Space+Time=space-time?

Its H again!  In this post I have something a bit different to talk about: space-time as it is described in Einstein’s theory of relativity.

Basically space time is a 4D representation of space and time (where time is the fourth dimension).  You can visualize it by thinking of a large sheet of rubber with spheres placed on it (representing plants and stars), the indentations created in the rubber by the “spheres” represent a two-dimensional version of gravity.  The planets orbiting the sun are like marbles pushed horizontally around a giant funnel; however the planets avoid being pulled into the center of the funnel (the “sun”) because of the law of the conservation of momentum.

The law of the conservation of momentum is difficult to explain, but it is the principle that allows bicycles to stay up.  Basically it describes the tendency of objects “orbiting” other objects (weather it is a planet orbiting a star, or a yoyo on a string) to resist any force applied from any angle other than the one which the object is traveling.

This has profound implications such as time travel, faster than light travel, and wormholes, I will likely cover such topics in future posts. More importantly, perhaps this could explain how Santa, with a gaggle of reindeer pulling a clearly un-aerodynamic sleigh can make his jaunt around the world in just a single night.

Reply in the comments, I would love to hear what you think of space-time and what knowledge about physics you have because I have a great interest in the topic. Feedback is also appreciated!

May your space-physics brains have a very merry x-mas.

How to Speed up Your PC

Greetings everyone!  It’s H again!  Today I wanted tell you all about a few tricks I have picked up for speeding and cleaning up your PC (these tricks may not work for Macs).  I wanted to post about this because all of these are things I run regularly on my PC and I find that they speed it up a lot.   

Disk Cleanup: The purpose of disk cleanup is to delete junk files that are created in the normal operation of your computer, it may free up gigabytes of memory, which gives you more space on your hard drive.  If you have Windows XP, open the start menu, then go to all programs>accessories>system tools>disk cleanup.  After pressing disk cleanup you will be prompted with a checklist of folders to delete, select the ones that you wish to delete.  Note: all of the folders on the list should NOT have anything important in them unless you deliberately put it there.  If you want to run it on Windows Vista then the process is almost the same, but the folders have slightly different names.

Disk Defragmentation: What disk defrag does, is takes files on your hard disk and moves them “closer together” freeing up disk space.  On XP to run a Disk Defrag, go to start menu> programs>accessories>system tools>Select Disk Defragmenter.   To run disk defragmenter on Vista the process is almost the same, but the folders have slightly different names.  Note: if your computer has an SSD (solid state hard drive, or a hard drive that does not have a spinning disk) DO NOT RUN defrag as it could cause permanent damage.

Check Disk: About once a month, I suggest running a Check Disk.  The purpose is to check for hard drive errors and if found, fix them.  On XP, go to my computer>local disk, right click on the local disk (most computers hard disk should be called “local disk c”) then go to properties>tools>error checking, you will be prompted to schedule a disk check on next restart click yes.

When you restart your computer your hard drive will be checked for errors and if any are found they will be fixed.  NOTE: this WILL take SEVERAL HOURS so do not run it if you are in a hurry, I believe you will be happy with doing this, as it will speed up your computer a lot.

Well, that is all for now, enjoy your now-speedy PC, I might post more tips at a later date.  Let me know if this is helpful or if you have questions.  Also, I would like very much if you would share your own PC-speeding-up tips.  Please send a comment. 

If any of you have PC horror or funny stories, please share, as we can all use a good laugh.  Have you ever found the answer to just be “Did you press the on button?”

Happy Holidays.

-H-

My fall into Oblivion

Hello it’s H once again.  This time I wanted to post to you about a really great Role Playing Game called Oblivion.  Oblivion is a first person RPG where you, well um here is where I would tell you what the main objective is, in Oblivion you can basically do whatever you want; there are four guilds each with its own quest line: the mages guild, the fighters guild, the thieves guild, and the dark brotherhood.  The guild names are fairly explanatory, except the dark brotherhood, which is an assassin’s guild.  There is also the arena where you can bet on roman style gladiator matches, or fight in them yourself.  Of course, Oblivion has a “main quest” which is non obligatory series of quests.

Spread throughout the expansive game-world you will find many “dungeons” aka ruins/caves which are not attached to any particular quest, although many have stories for those willing to tread off the beaten path. There are also many “miscellaneous” quests which are not affiliated with any particular faction.

Overall the combat, magic, and stealth are very good with multiple perks for each skill, and options for almost every play-style.  The combat system has bows, axes, war hammers, daggers, shields, and swords of every description; each weapon’s mechanics are well designed and well thought out. 

The magic system has a massive variety of spells and effects, for instance rather than just casting a fireball at an enemy it is possible to actually give them a weakness to fire (with poisons applied to weapons, enchanted weapons, and spells) then cast the fireball increasing the total damage; or you could cast a “frenzy” spell on a group of enemies, making them attack each other. 

The stealth system is very good as well; many situations that would normally require an up-front confrontation can be simplified with long-range stealth-attacks or avoided entirely with enough skill.

All told Oblivion is probably one of the best RPG’s ever.  Period.

By the time I started playing it, it was already considered an old game, but I quickly fell in love with it and still enjoy playing it to this day.  If you don’t have it, then check it out, and if you do, then I’d like to know about your Oblivion experiences.

-H-

Hiking Trip or Lesson in Navigation

H here again! I just returned from a trip I took to go hiking at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. After driving around for some time we finally  figured out where the road to the hiking trail is, a tip for anyone who wishes to hike here: go to the visitors center first because the staff there know how to get to the various trails that you can hike on.

When we finally got there, we found the trail very pleasant and not too steep, although if you wish to venture off the trail then be careful of the many leaves on the ground which make it difficult to find solid footing. Along the way up the trail we found several interesting rock formations, one a large boulder with a small hole/cave in it.  It caught my attention especially; I could imagine soldiers in the Civil War hiding there; you never know there was a major battle in that area after all.

We also found an area right off the trail, which I would tentatively define as having fortification; it had rocks which were stacked up into a low wall.  Nearby was a crumbling brick wall; close by was another brick wall which was still intact.  

After that little diversion, went further off the trail and walked through the woods to a large bolder where I stood, and took some pictures of the town across the river.  It was an awesome view, multi colored leaves littered the ground and snowflakes drifted lazily through the air.

When we were done with taking pictures and we had finished drinking in the view; the sun was going down so we slid and climbed down a nearby gully almost all the way to the parking lot (note: doing so is dangerous and I do not recommend doing it yourself unless you like danger). View the pictures which I will be posting on the blog to see the pictures of this view and some of the rock formations as well as the scenery we passed while driving to the trail. 

Look for a picture of my dog Sam, he loves being outside doing anything.  In case you’re wondering, he is a seven years old, field breed Springer Spaniel.  I got him when we lived out west in CO.  

-H-

Photoshop

Hello again everyone!  In school, I have been taking a Photoshop course, it is actually a lot easier than I was expecting; once you get to know the UI (use interface) the control scheme is very dynamic and supportive of quick color and brush changes.  The “layers” feature is very good too, for those of you who do not have Photoshop, it is a tool which allows you to superimpose multiple pictures onto each other.  For example, of you painted a background of a picture you could draw the people or scenery on a different layer; this is useful because changes to the image are applied ONLY to the layer selected, so if you did not like your scenery then you could simply delete the scenery layer and keep the background. I have been fooling around in PSE (photo shop elements) and I thought that you guys might like to see the results of my fiddling. Look around the blog for the picture of trees, see below for a screen shoot of PSE’s UI.

Hello

Hi everyone this is my first post! Something I wanted to post and  tell everyone about, is a great pc turn based 4X strategy game called Galactic Civilizations II.  I have had it for a while and I enjoy playing it very much.  Basically you take control of one of several major interstellar civilizations, you start in a “galaxy”  that could contain anywhere from a dozen to several hundred solar systems.  The size of the map and many other factors are determined by you before starting the game.  You start with 1 planet and you must expand and eventually take control of the galaxy (you compete with 1-9 ai controlled races), you may do so through military might, gaining a greater understanding of the universe and “ascending” by technological research, culturally converting the galaxy, or forming alliances with all of the other major races.  During the game you will design and build unique star-ships which you gain “parts” for by research,  colonize planets, manage your interstellar government & economy; and form diplomatic and trade relations with other races/species(aliens).

I wanted to tell you about this because it is rather old, so many of you may not have heard of it.  It is about 8 years old, but it has 3D graphics and multi-threaded AI, a feature which many newer games do not possess.

Currently GalCivII and an indie game called Minecraft seem to be what I have been playing lately.  Have any of you played either of these games, and if so what did you think?

-H-