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.

Why I disdained Popularity through School

It is often striven, mostly by the younger crowd to be a known figure, be important and to follow other's examples. Being "Cool" or "Hip" so to speak so that one would receive innumerable benefits in the league of a social status. I learned early on in my life that although being cool was nice, it was not a primary factor in my goals or if it would dictate my success. Popularity is a nice thing to have and I have no personal disdain for popular people in general, but the people in such position to make a sort of caste system for the school. To teach that one who does not follow a certain order is somehow less worthy, and generally should be ignored. The skills of which such a person or group of people generally provide little in the way of progress and more as an extension of the current time to benefit.

  Absolute power corrupts Absolutely
The general trend I equated to, but does not signify the presence of popularity was one of change. An innocent person could be transformed into some tool or fall into a state of supreme narcissism. It changed people to fit the nature of it's intention. Not always did this happen but from my personal experience I'd seen it more than I wanted to. Many people became less social and more focused on the appearance of themselves, more quick to place judgement, and less willing to contribute to the overall atmosphere of classrooms and the school. Friends became separated over trivial issues such as interests, some of which were irrational for the age and others because of peer pressure.

Skill vs appearance
I chose early enough that I would follow only a path that led to reward. The path of education for education, because without it I was to be doomed in the long road that is life. Being known is one thing, but being able to perform life skills is another. The friends I have called my own, are there because popularity was, as it is to me a commodity for them. We shared many interests and our knowledge was sufficient to be able to utilize it for the better of the group or individuals as whole. Even if we may have been separated academically, we could still aid each other in our own areas as well as specialized knowledge that we each possessed, no matter how silly. History commonly looks up to those who have strided out to seek knowledge rather than attention, or rather seek knowledge before attention. I have chosen this path because it yields great potential. Almost every single technological advancement in history has been propagated by men who dedicated their life to seeking out answers or solutions.

Double-Edged
This however, along with my raising brought forth many a big problem. Having always been a gentle, helpful person that I was raised to be, I was often the attention of a different type of popularity. Throughout my school years I lacked the ability to be able to reject a person. This led to many a situation where I was asked to complete tasks or aid those who did nothing. It lasted from as far as I can remember in Elementary to my last High school days. It was painful, to watch myself give in to such demands from average and popular beings. I was intelligent and very caring for my fellow classmates, but was never given back the only thing I asked for, which was recognition for aid. I did not want my name to go around to be popular, I simply wanted to be thanked without having to ask for it.

What now?
To this day, I continue my path forward onto that which more greatly rewards me in potential and reality. The great focus on education has left me with good standing, with both many educators and adults. I have been able to focus on many things and even get what I crave for in material terms with my own resources. Here on Google+ and Facebook(or what I use of it), I am gaining and retain many friends who change in some way, but who I know and love despite the changes. No relationship is perfect, but these friends and adults I converse with, are those who'd I'd fight my very self to keep in acquaintance. Loyalty is something I've given those who I hold dear for over 13 years, and it is not lost until one shows that they cannot contend with myself for a sole reason of appearing.

Los Hurracanes: Riding through one

Normally in the events of a natural phenomenon such as a Hurricane, one's first instinct would be to leave the immediate area and or seek shelter in a more fortified building. My family was not always so fortunate on finances or resources of the sort to make an extensive leave of the area, so riding out the storms that did hit us were common place. Others had the luxury of being a distance that prevented hurricanes themselves from harming them. I will attempt to best describe my experiences in such a situation, but I cannot speak precisely for most categories.

Tropical Depression:
A tropical depression is more akin to a regular rainstorm. Best described as a more severe local rainstorm but it usually becomes nothing to write home about in wind speed. It replaces that often with an immense reservoir of rainfall usually leading to flooding in most areas. The clouds as always are a dark grey, with faint patches of white and when observed closely drift on at a slightly accelerated rate.

Category 1-2:
The primary difference between these 2 is the visual intensity and sound of the wind. A category 1 hurricane is often lightly intensive in terms of what most people are used to seeing and carries a darker shade of grey clouds than would be rain storms. A category 2 hurricane seeks to generate small tidbits of sound and generates winds that could potentially begin to knock down some more embedded or fortified land-lines, including some power sources of increased resistance. The rain comes down harder and a dark grey is the norm for the majority of sight.

Category 3:
A category becomes a breaking point for most and with good reason. As mentioned earlier, full blown categorized hurricanes should be avoided by all means necessary to ensure safety. The category 3 is the beginning of a monster. The clouds range from dark grey to pitch-black and winds are constantly making howling noises, and most of the environment around it is rocking violently and repeatedly with power lines and trees easily coming down with almost no effort. I call the 3rd category a breaking point because it begins to do what a stereotypical broadcasted hurricane is known for, which is wreak havoc on a large scale with a combination of factors. When Charley struck FL in 2004, my father was lucky enough to have worked to such a point as to being awarded with keys to the warehouse at which he worked. Coincidentally it became our designated shelter(as we lived in a mobile home at the time). We rode out relatively well, but woke up to shock at just how much Charley was capable of. The warehouse was made of solid concrete, but one of the walls in our unit had partially collapsed without us knowing it!

Meanwhile Across the street, which also sported concrete walls was no longer even standing! Having collapsed in on itself during sometime in our sleep. Going back home several 2+ton trucks were flipped on their sides or backs, and in rare cases, entire homes were gone. Our house curiously enough being next to a large tree, did not suffer much at all, the only damage being a broken window. The house next to us was no longer there in comparison.

Category 4-5:
2 categories I hope I am never ultimately forced to ride out anytime soon, as nothing in my immediate area will protect me from the force of such winds, storm surges or tornadoes.

To those in the path of Irene, never underestimate the potential of these beasts. Their habit of changing in both direction in strength is beauty and death in grace.

Blog Color choice: Scientific Good

Other than the obvious reason of choosing the "Awesome" design pallet for the blog, I'd thought I would narrow down a more definitive reason for doing so. It is a beneficial one at that, and one that I'm sure some people will come to appreciate. Indeed, the dark color pallet was not chosen for personality or some abstract reason, but in actuality for a common good among viewers. Allow me to explain a bit on the situation.

The dark color pallet is easy on the eyes for one. The harsh contrast presented by white reflective LCD screens tends to strain the eyes, especially as the day winds down, at which some readers or friends tend to access such. The darkness is itself working with you to make the experience smoother. Even in broad daylight a darker screen isn't so much a bad one on reading, though experience may vary I'll admit on position on the globe.

It's not to say that other sites using the overtly white design are bad, far from it, but that I find the darker color more inclusive and something to relax a person, in light of it's other changes. In hopes of continuing that experience I will leave to color be. I know some people(myself included) do spend times of the day revisiting sites, even in near darkness. This is among my shorter posts due to the brief explanation of the circumstance and something I felt I had to share.

I hope my reasoning suits well with a like of the design. If not, then I apologize and may well look into an alternative blend for future reference. Feedback is appreciated on the design, and if your some sort of art dictator who will tear a person to shreds over simple mistakes...I wouldn't mind hearing from you either. =)

G+: Social Networking that propagates interaction.

It is as I have observed quite so, that Google+ does indeed fulfill quite the social aspect of a social network. Maybe it's the excitement, or because it isn't mainstream yet, but either way it does it's job. Never before have I approached people whom I never knew and be able to have conversations with them. From Writers to Tech heads to Google employees to all around average people, nothing has touched on such a level.

It's success in my opinion is no doubt in part of the control YOU as the user has. Not everyone wants to share everything with everyone. Down to the last detail Google has made sure that you have every control when it comes to telling who what you want them to hear or see. Google has made sure to try and replicate reality as much as it can and has done a fine job. Google Itself uses the social network, and by golly the chance to see, meet and talk to Google employees has been a big dream for many that I can speak for. The demographic Population is relatively stable as well. It is filled with young, and adult.

What truly separates G+ from Facebook is it's user base. G+ members don't necessarily try to be what they are not. The Young don't try and intrude to change adults, and the adults remain themselves while interacting with younger members. This is fantastic interaction that builds strong bonds, and leads people down better paths and goals. Never in my life did I think I would be helping others on a social network, being not to chatty or social myself(at least until G+). On Facebook this interaction does not happen. Facebook strictly promotes the known friends and family. There isn't any real way to know someone before hand and expand. G+ on the other hand often encourages you to meet others.

On a final note, G+ has one thing that the other 2 main giants do not and that is integration. Unlike other social networks who solely focus on the singular social method, G+ is integrate with all of Google's services. From one window you can open up Gmail, YouTube, maps, blogs, wikis ect. It's all there at the click of a mouse. G+ serves a purpose to smoothly translate services, which is a big plus for businesses  and something I hope to see grow in the future.

At the end of the day, although I wish Google luck, no matter how dominant Facebook remains, anybody and everybody on G+ is who I'd talk to on a social network.