An open and frank declaration
Expression
2010 Jun 4
I believe expression is good and healthy. Especially for men, it is a challenge to find a method to express and still be strong, sane, and secure. However, without a method, I think people end up without resolution. There are few things I hate more than cyclical issues. A cyclical thought will drive me crazy until I can just break that cycle. On a larger scale, cyclical problems, or bad habits are something that I believe everyone deals with. Some excuse them as part of being their nature and work around it. To me this is a cop-out; while we still are breathing, can we not improve? Most certainly, some obstacles can never be overcome, but I would suggest they should not be in our path to begin with. The obstacles in our path, and self-created obstacles, are manageable by the simple fact that we have ownership over it.
So, with external obstacles, or self-inflicted ones, when we bump into them and it hurts, or surprises us, we might say “ouch” or “whoa”, “ah”. Some form of expression to acknowledge its existence. If you say “ouch”, and yet continue doing that activity, there may be two reasons for that. One may be a calculated plan for eventual good, or one may be stubborn idiocy. If you DONT say “ouch”, then perhaps it didn’t really hurt, or its not really a problem to resolve and it is “easier” to tolerate. You can choose to live in a house with broken glass on the floor, dead rats in the corner, and land-mines with warnings over them if you really want to play hopscotch in your own life. It isn’t fun to acknowledge problems, and it takes sometimes significant amount of work and courage to deal with them. Welcome to life on earth.
Start by saying “ouch”.
bleeding
2010 Jun 4
Imagine you are in a small time-warp western ranch town. In your travels, through whatever circumstance, you are on foot, wounded and bleeding.
The gas station is shut down. The sheriff is out chasing bad guys. The mayor is sleeping. The blacksmith is away at a smithing convention. The farmer is in a field with noisy machinery. The barber sees you, but for whatever reason, locks the door and flips his sign to closed. There is a drunkard on the street but he is not coherent to assist. A kid on a bicycle goes by, and offers to help, but his home is in the next town over, too far to walk. What are you to do?
Thankfully the doctor is in. And a doctor is exactly what you need. Thank God.
Now, how important was that farmer to you? If the barber was kind and generous, would it have made much difference? Can a blacksmith heal a bleeding man? No, not by trade. That is what the doctor is for. The best these others can do would be to give you directions but their usefulness drastically diminishes once the doctors office is found, with them, or without.
Back to blog. Five updates
2010 May 21
I dont think I’ve gone this long without blogging. I blame nothing happening that is longer than 140 characters, aka microblogging (twitter) is often sufficent, so why do I need to post here? when I can post there http://twitter.com/threeup
I like words and full expression. It is hard to pick up tone, or learn why someone thinks something. Microblogs are often just a fact, not an opinion. The style in which something is expressed I believe is part of the communication package.
Ok, now for some random anecdotes. More >
Making fun
2010 Mar 21
You might expect it to be a given, but as a game developer, I like to create fun for other people. And also have fun for myself of course. However this is not an automatic in this industry. Some people just want to get the job done and go home to their own world. Also some people do not find the game they make fun, either because they are no longer interested in games, or their own product is not good. Thankfully now I am with a group that makes fun games, and wants to make fun games. These two things are painstakingly obviously connected, but some companies don’t grasp this idea.
The past few months I feel like I’ve succeeded in creating a product that is fun, now this product needs to connect with the audience of gamers. This connection has not gone very smoothly and people keep playing against mostly AI which is less fun, but I have to trust that some people are having fun. The barrier to entry is low, but you do need to pay a membership cost to play. I got a free membership because I work on it, and have popped in the free realms world to see a crowd outside the big pirate ship where they start the game.
Here’s a vid I made, and here’s a screenshot of me owning everyone. I never have felt so guilty in beating someone — I did make the game after all.
pointless ambitions
2010 Feb 28
Have you heard the people who visit all the NFL stadiums, or collect a complete set of spoons?
How about the ones who absolutely must see a certain famous person before they die. Perhaps visit some holy land, either cultural or religious, for life ‘fulfillment’
People also pursue that Bachelors in Uselessness. Oh, I didn’t say that.
Actually perhaps pursuing something, anything, is better than no ambition at all. It at least gets you in motion and other things along the way might give you actual benefit.
Here’s my list, none of which I actually intend on seeing through.
#1 In 7 years, I want to be living, or visiting Louisville Kentucky
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Solar_eclipse_global_visibility_2017Aug21T.png
#2 I want to be a random background person in a Saturday Night Live skit trying to look cool, like a waiter.
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/clips/hamm-and-buble/1198004/
(bonus SNL skit: http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/clips/closet-organizer/1197957/ )
#3 I would like something of mine in a museum anywhere. Hopefully because it is good and not because I vandalized or catastrophically failed.
http://www.missioninnmuseum.com/collect_aviation_lvl3/av00001_lvl3.htm
#4 Become the top search result for ’3up’ 9th on google and 3rd on bing!
http://www.bing.com/search?q=3up
That’s all for now.
Google Buzz Thoughts
2010 Feb 14
As a user of twitter, google reader, picasa, youtube, and blog writing, I was initially intrigued about the concept of Google Buzz. It is basically an aggregated update about what google thinks makes up my online ‘life’. Photos of me, articles I like, random twitterish thoughts all can be pushed to people who subscribe automatically. Then they can comment directly on them or pass them on to their subscriber list. More >
Incommunicable autopilot
2010 Feb 14
For the past, month perhaps, my state of being has not been particularly communicable. The answer to, ‘how are you’, was often, ‘i dont know’. Then I didn’t really feel I had much of a place to start conversations with other people if I was unable to communicate with myself. I had some moments of automation which did not require the real Sheridan to be uncovered.
I can help people and be functional with work and things without actually being Sheridan. I suppose that is still who I am, but it has become second nature to the point where even if my imaginary dog dies, I can still help you with your boyfriend or explain the projectile motion used in my game. Because I can perform most tasks that I do in a normal week, I have not felt an urgent need to evaluate myself. People who ask how I am doing don’t really need to know. Nor do I. Auto-pilot Sheridan is pretty decent.
I found more and more solace in my foreign language music. When taking a break from kpop or jrock I jumped over to my original non-english love, french dancypop. I was excited for Lost again, a television show that has more things that don’t make sense, than ones that do. And some more music that messes with my head. Breakbeat Trip-hop.
I became fascinated about learning very random topics. Celebrated holidays in Korea including White Day, Green Day, Hug Day; the lunisolar calendar which I can’t really quite grasp how it re-aligns itself; Watching David Blaine explain how he can oxygenate his lungs and then go under water for 17 minutes with a near certain belief he would blackout; a Japanese pop star with a entirely computer generated voice and a green haired anime girl; these make up some of the things on my mind lately.
These things don’t really make sense, nor are they particularly relevant to anything in my life. It is easier to avoid thinking about my state if I keep my brain in a world in which I don’t participate in. I suppose that’s part of the appeal of role playing games, fantasy novels, and hallucinogenetic drugs. But I wouldn’t know from experience. Frankly they scare me.
So ya, brain disconnection. I will leave you with this JRock engrish gem.
“There is the time level that wants to bark at even whom.
I let you sing ’cause there is few it and is good, and send it.”
awkward jokes that aren't jokes
2010 Feb 6
Knock knock, who’s there? The mailman, the mailman who? The mailman with your mail.
Roses are red, violets are blue, Roses are also white, violets are also.
If an english terrier goes ruff ruff in english, what sound does a japanese terrier make in Japanese? Think about it.
Excuse me, could you close your eyes for about 3 seconds? *rotate 360* All done.
My favorite utensil for eating cereal is a spoon. I strongly recommend it.
What goes around and comes around? Trains are one of many possible answers.
Dyslexic people might read idiot as, i do it. That doesn’t make them idiots, or i-do-its.
(crap I think this last one is actually funny, I’m going to try it.)
If I was a rainbow, I would have a hard time digesting foods.
Rambam
2010 Jan 26
So, time for another rapid fire shot. I realize… twitter is basically this: a micro blog with a few thoughts here and there. However the twitterverse seems like this overcrowded dollar store. Even though I do use it @threeup I’m not much of a fan. And as you will soon find out, I am feeling verbose about these somewhat boring topics; well beyond 140 characters. (But twitter’s appeal is in brevity which is often best)
Ting Tings live
downloadin
Weather
More Korean TV
Itunes
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Unicode and the world unknown
2010 Jan 23
Linguistics is weird, not because I want to know how to form my mouth to make sounds, but because they use crazy names and symbols for things.
A close-mid back unrounded vowel is a type of vowel sound, ɤ, called “ram’s horns” I often wonder who is in charge of unicode, the “alphabet” of crazy letters and characters for many languages and weird uses including making my name look cool: ᴈ ʓ ʒ ɝ ᶔ ₃ ᶚᵘᵖ
Then I learned about the Onge language spoke on the islands of Little Andaman Island. It is an endangered language. And I realize I have no idea where Little Andaman Island or anything Andamanian, so I looked it up and found out it is separated from Rutland Island in Great Andaman by the Duncan Passage. It is home to an underlying rainforest and rare species of marine turtles. India tried to colonize it in the 60s, but gave up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Andaman_Island
Guess what, I still have no idea where it is.
Unicode, and the world, are full of mysteries and it makes me realize how little I know.
