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Project Stealth - Four weeks of introspect completed 2/29/12
Objective: Remove myself from social interaction as much as realistically possible. Use this period of seclusion as a time for introspective thought and life evaluation.
Result: Massively successful effort, truly life changing.
Project Hermes - Six week course completed 3/6/12
Objective: Reach a state of fitness where running consistent 9-minute miles without being exhausted afterward. Additionally, completely overhaul diet and begin a strength training regime. Any breaks in gym activity longer than 3 consecutive days or failure to run a 9-minute mile by end of six weeks would be considered a project failure.
Result: Despite having largely squandered the first 3 weeks by training ineffectively (incorrect form on many exercises, too much cardio focus and not enough caloric intake to balance it out), by the 6 week mark I was able to run a mile in 8:59. Continuation of training to the 8 week mark (3/20/12) has yielded considerable gains, in physicality, general endurance and run times, and most importantly in knowledge on how to train effectively.
Current Interests (4/26/12)
Interests: May 15th, Getting my motorcycle license, continued fitness progress, Hitman Absolution and Max Payne 3 media, Car vs Bike Drift 2
Dislikes: HHD failures
Current Favorite Games: Diablo III, Max Payne 3, Forza Motorsport 4, Ghost Recon Future Soldier
GameInformer.com Community Involvement
Saint: Veteran GI community member and exceptionally talented blogger, he has been an inspiration to so many over the years. Surely most anyone involved in the community blogging section of GI is familiar with his work by now, and I'm honored to have been selected for his Member Herding feature way back when...
Saint+eyros2k circa 2010
mojomonkey12 and indiejones, co-hosts of The Indie & Mojo Show, were kind enough to allow me a guest spot on their podcost at one point. It was a fun evening and a grand learning experience...
TIL: eyros2k talks far too much
GameInformer.com, a site about video games with a community full of gamers. Members often express an interest to get together with their fellows for a session of multiplayer, but historically this sort of planning often had problems getting off the ground. In light of this realization, a group was formed for the singular purpose of bringing the community together through healthy digital bloodshed.
GameInformer.com Community FragFest Group
FragFest Youtube Playlist
Note: In-game GIO FragFest clans are up and running for PC Battlefield 3 players, Xbox 360 Call of Duty players - as well as a club for Forza 4 players. Please send me a message here if you have trouble finding them in game.
Life - Past and present
The pursuit of life, liberty, happiness... any profoundness I might have observed before could easily be deconstructed. Every facet of human life was trite. This way of thinking had no base in any lingering depression or melancholy... I was simply mired in cynicism.
A gradual transformation over years, I had been brought to a point where every human action could be quantified. My focus was, by default, on our innate self serving nature... and I was fixated on the notion that it superseded any other notion as to why we do anything...
I scoffed; that's truly the best way I can summarize myself. I scoffed, at every single thing.
I woke one morning in February '12 to a new paradigm. Seeming all at once over a single night of sleep, my perception of life had become open to new definition. I spent four weeks (narrowly entirely) free of social interaction, spending every spare conscious moment looking within.
In an attempt to be as free of leading agenda as possible, I have always sought wisdom through my own observations... turning a blind eye to works of literature and artistic insight... imagine my surprise when it was musical lyrics that struck a cord within me I didn't even realize was there.
I always wanted to be the face in front of me. Debating a life sucked out the energy. Built up a wall made out of finer things. Piled it high so we could barely see it.
It's now March 2012, and I have achieved something I thought unattainable - true mental clarity. After a quarter-century of living life one day at a time, going through the motions, I am glad to have a vision beyond that.
Cheers, to true understanding of yourself. To virtue and positive energy.
Legitimately Cool People Awards
While the original COOL GUY Award ended up becoming a fairly well known and enjoyed adage around the site, during my time away in February I learned... a lot of things. Not the least of which relates to how I as an individual respond to the conduct of others.
Ignorance, intolerance, quick tempers... these failings are exceedingly common human traits - nothing worth acknowledging or drawing attention to. I for one no longer offer validation to those who stoop to such levels.
Instead, my social interactions have become something radically different... yet entirely simple. Merely seeking to unearth and focus in on the good from anyone who exhibits it and block out the bad, ignore those who wish to disrupt harmony.
The amplifying effect of multiple persons with positive energy feeding into each other, rebuking the distracting, offensive and oppressive... that synergy is so much more satisfying than any way I had interacted with people before.
All of that said, the newly revised Legitimately Cool People Awards section aims to honor those who exhibit virtuous behavior. I could begin to fill this in with people I have come to know well and simply cite past experiences, but I wish to have this as a blank slate...
Cheers.
This is on the internet right? Okay, time for cats
My felines listed in reverse-chronological-acquisition order...
Male brown mackerel tabby domestic longhair:
Cream
Found near my apartment complex mail room during an inordinately late trip to do laundry; dangerously malnourished and with an open wound on one of his hind feet. He was brought to good health in relatively short order.
[Super sweetheart goofy guy]
Male brown mackerel tabby manx:
Murciélago (Mercy)
Found, very literally, sitting in the middle of the road. A high-speed/high traffic road during morning commute before sunrise to be precise. Lucky lucky boy.
[The "So everything" cat. So cute, so naughty, so tough, so scaredy etc]
Female tortoise-shell domestic shorthair:
Lilith (Lil)
Adopted from local shelter. The epitome of a hot/cold affection... she knows she can play hard to get when she's just so pretty.
[Sweet and sour acrobat]
Female lilac point siamese mix:
Mem (Mem)
When I moved cross-country to California , I had to leave my two cats behind in Michigan with family on account of the house I was renting having a no pets policy. After about 8 months I couldn't stand it anymore, I needed a cat. Screw the landlady, she was a snake anyway! Enter stage left, dear sweet Mem. She was my main companion for a good two years. However since the wife moved in those two are inseperable... thanks for the good times Mem, traitor.
[Mama's girl, alpha cat]
Sage words
There is a lot to be said about being a responsible consumer, but I feel this message from CD Projekt RED co-founder Marcin Iwinski sums up the simplest way to look at it...
"don't be indifferent to piracy. If you see a friend playing an illegal copy of a game--any game--tell your friend that they're undermining the possible success of the developer who created the very game that they are enjoying. Unless you support the developers who make the games you play, unless you pay for those games, we won't be able to produce new excellent titles for you."
This code of honor extends beyond piracy. Be a responsible consumer, know where your dollars go before you buy.