Journals
Neutron Stars: Astonishing Facts!
I will make it no secrete, I like all things Space. If that makes me a Space Cadet geek, then so be it....I have been called worse, and there's worse things to be anyway. Let's talk about Neutron Stars. I just finished reading this pretty damn good article on them on Yahoo! - I am going to give a quick recap on the main points about Neutron Stars from the Yahoo! story:
Neutron stars are dead relics that have collapsed into very small, dense spheres with tough crusts.
A new study suggests how strong they are: The crust of neutron stars could be 10 billion times stronger than steel, based on an innovative model of elements compressed as tightly as they would be on the surface of a neutron star.
To find out how strong the crusts of neutron stars really are, Horowitz and a colleague created a computer simulation of a star's surface. Though the interior of the star is a kind of fluid mass of mostly neutrons, the crust is composed of broken-up atoms, the nuclei of unknown elements. To simulate this, Horowitz used the computer program to squeeze together virtual selenium atoms, pressing them into tiny cubes. He determined that the crust is billions of times stronger than even the hardiest metal alloys here on Earth.
Not just any old relics, neutron stars are the leftover cores of huge stars that exploded in supernovae. In a massive star's death throes, it can blast most of its outer material into space.
The stars are usually tiny, about 15 miles in diameter. But within that small ball, there is the mass of about one and a half suns. A black hole is the only thing denser.
Neutron stars are so dense that if you could dip a teaspoon into one of them and scoop out some of its neutrons the spoon would weigh 100 million tons. If you were to hold that empty teaspoon just one yard above the star's surface and drop it, it would strike the surface at 4.3 million mph.
Some incredible stuff, right? You can read the full article here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/neutronstarcrustisstrongerthansteel
I will make it no secrete, I like all things Space. If that makes me a Space Cadet geek, then so be it....I have been called worse, and there's worse things to be anyway. Let's talk about Neutron Stars. I just finished reading this pretty damn good article on them on Yahoo! - I am going to give a quick recap on the main points about Neutron Stars from the Yahoo! story:
Neutron stars are dead relics that have collapsed into very small, dense spheres with tough crusts.
A new study suggests how strong they are: The crust of neutron stars could be 10 billion times stronger than steel, based on an innovative model of elements compressed as tightly as they would be on the surface of a neutron star.
To find out how strong the crusts of neutron stars really are, Horowitz and a colleague created a computer simulation of a star's surface. Though the interior of the star is a kind of fluid mass of mostly neutrons, the crust is composed of broken-up atoms, the nuclei of unknown elements. To simulate this, Horowitz used the computer program to squeeze together virtual selenium atoms, pressing them into tiny cubes. He determined that the crust is billions of times stronger than even the hardiest metal alloys here on Earth.
Not just any old relics, neutron stars are the leftover cores of huge stars that exploded in supernovae. In a massive star's death throes, it can blast most of its outer material into space.
The stars are usually tiny, about 15 miles in diameter. But within that small ball, there is the mass of about one and a half suns. A black hole is the only thing denser.
Neutron stars are so dense that if you could dip a teaspoon into one of them and scoop out some of its neutrons the spoon would weigh 100 million tons. If you were to hold that empty teaspoon just one yard above the star's surface and drop it, it would strike the surface at 4.3 million mph.
Some incredible stuff, right? You can read the full article here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/neutronstarcrustisstrongerthansteel
Who likes LEGOS?
I certainly did when I was a kid. It is what got me into the 3d arts. Well, I stumbled upon the Lego Digital Designer! A FREE virtual lego building environment with almost all the pieces that have ever existed at an unlimited ammount.
Its a real toy, I challenge you to make something! Maybe even contest this stuff... I dunno, I'm having fun with it. I would not recommend it if it sucks either.
EDIT: Ok, maybe not EVERY Piece, but a fuck ton of them. I found the Technic Lego parts that have motors and shit. I'll have to mess with this a bit more.
EDIT2: Ok, it updates while your in the program, I now just got the lego people parts as well as some window-like parts I didn't find before. This is awesomeness.
Here's a small ship I plopped together.
The test chamber from Half Life.
Its not shutting down.
I certainly did when I was a kid. It is what got me into the 3d arts. Well, I stumbled upon the Lego Digital Designer! A FREE virtual lego building environment with almost all the pieces that have ever existed at an unlimited ammount.
Its a real toy, I challenge you to make something! Maybe even contest this stuff... I dunno, I'm having fun with it. I would not recommend it if it sucks either.
EDIT: Ok, maybe not EVERY Piece, but a fuck ton of them. I found the Technic Lego parts that have motors and shit. I'll have to mess with this a bit more.
EDIT2: Ok, it updates while your in the program, I now just got the lego people parts as well as some window-like parts I didn't find before. This is awesomeness.
Here's a small ship I plopped together.
So, I guess I'm 18 today. Still feel no different.
I kept forgetting my birthday was either coming up, or that it was today, too. I don't know, I've been too busy lately to care.
In order to keep from feeling this was a waste of a journal, I'll post some news on my TF2 map: cp_plowshare.
I got bored, therefore I stopped working on it. I would post pictures but I can't be bothered to compile the latest version.
So much for news, eh?
I kept forgetting my birthday was either coming up, or that it was today, too. I don't know, I've been too busy lately to care.
In order to keep from feeling this was a waste of a journal, I'll post some news on my TF2 map: cp_plowshare.
I got bored, therefore I stopped working on it. I would post pictures but I can't be bothered to compile the latest version.
So much for news, eh?
Some Necromancy?
I guess, It's time to revive this mod. I finished 5 more levels/maps. I only took 3 screenshots though. Well, here they are. Tell me what you think.
I guess, It's time to revive this mod. I finished 5 more levels/maps. I only took 3 screenshots though. Well, here they are. Tell me what you think.
HDD ACTIVITY LEDS !
I was totally bored so I modded my case. I had to make some circuitry for the fading light effect to be present.
Anyway here's the link to my blog, it's the last article posted :
http://sjackm.wordpress.com/
You may need to refresh the link, sometimes when you first access the link it will say it doesn't find the page ... or at least that's what Firefox is doing with most of the sites on my PC.
I was totally bored so I modded my case. I had to make some circuitry for the fading light effect to be present.
Anyway here's the link to my blog, it's the last article posted :
http://sjackm.wordpress.com/
You may need to refresh the link, sometimes when you first access the link it will say it doesn't find the page ... or at least that's what Firefox is doing with most of the sites on my PC.
It's a good thing FGD files are so easy to work with...
You know how the default HL FGD for Hammer 3.5 has model support for most things, exept monster_barney_dead and monster_hevsuit_dead?
I fixed barney in my HL FGD, Spirit FGD, and the one for my next, secret, project. Here's the code for HL:
@PointClass base(RenderFields,Appearflags, Angles, Sequence) size(-16 -16 0, 16 16 72) studio("models/barney.mdl") = monster_barney_dead : "Dead Barney"
[
Just copy and paste that sucker over the entry for monster_barney_dead and save! Now you can pose your dead barneys accuratley and with other objects, such as guns.
(If you haven't done this already) It's very useful, and HEVsuit_dead is next... If you want, I could post that as well...
EDIT: On an unrelated note, I just got my USB mic working!
You know how the default HL FGD for Hammer 3.5 has model support for most things, exept monster_barney_dead and monster_hevsuit_dead?
I fixed barney in my HL FGD, Spirit FGD, and the one for my next, secret, project. Here's the code for HL:
@PointClass base(RenderFields,Appearflags, Angles, Sequence) size(-16 -16 0, 16 16 72) studio("models/barney.mdl") = monster_barney_dead : "Dead Barney"
[
pose(Choices) : "Pose" : 0 =[
0 : "On back"
1 : "On side"
2 : "On stomach"
][
35 : "On back"
36 : "On side"
37 : "On stomach"
]Just copy and paste that sucker over the entry for monster_barney_dead and save! Now you can pose your dead barneys accuratley and with other objects, such as guns.
(If you haven't done this already) It's very useful, and HEVsuit_dead is next... If you want, I could post that as well...
EDIT: On an unrelated note, I just got my USB mic working!
More 3D time!
A new project, a tunnel animation, google it, there usually rather boring but the loop thingy is a interesting concept.
So, i made a a short story and based the animation around that. So far i got the locomotive from the beginning, it will be a TRAXX 140. Here is what i got so far:
A new project, a tunnel animation, google it, there usually rather boring but the loop thingy is a interesting concept.
So, i made a a short story and based the animation around that. So far i got the locomotive from the beginning, it will be a TRAXX 140. Here is what i got so far:
Silly day
A souffl? is a light, fluffy, baked dish made with egg yolks and beaten egg whites combined with various other ingredients and served as a savory main dish or sweetened as a dessert. The word souffl? is the past participle of the French verb souffler which means "to blow up" or more loosely "puff up" ? an apt description of what happens to this combination of custard and egg whites.
A souffl? is a light, fluffy, baked dish made with egg yolks and beaten egg whites combined with various other ingredients and served as a savory main dish or sweetened as a dessert. The word souffl? is the past participle of the French verb souffler which means "to blow up" or more loosely "puff up" ? an apt description of what happens to this combination of custard and egg whites.
Postal 3.
ha ha, i watched the trailer and it basically involved gameplay footage of TPD ('the postal dude') shooting people.
its probably going to be worse then postal 2 though...
putting cats on shotguns, pissing on people and setting people on fire with petrol cans.
creating games just for contraversy... you gotta take your hats off to RWS
ha ha, i watched the trailer and it basically involved gameplay footage of TPD ('the postal dude') shooting people.
its probably going to be worse then postal 2 though...
putting cats on shotguns, pissing on people and setting people on fire with petrol cans.
creating games just for contraversy... you gotta take your hats off to RWS
My son was accepted by the University daycare.
His first school teachers will be professors in child education and development.
The goal is that he'll be reading before age three.
His first school teachers will be professors in child education and development.
The goal is that he'll be reading before age three.
Topical treatment with fluoroquinolone drops (eg, ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin) has been found to be as effective as systemic therapy for perforated otitis media.
Just found a comp in the trash, turns out to be a L500cx
It's got about 500 mhz processer, 320 mbs of ram, a onboard video card that seems to be pretty powerful, and a 10 gig hd.
Oh and it also has windoze xp on it (kinda chokes with only 320 mbs ram :S)
I don't plan on doing it for "serious gaming", just a comp to play counter-strike in my room at night, and it seems to be doing a pretty good job of it.
It also came with a microsoft mouse identical to the one i am using right now, and 2 speakers.
Who would throw out something like that, it works perfectly, and it also has a cd burner\writer in it.
It's got about 500 mhz processer, 320 mbs of ram, a onboard video card that seems to be pretty powerful, and a 10 gig hd.
Oh and it also has windoze xp on it (kinda chokes with only 320 mbs ram :S)
I don't plan on doing it for "serious gaming", just a comp to play counter-strike in my room at night, and it seems to be doing a pretty good job of it.
It also came with a microsoft mouse identical to the one i am using right now, and 2 speakers.
Who would throw out something like that, it works perfectly, and it also has a cd burner\writer in it.
I just played a mod called doomed-life. And no wonder this is a doomed mod.
You start out in a ruined futuristic city of some sort. You have no clue what your supposed to do other than to not fall off the buildings. But the rocks randomly crumble so ya dun know what to tread on. You supposed to get jump around to a little balcony with a door that opens. There your HEV suit is waiting for you and there appears to be a time machine that you need to get into. This time machine is so cool that upon entering you are instantly transported to the specified point in time. No env_sprites were used.
In your case, the destination is 1998 Chile for some reason. You wander around a canyon sort of area and eventually find a cool-looking remodeled MP5SD in the back of a jeep. Up to this point your only weapons are crowbar and a 25-bullets of mp5. And up ahead are two grunts.
Just kidding they weren't much of a problem because they were looking the other way from where I arrived. But the next part is ugly.
You make it into an installation filled inexplicably with scientists and security guards. ALL OF THESE PEOPLE ARE FACING THE EXACT SAME WAY. This suggests to me that they were all put into the map with the default facing "0" angle. Also there are no such thing as scripted sequences.
SOME QUIRKS ABOUT THIS SCIENCE FACILITY
Pressing the button in the corner causes some action, where the cage breaks and a random spot on the floor also gives way. It may not be intuitive but you need to take a dive into the hole on the floor.
Most of the gameplay after this point involves finding buttons to open doors. These puzzle elements progressively get more "challenging" as the mappers still have doors that close 4 seconds after they are opened. But that's only the first slice of this fun little mod.
There is one point where a tank is activated by you to kill 5-7 grunts and make a big hole on the ground (sounds familiar). You jump into the hole, but comeout on the otherside into a rural farm area, with a little wheat field, a barn, and a cool looking medieval-like house. The front door is locked.
This may seem non-intuitive, but you need to break the second window to the right of the front door (the first window is unbreakable) and break enter into the house. Then the text message "It's freeman, call the police!" or something comes up. You are then taken to prison.
In prison, the map changes and you are taken to a different prison. The wall behind you crumbles to give you a crowbar. You try to break out of jail, but near the exit the words "freeman's escaping, get him!" or something comes up and you are taken to another prison. (Whoa, the prison motif seems a bit overdone at this point.)
This prison, has a grunt guarding it. But this prison also has func_illusionary floor. SO you fall thru into a water pit, where there are spikes at the bottom. Where do you go? The spikes, smart. You swim towards the spikes, whereas a mapchange takes you to some weirdo hallucination chamber with checkered walls. You are given a .357 and one little box of extra ammo.
In hallucinoworld, you meet bullsquids, houndeyes, and alien grunts. (The grunt randomly falls in front of you thru the ceiling). Then, the hallway ends and you are stuck figuring out what to do. You are supposed to "use" the wall to the right which will cause the end wall to crumble for no adequately explored reason. But behind the wall are three alien slaves, and they are very happy to see you (and give you a shocking experience).
After the slaves got some potshots at me I kill them off with my .357 easily. But then the floor crumbles again and I fall and end up in some weird tomb looking area. This is very coherent storyline, by the way.
I wander ahead thru the tomb and three headcrabs fall from the ceiling. Haven't we seen this tactic used before. I just run pass them because there not worth .357 ammo.
I ran ahead and the floor gave way to a spike trap, but I luckily didn't fall into it. I figured that this may be another mapchange (like the other one from prison) but I tested it first. I had lured a headcrab to jump into the spike pit to see what happens. It was gibbed bad. I then decided not to jump into the pit of pointy world brushes.
up ahead is a dead end with two random rooms each to the left and to the right. Both auxillary rooms have buttons that must be pressed, which each breaks off a bit of the end wall to reveal another passageway (creative or noobish, you tell me.)
I went ahead and got pressed flat by something that jetted out of the ceiling. Dead.
...and then I found out that there were zero autosaves in the entire game up to this point...
I could tell you what happened next, but what's the point? Get this mod now!! You have to experience this for yourself to know how great an experience this is.
You start out in a ruined futuristic city of some sort. You have no clue what your supposed to do other than to not fall off the buildings. But the rocks randomly crumble so ya dun know what to tread on. You supposed to get jump around to a little balcony with a door that opens. There your HEV suit is waiting for you and there appears to be a time machine that you need to get into. This time machine is so cool that upon entering you are instantly transported to the specified point in time. No env_sprites were used.
In your case, the destination is 1998 Chile for some reason. You wander around a canyon sort of area and eventually find a cool-looking remodeled MP5SD in the back of a jeep. Up to this point your only weapons are crowbar and a 25-bullets of mp5. And up ahead are two grunts.
Just kidding they weren't much of a problem because they were looking the other way from where I arrived. But the next part is ugly.
You make it into an installation filled inexplicably with scientists and security guards. ALL OF THESE PEOPLE ARE FACING THE EXACT SAME WAY. This suggests to me that they were all put into the map with the default facing "0" angle. Also there are no such thing as scripted sequences.
SOME QUIRKS ABOUT THIS SCIENCE FACILITY
- there is a headcrap in a glass tank jumping around and tried to claw me to death. But there is a barney right next to him.
- there is a button you needs to press to open a certain door, but the "delay before close" on that door is 4, so you have to press the button and madly dash to the door before it closes.
Pressing the button in the corner causes some action, where the cage breaks and a random spot on the floor also gives way. It may not be intuitive but you need to take a dive into the hole on the floor.
Most of the gameplay after this point involves finding buttons to open doors. These puzzle elements progressively get more "challenging" as the mappers still have doors that close 4 seconds after they are opened. But that's only the first slice of this fun little mod.
There is one point where a tank is activated by you to kill 5-7 grunts and make a big hole on the ground (sounds familiar). You jump into the hole, but comeout on the otherside into a rural farm area, with a little wheat field, a barn, and a cool looking medieval-like house. The front door is locked.
This may seem non-intuitive, but you need to break the second window to the right of the front door (the first window is unbreakable) and break enter into the house. Then the text message "It's freeman, call the police!" or something comes up. You are then taken to prison.
In prison, the map changes and you are taken to a different prison. The wall behind you crumbles to give you a crowbar. You try to break out of jail, but near the exit the words "freeman's escaping, get him!" or something comes up and you are taken to another prison. (Whoa, the prison motif seems a bit overdone at this point.)
This prison, has a grunt guarding it. But this prison also has func_illusionary floor. SO you fall thru into a water pit, where there are spikes at the bottom. Where do you go? The spikes, smart. You swim towards the spikes, whereas a mapchange takes you to some weirdo hallucination chamber with checkered walls. You are given a .357 and one little box of extra ammo.
In hallucinoworld, you meet bullsquids, houndeyes, and alien grunts. (The grunt randomly falls in front of you thru the ceiling). Then, the hallway ends and you are stuck figuring out what to do. You are supposed to "use" the wall to the right which will cause the end wall to crumble for no adequately explored reason. But behind the wall are three alien slaves, and they are very happy to see you (and give you a shocking experience).
After the slaves got some potshots at me I kill them off with my .357 easily. But then the floor crumbles again and I fall and end up in some weird tomb looking area. This is very coherent storyline, by the way.
I wander ahead thru the tomb and three headcrabs fall from the ceiling. Haven't we seen this tactic used before. I just run pass them because there not worth .357 ammo.
I ran ahead and the floor gave way to a spike trap, but I luckily didn't fall into it. I figured that this may be another mapchange (like the other one from prison) but I tested it first. I had lured a headcrab to jump into the spike pit to see what happens. It was gibbed bad. I then decided not to jump into the pit of pointy world brushes.
up ahead is a dead end with two random rooms each to the left and to the right. Both auxillary rooms have buttons that must be pressed, which each breaks off a bit of the end wall to reveal another passageway (creative or noobish, you tell me.)
I went ahead and got pressed flat by something that jetted out of the ceiling. Dead.
...and then I found out that there were zero autosaves in the entire game up to this point...
I could tell you what happened next, but what's the point? Get this mod now!! You have to experience this for yourself to know how great an experience this is.
I failed, I was 4 marks off passing... Today is a bad day.
Turns out you have to atleast get 44/50... and I got 40.
FUCK MY LIFE.
Turns out you have to atleast get 44/50... and I got 40.
FUCK MY LIFE.
Because in about 2 hours (as of this writing), space shuttle Atlantis (Mission STS-125) will launch to be the last servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Space shuttle Endeavour will be ready to launch in case a rescue mission is needed, as Hubble is at a higher orbit than the ISS, so Atlantis won't be able to dock to it.
Atlantis will carry two new instruments to the HST, a replacement Fine Guidance Sensor, and six new gyroscopes and batteries to allow the telescope to continue to function at least through 2014. The crew will also install a new thermal blanket layer to provide improved insulation, and a "soft-capture mechanism" to aid in the safe de-orbiting of the telescope by an unmanned spacecraft at the end of its operational lifespan.
Check out photo's of the launch:
http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/search.cfm?cat=180
And a HD video of the launch:
(Direct Link, QuickTime movie, 1080i 185 MB)
Go Atlantis!