Vacation Destination: Puerto Rico

2 weeks. It's one of the longer vacations I've had in a while in which I actually leave the house to go visit rather than just a local summer vacation. It was a last minute decision but give the length of time away from my birthplace of the island of Puerto Rico, I had to know if anything had changed in the 5-6 years since my last visit. While I wasn't expecting MASSIVE, Changes from the previous visits, I did receive a bit of surprise from area to area as I traveled along and spent my 14 days on the Island.

The first noticeable changes were in the airport upon arrival. Commerce was brimming! I mean there were stands everywhere, blocking every possible way to move around. Selling all types of foodstuffs and vacation goodies. A definite improvement in my eyes. I was amazed almost instantly at the progress along the tourist sector there. Though I did leave thinking this would be sort of a peak during my stay. Needless to say I was happy to see family, it's just the island itself still bugs me.

The majority of the trip was spent in Ceiba,Puerto Rico at my Sister's(half) house. Twas a very nice area inside a gated community. The apartments were small, but roomy enough to get comfortable in and even sport 3 pools!

Angled View from balcony

The primary to go spot near here was one of her Jobs(she has 3). Going by the name of "El Hotel Conquistador", One of the more well known resorts on the island and serves as a large spot for would be tourists. The Hotel sports Multiple pools at multiple elevations constructed along the side of a mountain located in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Since visiting it last in 2006-2007, It's expanded further along the coast with rooms and entertainment, and posses a private island for it's hotel guests of which are accessible by boat charter.

Other good news seems to be that higher quality houses are becoming more distributed around the island. From the wild coasts to the most harsh of inroads, apartments and housing are starting to really kick it up a notch. Newer models of cars are also becoming more common among-st drivers(though they are not all perfect). Most of my family on the island have seen higher standards of living as well.

Though not all is good. Puerto Rican Drivers remain notorious for their sheer madness. Constantly switching lanes, using the emergency lanes to bypass traffic, only to add to the traffic jam, BLOCKING Emergency vehicles from accessing the emergency lane, ect...you name it. In the first few days alone we already had drivers with us pinned as nearby targets. It didn't improve much over the course of the vacation and certain trips were longer than they needed to be. Most places on the island could easily be accessed in under 2 hours, were it not for bad traffic. Although they also remain masters of turning what look to be one way streets into two way avenues. Unless there is a sign that explicitly states that this is a one way street, no matter how thin it is, it's declared a two way(though good luck finding signs, they don't like those either.)

The terrain and smaller known local spots where quite the enjoyment. It often cause me to laugh, given the amount of 4X4 vehicles I see in Florida, which is relatively flat land with swamps mainly in the southern tip. Puerto Rico on the other hand has everyone driving small compact cars or SUV's while having to deal with inclines, and Mountains. One particular place, located at about 3,200 feet above seal level had a mandatory requirement of 4X4. There was not one single vehicle up there that wasn't able to offroad with precision. The whole trip up, the road was literally composed of nothing but medium sized rocks.

Despite receiving possible inside upgrades, most houses around the island still look somewhat trashy on the outside. One house abandoned was completely picked apart after being torn down, Not by the construction companies or the Government, but People looking to get some material(I'm serious). Politics I won't delve into, but nothing has changed. It's still everywhere and there are dozens of candidates rushing out for Ads to get voters. Gas was slightly more expensive than over in Florida, averaging about 3.65/Gallon for Regular. Though it was semi-irritating to keep track of units. Distance, and quantity are measured in metric(km and L), but speed is not. Electric infrastructure was also given a nice refresh. No longer does the power go out every single hour.

Overall if I can forget all the annoying parts and frustrating moments that still occurred and have yet to be rectified it is definitely something I would do again. Seeing family there is one of the best experiences I have had despite it's shortcomings. The nitpicks although vocal, don't do much to overly detract from the overall experience. If I could get another shot, I would probably return for another small visit. But the structure and drivers would definitely hold a permanent stay.

What was I thinking?

As you grow older, chances are you begin to question some of the actions you engaged in at a younger age. I don't consider myself to be too old, and neither does society at all, but some of my actions leave me scratching my head and asking myself: Why? The though just bugs you on and on for the most part even if you propose or think you have an answer. The following examples are more or less safe to read, no real maturity in this one as my other posts:

New York Winter Endurance
This one has always come back to give me a chuckle from time to time, even though now I'm well aware that the action performed was beyond stupid. This event took place before I reached the age of 10 I believe but am not totally sure. The Synopsis in itself was me, in general trying to prove a superiority of myself. To what, or whom, I do not know.

The Temperature outside had measured at about 10 Degrees Fahrenheit(-12.2 Celsius, correct me if wrong) and my father, younger sister and I were preparing to go for a walk around the local area. Me being the wannabe hero, decided I was going to brave the day in a T-shirt and a pair of shorts. The day had also been windy, bringing down the temperature to 0 degrees Fahrenheit(-17.7 Celsius). I stepped outside feeling great, I was still warm and my body didn't seem to react at all despite the surrounding environment being radically different than one I was used to. Give or take 15 minutes after walking however was more than enough to do the trick. I quickly showed a few people around through my rampant shivering that I was at my limit, and quickly was taken home by my father. No damaging effects though, as I wasn't out long enough to incur any such sickness or damage.


Mom's Psychic Will
A case of a mother who can forsee into the future. This one honestly makes me laugh, but also leaves me in a pseudo spiteful move. The subject here took place as I was informing my mother that I wished to bike around the neighborhood back here in Florida. This event took place just a few years ago.

Twas a peaceful day and I decided of course to Ride a bike and notified my mother, she advised I wear Sneakers as opposed to sandles. I scoffed and continued on my merry way. The time did not even pass about 5 minutes while I was riding that my sandles were caught in the bike chain, leaving me to flip over and injure myself. Needless to say I came limping home feeling that I had been told so and embarrassed.





 

College Writing

I felt since far too long has passed since I posted something of at least some meaning, that I would give a crack at some school work to pass the time, until I can regain a steady flow of though again.

This paper was written without using the following word(assuming I didn't miss any instances): is, am, are, was, were, be, been, it, thing, get, gets, got, gots, goes

The highlighted words are weaved and connecting sentences(or at least supposed to)

So without further a do(mind the error in transition around the middle, that is not supposed to be highlighted):
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Sailor’s Integral Command

Ascribing a concrete integral definition to sailing presents an enigma. Sailing encompasses an ancient skill that spans back to some of the earliest men. That very skill, born out of navigation needs of the time and evolved accordingly. The skill and my love for the subject evolve far too broadly to ascribe solid concepts. Sailing bears little evolution of concept, historically amid growing technology. The practice has fundamentally remained unchanged throughout the historical lifespan, other than advancements in knowledge of mechanics.

Sailing knowledgably would come about pegged by most as a hobby being that not many professional options for employment exist. This notion further informed by professional organizations such as the Heart of sailing foundation which spends time informing others about sailing and such respective merits. Magazines such as Sail Magazine, including at times National Geographic also do quite a bit inform readers.

An object or idea being said to posses integrity or appear integral implies necessity. The integrity or integral parts of modern computer hardware for example partake the following subjects: mathematics relating to geometric concepts and arithmetic’s, and sciences relating to hardware material. Whatever the subject, integrity presents success or failure relating to the “big picture”. Imagine trying to attempt successful medicinal tasks without the fields of biology or sister fields. The task would appear daunting, even if standard. No one picks and chooses; standards being the reason. Many reasonably backed fields navigate as such.

 The integral structure of sailing and practice go hand in hand. Professional’s community website A-B-C of Sailing suggests: “Navigation seems to be a complicated subject, but you just need to understand the basics.” Recommendations would follow a miniscule complication path; such as the knowledge of terms, navigation tools, beacons and buoyancy devices, and pilotage. While true that these appear as standard terms within the field, at the same time one has difficulty. The wind for example, appears necessary if you plan to go sailing, but remains difficult to master. The Yachting organization of Western Australia approaches hands on fundamental to mastery with the fields of: rigging, practice sessions, close hauling, how to jibe, and towing procedures. These two sites slowly introduce a universal “practice makes perfect” method. These methods remain mandatory. Without this mandate, one cannot sail. To sail reveals a single universal. That universal appears as adaptation. Adaptations do not mold the concept nor skill, but the practitioner.

Such molding of the sailor while sailing hopefully leads into integral consistency. Not all conditions in sailing become consistent with expectation. Thus nothing presents a situation expectantly to similarly reflect past experience. Instead, experiences should serve as a tool for the future. Many can demand from many futures, but few shall receive. Although receiving appears great, that signals no reason to stagnate.

I hope to refute stagnation and push only for growth. The path of growing largely does present opportunities for abstract application. These abstract lessons include what I someday hope will teach me lessons far beyond the reach of a boat. Teaching ensures the passing of such knowledge towards forward disciples who may yet utilize these concepts in ways I could not.

DREAMS...that really stick on

We've all experienced it in the realm of dreams, these... aberrational adventures that just seem to come either out of absolutely nowhere or from something you remember. It's just so strange sometimes, the motives behind them are never clear but nevertheless they make for sometimes interesting plots. I figured I'd share a few of them with you today. Dreams vary from short to medium for me, so I don't expect to go too in depth with these.

Dream #1: The Flower
Self Explanatory this one is. I was walking into my parents bedroom and skipped to a scene that portrayed me sleeping. The jump was similar to those you see in static interactive games of the early 90's. I looked at the flower and screamed in fright. Why? I do not know, but my guess was that it had something to do with Jumamji which I had seen beforehand perhaps extending to a week prior.

Dream 2: Going home
In this one I was about 7 and running home through our neighborhood with my 2 sisters vastly outpacing me. I do not know what or if we were running from something, but I was yelling at them for help. We reached home turf save for the one obstacle left to overcome, one of the gutters along the sidewalk. They easily jumped the gutter, because admittedly it was a 3 inch jump, not hard to make. For some reason however, the gutter was hellbent on getting me, so It exponentially grew and engulfed me just as I jumped for home. I was then jump cut to what must have been my corpse floating through the sewer in calm waters. This was probably after watching "Alligator".

Dream 3: Dino-bird
This had direct connection to Disney's Dinosaur film but it was short and bizarre. Me and some friends were walking down a road, when one of us pointed back to see an Allosaurus. We attempted to run in futility, but I was caught almost instantly. However, rather than being horribly killed, the creature bit my finger and it was as harmless a bite as the one from our parakeet.

Dream 4: Iceberg Speed of WTF?
It was a cold day, and there was a long unusual design of stairs leading from building to building. While going through one of the stairs, the Hudson river was unfrozen and calm, yet there was an Iceberg moving faster than the motorboats in the area, and it was pretty large.

Dream 5: Special Ops
I do not know exactly where this one came from. They synopsis however has me leading a group of specially armed soldiers with me still being about 9, in a raid on Egyptian pyramids hunting for boogeymen. While going on advance recon, I was killed trying to warn my team. Luckily the saw me, before death, which was in fact an ambush and set the field for combat. I was revived at some point in a police car in the middle of the Atlantic with no one around me only to see a Stonehenge like structure in the distance.

Dream 6: Desert avoidance
This took place in an apparent future still at my age of about 15 with my sister as we were being pursued by bounty hunters around Africa, with a map I found however, marking all the locations in Africa similar to Florida. I do not know if we were caught or not, but I know we managed to avoid the BH's.

Dream 7: Cthulhu invasion
This one happened last night. I can trace it back to my late night horror movie searching and several sightings of Cthulhu mentioned among them. I was not in this one, but simply watched a blonde headed woman in her late 20's attempt to stem an invasion of squid, who look like the Quarren from Star wars. She would later fail, as while near the docks for whatever reason, one of the squid leaped out and grabbed her. They were slightly larger, but not BIG squid and pulled her into the water as I watched her die in typical 80's-90's monster killings. I do not know the fate of the world, because the dream cut off after that.

This I believe.......Parents and the Media

This was an old writing of mine when I was a sophomore in High School about 2 or 3 years ago. Though I might share it and any others I found of interest. Primarily this was for the crowd that feared letting their children watch TV, listen to certain music or play video games would turn their kids into psychopath murderers.


It was written in a bit of an upset tone, due to parental figures who simply refused to watch what their kids where doing, so instead went crying to the government who they would later criticize for getting too personal, about their kid's activities 


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I believe that media and creators should be able to distribute their content in a suitable manner without interference from parents. Creators are just trying to make a living and they shouldn't have their creations, which help the economy, shot down by overly zealous parents, although they have reason. If parents don't want their kids exposed to media, then they should simply bar the outlets of said media within their premises. In my opinion, they have a right to voice their ideas as many ideas of the same caliber that are modernly accepted. Media does create influence, but that is the purpose of rating boards, to make sure that content inappropriate for a certain age group stays away from that group.

Creators are just trying to do their job, the same as parents sometimes have to punish their children for something bad that the child may have done. Creativity is a gift that should be cherished, not criticized left and right by every able person. Art is good for culture and there are certain arts that deserve attention, however most arts criticized are simply attacked in an exaggerated manner. The value of an artist's vision is a great one and should be valued...for whatever reason. I myself dislike many forms of modern art, but I respect them for what they've done.

Parents don't want the art? Don't take your kid to the store, block the website, activate the V-chip on your TV, the possibilities are endless if you don't want your children exposed to it. I'm sure that many artists did not intentionally create their products knowing that some more severe side effects could be observed. You cannot blame the creator for his faults, He/She is only human and makes mistakes. Never judge a book by it's cover, as artists are capable of much more than one product.

One artist does not mean one genre and, most parents find themselves supporting the same artist that created some other product that the parents disliked. Media is simply creativity expressed and the creator attempting to entertain the masses. He/She is only doing what it takes to survive in a world. The law itself represents the concern of parents on a massive scale, so parents should be happy with the large influence they have regardless and stop attempting to further reduce creativity.

This I believe strongly and suggest be upheld for the bettering of culture and the spread of understanding. Art is an expression, and to deny expression, period, would be to deny the artist's or any basic human being's freedom of speech.......

Weird gaming knowledge

In my last blog post I mentioned that Video games need not be geared towards smoothness to be able to teach one some knowledge. Anecdotal evidence in the next one isn't always the best, but I am being 100% honest in posting these; what I've learned OR first discovered from sitting in front of television and video games, applying to real life or fiction:

-Disney lied. Mermaids are creatures that hoard the treasure of sunken ships and who actively lead sailors to doom before dragging them down to the depths to devour their flesh. Not marry princes(Disciples I & II)


- A Succubus comes to the land of the living to steal the souls of men(Disciples I & II)

- An Incubus is the male version of a succubus. Rather than steal a soul however, it impregnates a fertile female with demonic seed (Disciples I & II)

- A Kraken is a giant squid(Disciples I & II)

-Dragons live for a LONG time(Disciples I & II)

- There are different types of Dragons(Disciples I & II)

- The Undead can die permanently(Disciples I & II)

-Demons fear no mortal pain, and thus are always ready for combat(Disciples I & II)

-Banshees are really loud(Disciples I & II)


-Roman military hierarchies and organization(Rome:Total war)

-Gallic tribe customs, beliefs, and inhabitant area(Rome: Total war)

-Roman Julii and Scipii royal houses(Rome: Total war)

-Operation Market Garden(Medal of Honor series, Call of Duty)

-Battle of the Suez Canal(Medal of Honor: Breakthrough)

-Weaponry of Allied and Axis powers(Medal of Honor, Call of Duty)

- Air strikes made it possible to take out enemy artillery without risking men on the ground(Call of Duty, Medal of Honor)

- The existance of secret intelligence Agencies/OSS(Medal of Honor)

-Italian at times sound a lot like Spanish(Medal of Honor)

- Elephants can be defeated in battle via flaming pigs(Rome: Total War)

-Agent Orange is a deadly chemical(Rouge Trip)

-Investing in what you think is good, may more than not cost you dearly(Capitalism II)

- Army Rangers(Spec Ops)

- Superior numbers mean nothing if you are an idiot(Strategy games)

- Geometry matters(Tetris)

- All around will struggle with specialists in direct confrontation(Pokemon)

- Melancholy describes a deep sadness(Super smash brothers Brawl)

- Formed an alliance? Always be prepared to break it(Disciples I & II; Rome: Total War)

- A Ward or Warding something off is temporary(Disciples I & II)

-Never Underestimate what you don't know(Disciples I & II)

-Always have backup(Strategy games.)

Video games do not have to be casual to teach

Not to say that you should stick a child or young adult in front of a TV or computer and have them play games, but to simply drop the idea that video games can ONLY detriment oneself. Video games are usually associated with couch potatoes or diversity of the sorts in terms of just playing the game. A video game primarily, yes, should entertain the player but entertainment and education are not two forces of which you cannot forge a cohesive whole out of. While undoubtedly there are many games that just serve as entertainment or time killers, there are others that can fulfill both purposes rather than one extreme or the other. There are some subjects conveyed more than others with strong representation, although I am sure that each subject gets a chance I will present my findings of the strongest to most commonly represented.

HISTORY

Whether it be past, present, future, fact or fiction, this is from what I have seen the strongest of conveyed subjects presented in gaming. A pseudo tug-of-war between first-person shooters and real-time strategies have insured such information. Games such as the Medal of Honor and Call of Duty series's, others like Total war series give us large introspect into the past from recent to ancient. With the former, you receive detail on the weapons, which side used them, historical background to combat zones, historical briefing on operations, important figures in the charge and much more. The latter grants your visible geography, historical background, army information, historical units, background on the military units, in-depth description of buildings and their purposes and much more. It's a less direct method of teaching such a subject but it does the job, and encourages to the player to find more on the subject if it is enjoyed.

SCIENCE & MATHEMATICS

The following one I noticed portrays potentials, but is applicable to known boundaries as well. Often in the realm of the science-fiction games, there are many a game that pushes science and math further or in a similar realm of sorts comprising of material that one knows of in our time as well. The games here do not do so much as the lore of which is built for them. Online forums around the internet especially grasp the large amounts of information often put in such universes. Say for example, a "Starcraft vs Halo" thread under debate may see numerous references to material, in and out of universe, and the details of it's purpose and construct, as well as mathematical calculations relating to the ability of an army via simulation, population demographics, travel times via technology, and the power of weapons. Given the often nature of Sci-fi, these calculations often are long and yield vast numbers, albeit even through the simplest of methods.

LITERATURE:

I'll be the first to say that I don't have a particular liking of the elements of literature, but I do enjoy using them. As time has progressed, many a game has wielded stories or plots, that can confuse many a person, and use little systems of dialogue with varying effects dependent on the game itself. The most evident genres that employ such a deep literal translation is often the horror and fantasy genres. The horror genre usually employs a more silent, and strong type of writing, often bringing in many a visual effect to rather distort one into following paths in the story that perhaps may not even be there. The Fantasy genre varies in the ability, but exceptions do come out strong, often changing the story itself through dialogue and sticking in occasional literal terms(that once again I do not enjoy searching for much, but utilizing). This is not my best attempt to show the literary elements in games, but I was never much of an English person.

ARTS(Music Included):

By far the most visually appealing grab for some is a game art style. The cell-shaded style often giving a comic appearance is a noticeable one. Others such as the watercolor-esque "Okami" do not happen frequently but often make for a unique look at perception into the different styles of representing figures or stories. Less common but still visually spender and employed is the Gothic style artworks often seen in areas such as Warhammer 40,000 or the Disciples series's which border realism without intent on sacrificing the heart and soul of the hand of the artist. The soundtracks that one usually sports, gives rise to many a  musical ear as well. The soundtracks very much so work in conjunction with the affirmed art style and story, giving rise to atmosphere and feeling, which fields importance in designing products and the realm of design in general. Almost any genre finds it's way into a design factor.

I reiterate once again that I am not the greatest speaker when it comes to these issues, but I do my best. Also, once again, I do not believe that you should just cave in to your child's demand, if you are a parent, for video games simply because of possibility. I do believe that one should monitor their child, and if interest is lacking in the educative field, to try and spice things up and get them to WANT to learn.