The Mind Of OverlordTomala
Technology

Late Weekend Open Thread

I’ve been feeling pretty dead the last few nights… to the point that even making simple soup and sandwich even felt like a bit much. I was thinking of making something tonight, but after an accidental nap I pretty much signed off of the idea. I’m forcing myself to stay up later than usual, thanks to Pinky Up’s Tiramisu blend (black tea, coffee, white chocolate and all that good shit) has helped immensely. Now if I could just focus on one thing instead of trailing off onto different things. I’m not in the mood to work on anything, and I’ve been playing games to mainly test my new audio card. Now I’m back under Linux contemplating either tidying up or just gaming for the sake of gaming. It’s been awhile since I’ve tried playing other games under Linux… I’ve mainly been playing Crash Bandicoot during lunch breaks or editing videos, and that one stream I did recently.

So far I’ve been enjoying my new Sound Blaster! I’ll probably do a write up on it in a few days. I want to see if I can work out any other kinks before sitting down and typing to my heart’s content. It’s a Sound Blaster ZxR, an old sound card but still pricey and for a good reason. It’s an audiophile grade card, perfect if you do any A/V work. My only pet peeve so far is the desktop attachment. I LOVE that it has analog volume, but when you have it plugged directly into the sound card it’s super sensitive to the point of it being it’s own microphone! Plugging in my Shure SM58 only made the bugger all the more sensitive as Justin Bieber’s Nipples. For now when I’m under Windows I’ll use my Shure X2U DAC for mic and my sound card for listening… under Linux I’m not having much luck so far. To my knowledge support for this card should be in the latest kernel, but it only seems to show up when it pleases, and the headphone and  mic channels aren’t coming through at all. I seem to be outputting sound, but not from those particular jacks. I also seem to be losing my LAN on random startups but only going into LinuxMint, and the only two things that I’ve changed recently are the kernel and adding in the sound card(s). Going back to a previous kernel seems to fix this situation, but not my audio issues. Will have to sort those when I get around to them.

Food/Drink

Recipe Sharing: Ranch Dressing

I was going through some cookbooks last night and mentally noted that none of the ones I have carry any ranch dressing recipes, and then I became curious as to what went into a ranch dressing. My search quickly landed me on Food Network’s site, and next thing I knew I was doing some shopping during my lunch break! I followed the recipe to the letter and it tastes quite nice. For the hot sauce portion I used Dave’s Temporary Insanity Sauce, gives it a nice kick but not too overpowering thanks to the cream based dressing. I was going to make more than just a dressing, but noticed there were still plenty of leftovers to go at, perhaps tomorrow. I’m thinking soup and sandwich to combat the extremely cold weather here. This has been by far the coldest winter in all the time I’ve lived here; this morning I had to cover my face from the nose down to keep my face from freezing off, or feeling dry… I looked like some cross between an Eskimo and a Ninja, an Eskininja? :zorak: I wonder if I can make that into a thing…

Technology1

Microsoft Open Sources Calculator… DaFuq?

Ummmmm…. why?

Today, we’re excited to announce that we are open sourcing Windows Calculator on GitHub under the MIT License. This includes the source code, build system, unit tests, and product roadmap. Our goal is to build an even better user experience in partnership with the community. We are encouraging your fresh perspectives and increased participation to help define the future of Calculator.

You know… I was actually thinking the other day that there just isn’t enough calculator in anyone’s life. I mean, my decade old mp3 player I bought two years ago has one, my computers have one on each operating system, my calculators have calculators, and my kindle has a fucking calculator! I’m almost tempted to turn on my PS3 to see if that even has a calculator! if not I could see about homebrewing Windows Calculator. :v: That seems to be the only logical point where one might consider the option…

Animation

Lifestyles of the Digital and Imaginary

I had a productive semi-painless work day. Did a little more script writing, and then went off to building the next stage for future videos. Sometimes a change of scenery is nice, this will be where I do my livestreams. I wanted a more comfy scene, as streaming for my friends reminds me of the days of old when having friends over for video games and vice versa. I still have some models to spawn, such as our own chosen characters, controllers, and maybe some other household items that come to mind. If anyone has suggestions I’d like to hear them. :melon:

I’ve also finally gotten around to putting in some time off for myself. I doubt I’ll go anywhere, but I need about a week to myself for some rest. When I start having nightmares about being late for work, or being unable to leave it I know bad things will happen if I don’t try to get some proper R&R in. I’ll need it after next week… Oh god I saw my schedule, and I might actually go insane. Split days off and three graveyard shifts for my class starting at 10pm… I can’t complain too much since I do normally get two days off in a row together (one of the few perks I have left until that gets taken away), but I do hope it goes back to normal afterwards. No one needs to hear me break into insanity again… unless we’re filming it. :rick:

Open Threads

Evening Open Thread

I never had a chance to test out my sound card let alone install it. On Saturday we had a fun meet in the cinema server, and today I woke up feeling pretty crummy. Meaning I’ve been pretty much taking it easy and letting my mind wander. I’ve been writing up a script for a future video. I don’t want to give too many details, but it will be for the end of a future video. I think I’ll keep this post short. I’m starting to feel sick again. Hopefully I can keep this under control for work tomorrow. I don’t know why, but I predict that I’m not going to have a good work week, or upcoming weekend for that matter. I have a class at work next week and I think my boss said it’s graveyard shifts, and I can’t remember how many.

Animation / Gaming / Hobbies

I have my work cut and paste out for me

Sorry for lack of postings. Work has been making me feel worn over death lately, even doing my other after work activities. My new sound card arrived yesterday! I’m probably going to have a busy weekend with that, a video release and a few other things. I sorted through my video collection, and have an idea of what I need to collect more footage for, and what to work on next. What I can now prep for release are (these are in no particular order btw):

  • Brain4Dead (Releasing Sunday)
  • Freedom Planet (A stream from long ago… BACK WITH ANIMATION!)
  • Linux Gaming Video
  • Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Finale
  • Skyrim (More recent stream)
  • NIGHT’S Into Dreams (Surprisingly)
  • Left 4 Dead 2 Run with Yutram and his roommate with my own assortment of mods.

Then I have other project folders that don’t have enough content yet for me to produce:

  • Broforce
  • Okami
  • Serious Sam HD Second Encounter
  • Serious Sam 3
  • Garry’s Mod Tour Of The Whitehouse
  • Fallout 4
  • Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

It will probably be a little while before I put anything out. I’m thinking I’ll spend tomorrow going through a few projects, writing down ideas for the next videos. I’m not entirely about the MGR one, mainly because the previous ones I’ve put out don’t have any animation to them other than goofy additions I added to the videos in general. I’m not sure if I should continue it in my current style, or go back and redo the others. For now I think I’ll start off on one of the other ones, like Freedom Planet possibly.

Rants / Site Related

The new hip thing on the social media scene is GIFS!!!!!

If anyone reading this blog is familiar at all with self hosted WordPress sites they may know of a plugin called Jetpack provided by WordPress themselves. You connect your blog to WordPress.com which can be quite handy for more than a few items, such as spam protection, the option to syndicate your posts to social media websites the moment you make your blog post, and more where that came from. One thing they’ve been pushing with the newest version of WordPress is the new Gutenberg post editor, and they sent me an email to get me hyped about an all new feature that would totally be worth switching to Gutenberg for… FUCKING GIFS!!

Animated images — also known as GIFs — have become one of the hottest social media tools.

Whoa, you mean to tell me that GIFS… a picture format that was invented around the time I came into being…. is now a hot young social media tool? That’s oddly appropriate since most people in my age group at work happen to be tools on social media!

They tell a story, add humor and emotion, and can create a lasting impression on millions of readers.

Your move Jetpack…

The newest version of Jetpack adds a GIF block for the new editor, putting the world’s largest GIF library at your fingertips.

Perhaps I’ll give Gutenberg another shot at some point just to see the gif selection sometime in the not too distant future, if I’m bored enough…

Why say something with words when you can say it with a dancing turtle?

Wait, they taught Mitch McConnell how to dance? :morty: :rick: