LikoBLOG

To those of whom it may concern

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 18:04:22 GMT

This is probably my final journal on Live Journal. I have stopped checking messages here since January, and I figure I have no reason to stay. I haven't talked to WispyHollow in about a year, and she was the original reason why I came to Live Journal. In seeing that I am leaving sites and condensing my existence as I prepare myself for greater and bigger things that'll require my undivided attention, I am merely reaching a point in my life in which I say so long to petty little things I don't need and stay constrained to a few things that have been deemed necessary, at least to me that is. So long Live Journal.

BTW, I will be logging in on occasion to make sure this doesn't get deleted, I have a good 36 hours worth of typing on this site, most of which I don't want to lose.

Oh right...

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 05:44:25 GMT

It means I'm back.

Current repair status

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 02:26:42 GMT

NOT LIKE ANYONE CARES, but my computer is currently in the repair shop. They are very backed up, but I got it into them on Thursday. I know all my data is safe since I put both my drives into enclosures and all my files are intact. I supplied them with a Cadillac of power supplies, so if that doesn't do the trick, then it's the motherboard. I'll be back on STEAM, and regularly checking pages when I get it back hopefully Monday.

Hiatus

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:22:33 GMT

Last night my computer mysteriously decided to restart on its own 3 times. After which point, I shut it down. I came back to it after 20 minutes, and now it won't start up. It would go on for 5 seconds, no text or anything on screen, then power down. Now the fans just run in hyperdrive and the screen still displays nothing. I'm trying to diagnose the issue, but I'm having a very very hard time trying to do so. What may end up happening if it turns out my motherboard is damaged is that I get a new computer that reuses my harddrrives and video card. This'll cost me easily at least $500, money that I do not have at the moment. So I'm just posting this to say I may not be on for awhile, I'm hoping this will be resolved by the weekend, but who knows, this could easily roll over into February. So in the mean time, I'm searching like crazy for answers online using my dad's laptop. I am just at a blank, I can't do anything, basically everything I do uses a computer, and now, I can't even play solitaire. I'll be back once I get my computer repaired.

And some good news

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:52:01 GMT

I swear, I have bad luck at school, and good luck everywhere else. 'cause I GOT ACCEPTED TO WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE. So yep, I got into my top choice; September 2009, I'll be driving 50 minutes west to start my freshman college year.

OK, now that's not called for.

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 18:41:53 GMT

Somehow I got a C in Economics, so now my semester average is a B-, which means I have to take the mid-term. This is fucking bullshit.

Oh hai, I'm goin' to college.

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 03:05:22 GMT

Not sure if it's my top choice yet, but if I for some reason get rejected from my other 5 schools, I'll still be college-bound. I got my acceptance letter from University of Rhode Island. So yeah. Majoring in Computer Science if I go.

Writer's Block: On the Bus

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 18:03:32 GMT

Stolen from tacster002

Jam a bunch of people together in a tight space like a bus or the subway and something crazy is bound to happen. What's the most memorable thing you've seen on mass transit?

View 500 Answers

I rarely use Mass Transit, but I have to say, that this was annoying, but memorable. I come onto the subway, and they start doing some announcements, and some kid comes on with a box of peanut M&Ms, and he starts yelling very loudly to drown out the announcements in a very monotone voice, "Excuse me everyone, but I was hoping you would help fund my middle school's track team by buying a bag of peanut M&Ms. It's a dollar per bag, please help our team, thank you. And he'd do this for every stop. I started at Alewife and got off at I think Harvard Square.

Another time we were on our way to Fenway, and we were trying to get on the Green Line, all the subways were full, so we just waited for I think 7 subways to pass until we found one that wasn't jammed full.

EDIT: Also, for those curious, here's all of what I bought off of STEAM: http://steamcommunity.com/id/likoticon/games

Games I got and have been playing lately

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 01:05:24 GMT

Fallout 3 is a big one I'm addicted to. happywulf suggested awhile to me to get Threadspace Hyperbol. It's an indie game, pretty good at that. I also finally got around to picking up the original Half-Life including Team Fortress Classic, Opposing Force, and Blue Shift. Last week, I picked up Bioshock and Left 4 Dead while they were on sale. As far as I can tell, they're all great games. Whatever Valve is doing, it's right. I still have this overbearing paranoia that I'll get VAC banned for something minor like joining a server that had a lot of addons or for having an anti-virus program running while I was playing online. I've heard reports of people getting randomly banned for having MSN running. Thankfully some of my paranoia is gone since I've passed the 3 month mark since my account got hijacked back in September.

So...

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:07:19 GMT

2009...

Out goes one of the shittiest years ever. Without a doubt, more to come.

EDIT: Also, my Dell from 2001 died. Time to salvage anything from it, primarily the sound card and harddrives.

FUCK YEAH XMAS

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 05:50:55 GMT

Yup, twas the time of year again. cripes, I got 3/5 of the things I wanted. I didn't get the firesteel knife or the iPod touch stylus, but I did get 2 GB of RAM, a keyboard and a 1 TB harddrive (but no SATA cables). I also got an electric razor since I've been needing one for awhile.

Anyway, for anyone with either an XBOX 360 or a high-end computer system, get Fallout 3, it's awesome. I got it for my birthday, and my brother got it to work on my computer yesterday. It's an amazing game. It's like an FPS, but you have to repair your weapons, manage how many weapons you carry at one time, manage how many items you carry at one time, be careful of how much radioactive waste goes into your body, choose which skills you upgrade. I'm currently trying to be an expert in big and small guns, and melee weapons, as well as lock picking. It's better than Half-Life 2; it's better than many games I've played. If you have the system for it, I highly recommend it.

Anywho, I am awaiting STEAM's post holiday sale to see what deal I can get on Left 4 Dead, though I'm considering buying it in stores because the Massachusetts government decided it would be a good idea to charge income tax on digital purchases such as STEAM games and music from iTunes. This is such bullshit. Though apparently there's a way to get around it, and that's by using giftcards since they can't technically trace which state you're in. Using a credit card tells them where it's registered.

Obligatory Lengthy Journal (you reply to)

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 19:06:07 GMT

So yeah, I haven't done one of these. I really honestly don't care if I have hardly anyone I know on Live Journal. Anyway, hm, updates in terms of random junk.

Holy fuck, lotsa snow yesterday, and it's continuing today. We actually got released early yesterday, but the snow didn't start until after 2:15 which is when I usually leave school. pwnt...

Today's my dad's birthday, and we ended up going out to the mall to shop for Christmas, but first I made my FIRST withdrawal from my savings account. Oh yes! Anyway, I got that over and done with.

I've been playing through the three Donkey Kong Country games on an emulator. I'm finding that the second one's the best. The first was kinda experimental, the second improved upon it, and the third was just a way to prolong the series.

Also, current project.

(Click to enlarge)

Well recently, Nav, the owner of the FP group on STEAM removed a few people followed by Karadroth ragequitting like he did once before, but this time he's not coming back. :/
So we now remain a powerful 5: http://furry.wikia.com/wiki/Steam_Furries

And to leave off:

(Click to enlarge)

update

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 05:19:53 GMT

So, I was in Plymouth of all places this past weekend. I went to Plymouth North High School for a robotics competition. I went into the cafeteria, and there was a picture of Latios, lolwut? Also, cold pizza a meal it does not make.

Are you tired of shitting on the toilet?

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:07:59 GMT

Birthday.

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:16:48 GMT

Today's my birthday. And I've submitted all my college applications, go me!

EDIT: By the way, my cat was weird last night. I was in bed and I heard this screaming, so I run downstairs to find my cat screaming at the window because there was a raccoon there. WTF Zach, seriously.

Polar opposite to Helium?

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:35:20 GMT

Sulfur Hexaflouride

Some Audiosurf

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:29:58 GMT

My favorite Audiosurf song. Ironmode, Ninja.

Pablo Picasso - David Bowie

Birthday's in a week

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 04:07:39 GMT

WHAT TO DO!? I'll be 18...

Forum Management Manifesto

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:57:55 GMT

A little something I'll be working on. I've worked at a shitload of forums ever since I was 13. As admin, moderator, or observer. Through successes and failure. Here's just a brief preview.

List of positions that are typically on forums:
- Administrator: Is capable of not only forum moderation, but also can manage bans and basically anything on the forum.
- Global/Super Moderator: Manages all forums
- Power Moderator: Manages multiple forums
- Moderator: Manages at least one forum
- Chat OP: Manages the chatroom (usually IRC chat)
- Site Staff: Works on the main site only; still has a say in the staff room
- Vent OP: Manages the Ventrilo channel
- Advanced/Gold/Platinum Member: Has been on the site for a while or donated money and is designated to be special and typically has perks like an extra forum, extended avatar/sig limits, etc.
- Member: Your typical run of the mill member with limited power
- New Member: The newb, rarely any different from a regular member. But typically if it's anything else, they will have limited access until they reach a certain post count or an admin approves them.

To encourage activity in the beginning do the following:
- Start with a minimal amount of boards: Members will feel intimidated by a large amount of boards; the recommended maximum would include General, Announcements, Creations, and any 2 other boards that would be specific to the website.
- Start with a minimal staff: Ever hear the phrase "Too many captains sink the ship" the same thing applies to message boards. When members see that you have 4 admins and 10 mods, it can be very intimidating. Starting with 1 admin and a couple mods helps make the message board feel homey and makes you seem more like a buddy. But also don't spread yourself too thin, by being the only staff member, you'll appear to be a dictator of sorts.
- Make a skin that's easy on the eyes: Red text for links on a dark background does not work. Contrast is your friend. It all comes down to how easy is it to navigate. Not only is it a simple layout, but also is it visually appealing? You don't want your members to leave with their eyes bleeding.
- Have a fucking website!: This is where I failed at administration; a forum without a website, and thus it had nothing to offer. This also goes for sites out there with only HOME, OTHER, and MESSAGE BOARD. In all honesty, the message board should be viewed as a minor thing and in the end it becomes a major thing.
- Loose rules: In the beginning, have a very minimal amount of rules. I've known some people to read an enormous list of rules then say, "fuck it!" and forget about signing up.

To continue activity (after you get activity, but don't be too hasty):
- Offer perks: Like clubs, gold member status, artist of the month award, And any forum addons. Just don't add them all at once, or add them all period.
- Slowly implement more forums as the need grows: If members request a current events forum, then add it. However, when they ask for 2 or more forums, make them decide; you don't want to be too hasty with that either. It is important for forums to populate before you add another forum. I made this mistake when I had a message board that ran for 3 years and had 30 FORUMS. In the end, they all didn't get used, none of them ever had beyond a page of topics.
- Take it easy in staff promotions: It's generally a good rule of thumb to have a moderator for every 5 members, a global moderator for every 20, and an admin for every 50.
- Staff diversity: It is also a good idea to have a staff of not only diverse backgrounds and ethnicity, but more importantly timezone. You want some one to be there to cover for you when you're asleep. If you live in California, it'd be best to get some one from the jolly ol' UK to cover for you.

Ever recurring patterns:
In all my time on message boards, I have always noticed there have been two patterns I can always count on. First one is the "Dependency-upon-self" pattern. What it is is that the most important things to members is other members. If you don't have enough members, then you won't get more members. If you get a member and no other members show up, then they'll leave too. It's quite a ridiculous pattern I know, but it's only preventable if you have plenty of other things to keep your members busy. The second is somewhat related but it only happens when a message board is large I like to call it the "rotating door effect." What it means is that you'll get in a new member then they'll leave after more new members come in. This member leaves because older members have left. This starts a chain reaction that is only stoppable if you're a very proactive admin and somehow manage to get all of your members to stay.

To my surprise...

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:44:19 GMT

...and utter unbridled joy I got my report card for first quarter today. And I was thinking I was pulling a C in my honors economics class, but no, I got a fuckin' B+. So I'm hoping this is a good sign.

Anyway, birthday in 2 weeks. Nothing on my list, not a thing. Yep, I'm too lazy to get a list together.

So I bought Squeak Squad and WiiFit

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 03:52:58 GMT

I beat Kirby: Squeak Squad 100% already. That was a waste of $25. Gotta love thunder sword ability though.

WiiFit is tiring I got a cramp. A FRIKIN' CRAMP FROM PLAYING AVIDEO GAME.

Other News

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:57:11 GMT

Making this seperate.

Anyway, currently, I'm putting together a birthday list since my birthday is shortly after Thanksgiving. I'm still trying to figure out something to get from http://www.thinkgeek.com/ though I currently have 4 computer parts on my list. I'll probably be adding "Mirror's Edge to the list if it comes out on the PC before Christmas.

Also, I'm feeling very unproductive nowadays. Not only am I not drawing or mapping, but I just can't come to do homework or anything all that creative. What the hell is wrong with me. I have idea for maps, but I just can't do them and hell, I'm supposed to make a website for the robotics team, but it's always the same thing; I open up Dreamweaver, open the index.html, look at it for a couple seconds, then close it. Same thing with any lineart I drew to color in using Photoshop. I have an essay due tomorrow (supposedly) yet, I just can't do anything. Anyone know of a way I can get the creative juices flowing again? I need a really strong dosage of whatever it may be, because I'm in a serious dry spell of creativity. I have a bunch of giftart I still need to draw as well (one person I've owed it to them since June or something).

Some bad news as well. It seems I will be back to only having one computer. It seems my Dell is starting to break down. One of the harddrives is starting to sound erratic and buzzing. I need to salvage my files before it's too late. I have all of my 2001-2006 stuff on there including some of my early Flash movies.

Looking ahead to May, when Anime Boston occurs. I'm looking forward to seeing tacster002 and shadowblaziken as well as a few possible others. I know it's pretty far away, but I'm thinking of what to cosplay as. I'm thinking most likely, Agent Derek from Elite Beat Agents. I know that's from a video game and not anime, but they tend to mesh together pretty well. Also don't forget the group of Team Fortress 2 cosplayers who showed up at Otacon.

McCain sounds like...

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:33:48 GMT

I was browsing tacster002 's Youtube favorites and found this; pretty hilarious:

Though my dad went on a whole toot about it. :/

Added bonus:

It was Halloween

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:05:06 GMT

And now it's election day. So this is very much necessary:

Birthday?

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 19:20:29 GMT

It's in a month, I WANT STUFF!

Anyway, my current list contains:
- 24" Samsung monitor
- 2 GB of DDR2 800 Corsair RAM
- Creative X-Fi Soundcard
- 1 TB harddrive

I had other stuff not computer related, but I can't remember what they were; probably T-shirts and gadgets from Think-Geek.

By the way, I carved a couple pumpkins last night to look like McCain and Obama. I'll see if I can get some pictures up later.