And So It Begins Again

A new semester of my studies begins again. Hopefully, that will get my brain running again, and I'll be able to give you something worth reading again. :D If you noticed, the last post was 11 days ago. This time round, it wasn't that I didn't feel like writing anything, but that I had writer's block. I couldn't find anything I could write about, and I have hit a wall writing the story, revealing to me how bad my writing actually is.

I'm hoping to churn out a number of reviews for my reviews category, which will hopefully include some new stuff I have acquired within the past year. The articles probably won't be the best things you've seen around, but I thought I should at least try to keep a once a month schedule if I can't maintain a once a week schedule.

Rest assured that when my writer's block is gone, you can expect to see a few bursts of those every day updates. :D

Looking Back at the Past Half Year

I have no clue what I've been doing the past half year. :D I know I studied, got marks at the finals, screwed up one paper badly but still got a H2A, learned how to play DotA (still don't see how people can play it for hours on end). I've played through several games, including Need for Speed Most Wanted, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Paper Mario: The 1000-Year Door, and so on.

I've progressed in knowledge quite a bit, although I'm not entirely sure how much or how quickly. I got bored pretty quickly, and all I can hope for is a more enjoyable semester during the next few months.

As for the blog, I've let it degenerate quite a bit after I updated the template. I just plainly have nothing to talk about. No class means nothing to rant about. I don't feel like writing out the story now, so that has also been patchy. I'm quitting Magic: the Gathering temporarily, so I'm probably not going to write any more articles from that avenue. I'm a studying student, and I have not gotten any new items to really review or take photos of. Even my Funny Stuff section has gotten abandoned because I think it's not funny, and I think plenty of you agree.

Where does that leave us? Nothing much. Is there any lesson I learned in the past half year? Not really, other than cold weather makes your bed a huge body magnet. I've barely even needed to bring out my jacket since it's not really all that cold, but that doesn't mean I'm invulnerable to cold. I just happen to go out when it's warmer, or when I don't have a chill.

I've started taking longer showers, probably a consequence of it being so comfortable in the shower. I just got my hair cut. It went from ridiculously long (by my standards, maybe that might change in the future) to ridiculously short (by my standards for my hair LOL).

That's all I have to rant about today. :P More later. (Later being possibly as late as never.)

Long Hiatus

I don't feel like writing anything. It's not that I can't come up with anything. I've already got the whole chapter 2 of the story written in my head. I'm obviously going to be quit following latest Magic stuff as it is. I've become rather uninterested in Coldsnap, and I do not believe that I will be playing again for a long time. I do not know how long I will not post, but keep your RSS feed readers on, and you will know when I make a comeback to posting tons upon tons of stuff. :D

rei's Laws of Computing/Computers

1. The keyboard is mightier than the mouse. - There is a reason why the keyboard came before the mouse. This is among them. There are plenty of shortcuts involving the keyboard. The main reason they are called shortcuts is because it saves you the trouble of moving the mouse to access them. There are things at which the mouse is better, but in many cases, mastery of the keyboard will lead to a most comfortable computing experience.

2. Have the emergency key shortcuts at your disposal.

- All operating systems usually have a shortcut to save the operating system from crashing completely in the case of some awful program or some terrrible execution somewhere. In Windows, this is usually the ever popular Control+Alt+Delete. In Mac OS X, it's usually Command(Apple)+Option+Esc. In Linux, I think most desktops use Control+Escape.

3. Computers can fail, and probably eventually will.

- Computers have a lifespan of about 5 years before becoming impossibly obsolete to some people. I myself have survived with a computer for a number far surpassing that, and I have no intention to ever let it happen again. That computer didn't fail during my active usage, but it soon did after about a year or two after I finally got an up-to-date computer.

4. Since computers will fail, backup often.

- The part with the longest warranty after RAM is probably either your processor or your hard drive. Chances are however that your hard drive will fail eventually after the warranty period. I have not seen a hard drive last more than 10 years in my home, and many have failed within the warranty period itself. I carry out a pretty thorough backup regime, although it has become patchy with the advent of more reliable hard drives. There is now about three copies of each of my university work and notes which are stored electronically, all up-to-date. It will not be long before I make a fourth into a piece of significantly more reliable storage media.

5. The essentials of computing: monitor, keyboard, mouse, Internet.

- Every basic computer should have a monitor, keyboard and a mouse. Internet access isn't vital yet, but without it, your computer's potential is wasted. Heck, even my PSP can get Internet access. It is not vital, but if you have it, the whole world is there. :D

How Not to Study for an Exam

I know plenty of people have said a lot of crap about how to study for exams, why you should study. Even the topic I've chosen is commonplace. My turn to spout crap over how you shouldn't study for an exam. 1. Have your computer screen, keyboard and mouse in front of you as you are studying. - You have this tendency to watch old anime, new anime, old TV shows, new TV shows, as well as read any damn crap you can think of including manga, Wikipedia, Google, World Cup news and so on.

2. Take interest in anything other than the coming exams. - It's bad enough that you have to remember the hundreds upon thousands of formulas, you have no space to spare for information that wouldn't help you with your exams like what football matches are happening tonight, how to play DotA and other pieces of useless information like what is happening in Bleach, Naruto and god knows what other things you are interested in.

3. Have an instant messaging client open. - Unless you happen to need to discuss or ask questions regarding exams. An IM client around would serve to be a good source of entertainment, distraction as well as fun. You do not wish for this to happen at any time if you happen to need to memorise several hundred facts in your head with the capability to regurgitate.

4. Do blog often during exams. - Blogging is a great way to release stress and waste time thinking. I have a paper in roughly 2 - 3 days. It's a very bad idea to blog, especially write stories like mine while studying. :D

5. Start playing a new game. - If you start playing a new addictive game, expect to be addicted enough to neglect your studies if you aren't careful. Of course, I'm very careful. Time management is key.

6. Compile your scribbles last minute. - If you do compile last minute, expect to desperate dig through several thousand sheets of paper, and do expect to be missing some notes. :D