal as I should be.

So why are so many people salivating over a new MMORPG? With World of Warcraft, Warhammer, Everquest2, EVE Online, and oh so many others, are not there enough around? Yes, there are enough around. But when you look at them, they are all essentially the same: You pick a character, select a class, and run around smacking other players on the opposing team.

Lets look at the classic Cookie Cutter MMOG:

• have different looking characters do essentially the same thing
• Divide all players into two teams, the good guys and the ‘other’ good guys
• You can live forever! if you die, don’t worry, you’ll be back… you might have to wait a couple minutes until your at full strength.

Fallout has the ability to break this mold. Its historical game-play is the antithesis of the traditional MMOG. In all of Interplay’s Fallout games death was serious. Death was final, and this added an incredible level of strategy to the game. Eve Online, a space themed MMOG left this mold, and it is a great game! In Eve, if your character died they lost all of their possessions you carried at the moment.

Another way Fallout can take a step away from the pack is its World. The Game takes place in a post apocalyptic environment where only you can decide the path of your character. You can be a Smooth talking political denizen, or a sneaky thief who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. There is no set good or evil for the character, but you do have to deal with the consequences of your actions. A player who killed children wasn’t going to get along well with civilians and merchants, but would have a good leg-in with a gang of miscreants. As a MMOG, Fallout has the ability to back away from ‘team play’ by creating a more realistic world where players are truly free to chose their own destiny instead of a ‘side’

Lastly, Fallout Online can put the skills of each character in the hands of the player. You can develop a character who is an outspoken physician who can heal almost any wound and talk a restless mob into dropping their weapons (but cant fight for a damn), or a giant brute who likes to hit things with hammers (but couldn’t fit into a car, and can barley speak), an excellent sharpshooter who’s face is so deformed almost no one will talk to him, or a skilled auto technician who cant shoot strait, but can throw a wrench or knife better than anyone. The SPECIAL system set up in the Fallout franchise was ideal for the creation of these specialized and unique characters.

I want to point out that I am not, in any way referring to fallout 3. Which was a terrible failure of a game, despite the company ‘buying’ prizes.

So will Interplay be able to make a ground breaking new MMOG experience? I doubt it, for two reasons:

Interplay’s legal battle with Bethesda is causing them to rush into production.

The ‘changes’ particularly in the death system that I have outlined will not be well received by gamers. And I doubt Interplay is the same ‘ballsy’ company that created the game 12 years ago.

You cant find happiness in where your going. If you find yourself looking only ahead, then your probably going to fast. There is a speed limit to life.

Slow down, sip your drink, and enjoy what you have and who your with. The less you have, the easier it is to enjoy who your with.

The unhappy person will live by the moto; ‘there are only two good things in life, what I had, and what I will get.’

Happiness can only be found when you accept what you have.