The Skidmore Story: Look ma, more rants!

.Hello reader(s), it's been a beautiful winter so far. I hate it. I hate the cold, and the snow, and most of all, the wind. The wind absolutely and completely sucks. Period. I'm more of a summer guy anyway. After another 13 days of not posting a single post, I actually have quite a few stories to get buy, including a book review, a rant or two, another computer and some other fun stories to tell!

First! A book review on a library sponsored blog. Blasphemy! The book I read takes place in the Warhammer 40,000universe. I have provided a link to the background of the universe, on the account that not many people in the States know much about WH40k. Anyway, the book, entitled Sons of Fenris by Lee Lightner. The book follows a specific chapter of the supersoldier Space Marines (link also provided for you convenience.) The chapter, known as the Space Wolves, is one of the most valiant and savage chapters in the Imperium. The book itself follows one specific Space Wolf, Ragnar, who actually becomes the Wolf Lord at some point in his life. The book begins at this point, but later flashes back to an earlier point in Ragnar's life. It sounds strange, and while reading it, it was strange, which makes it difficult for me to actually be able to describe how the book is set up. With that set aside, I loved the book, but I can only give at 4/5 stars for a couple reasons. For one thing, I personally don't think the ending wrapped up appropriately. If you're an avid Space Wolf fan, it might seem simple enough to tell what will happen, as Ragnar Blackbane is the most famous Wolf Lord in the chapter's history, but for me, a die hard Imperial Guard fan, I found it a little difficult to consume the ending. The book (or WH40k) franchise is not for everyone, and I think it's safe to say it's not for most people period. However, if you like gothic type things and sci-fi type things, then you'll love not only this book, but also the Warhammer 40,000 universe in general. I recommend this book to any sci-fi fan, unless you also happen to be squeemish.

Second: a rant! If you watch TV, or if you hang around anyone who does, then you've probably seen or heard of this brand new show, Tosh.0. Everyone seems to think that it's completely hilarious! Except for me. I hate it. I think it's stupid, unoriginal, and honestly I don't think David Tosh (the host) is that funny. It seems to me that now that our favourite internet memes have come to the television screen, everyone thinks that the credit should go to this genius David Tosh. Sorry folks, he didn't find the videos. For instance, a while back, he featured a not so bright kid who claimed he liked turtles. It doesn't seem funny, but if you haven't seen the actual video, you should probably go google it. I hate to break it to everyone, but the "I like turtles kid" has been on the internet for nearly 4 years now, and who knows how long the owners actually had the tape for, as it appears to be an older video. Anyway, it just so happens that the video was only popular to those who lurked on selective sites or the internet in general. That is until the genius David Tosh showed it on television. Beyond the "I like turtles kid," he does feature a few funny videos, but only after the videos have been on another show for weeks or months. That other show I'm talking about is known as =3 by Ray William Johnson. The entire show is done on Youtube, with episodes released twice a week, every week, and that's been going on for quite a while now. Plus I think Ray happens to be funny, unlike Tosh.

That's just my opinion thoough, I know a lot of people who enjoy the show, and I'm not in any way knocking them, just the show/host/lack of originality/lack of comedy.

Well, after finishing that, I realise that I'm pretty darn tired and won't be able to finish my stories. Oh well, I'll have those posted by the end of the week, if not tomorrow. This is Taylor Skidmore, signing off.
Goodnight.

You Choose

For long and behold, So now you can see,
Right through my mold, So I can be free.

Free from myself, So I can fall,
Believe it yourself, So I hear the call.

Here I am, Now I'm asleep,
Free from life's scam, I took my life's leap.

Just as in the garden, You choose life or death,
Just as in Eden, You take your final breath.

It's your choice to choose, Whether we win or we lose.
So now I tell you, It is up to you.

By: Shawnee Herendeen

The Skidmore Story: Tron Legacy! And Lightning!

Well, I've done it. I've finally seen Tron Legacy. But I have to say, choosing to go to the 9:55 showing then immediately writing this post was probably not my greatest idea in the world, but meh, it's worth it I suppose. For the one reader out there, I must push forward! So anyway, Tron Legacy. For a sequel, it was pretty darn good. If you didn't know, Tron came out in 1982, which was more than 20 years ago. That makes Tron Legacy a long, long, long overdue movie. Even more so than the gap between Episode 6 and the suck-ish prequels of Star Wars. Overall I have to give Tron Legacy a 4/5 though. In 1984, even with reduced special effects, the movie would of been much better. But with the idea of Tron being around for more than 20 years, the idea really isn't that ground breaking anymore. Plus, with me boring the totally boring person that I am, I thought there was too much action. This age in general, everything is always about fighting. There can never be a movie without at least one fight scene (unless perhaps it's a romantic comedy) in a movie. And if there is, it's considered terrible. For example, Star Trek was a series about exploration: finding new worlds, new people, and new technology, like Kevin Flynn in the original Tron. But Tron Legacy isn't about exploring new worlds, ideas, or philosophies, but rather Flynn's son trying to find his father, stopping at nothing. This includes expunging any 'program' that gets in his way. The movie is relatively on giant action scene, ready to blow your mind with stunning visuals and saturnine landscapes, with a few flashing lights plopped in every once in a while. Nonetheless, the movie is excellent, and deserves every bit of praise it received from the critics.


Lighting! Okay, I promised you a blog about a multitude of things, and here's where the science comes into play. I'm currently building a Tesla Coil. If you don't know what that is, see the above picture. Essentially, it's one giant lightning generator capable of powering things like light bulbs wirelessly. There's more to come, and I've just finished my first design plan today, but I will be letting you guy(s) know how it's all coming along!

This is Taylor Skidmore, signing off.

P.S. I can't write/think straight at 1 A.M.

P.P.S. If you do actually read this blog, please tell your neighbours, your friends, family, anyone! We need a community!

P.P.P.S. Happy birthday to quite possibly our only reader, Sadie King-Hoffmann!

The Skidmore Story: I'm alive!

Yes, I am alive. It's okay, you can be relieved now. With the holidays, finals, and other stuff consuming my life, I really haven't had time to do other things, this blog included.

First thing: A new computer! For Christmas I got all of the parts to a computer, and I built it! It's really an awesome way to save money. If I would've bought the same computer from a store, I would have easily payed over $1,000, when I made it around $400. It's not top of the line, but still, I'm saving tons of money, and it does everything I need it to.

Second: Games! The truth is, I'm not a huge gamer, but with my new computer, I decided to try a few new games, and I like them all, surprisingly.

Minecraft:

This is by far one of the greatest games ever invented. 5/5 easily, and I recommend you go buy it... now. It's like a game of Legos. Tear down the blocks, rebuild them. It even has the ability to handle things like Integrated Circuits made out of a material called Redstone. It's by far the greatest time-wasting game in existence.

League of Legends:
/br> While that's not actual gameplay, it's a great game. It takes the unfairness out of the typical MMORPG (Games like WoW), by taking out the time factor. Meaning that each time a new battle starts, you start off at level one. Meaning that someone who spends 42 hours a day, 9 days a week playing a game, they still start off at level one, like someone who just downloaded the game (that's not going to happen, of course, as they have a specific matchmaking system in place.) By the way, it's FREE. FREE I TELL YOU! That means you should at least give it a whirl. If you do decide to try it, you can hit me up in-game at balt11t.

World of Tanks:

This game is in its closed beta, but I got in within a few hours of registering. It's a fun game, but it's a lot more graphically demanding than the above games. Even with my nice GPU (Graphical Processing Unit), I can still only hit about 40 FpS (Frames per Second) while on LoL (League of Legends), I hit 70 consistently. It's fun, but challenging to. There are three comprehensive tech trees right now, one for Russia, Germany, and the US, but there are more to come. You can also play as several divisions of tanks: Light, Medium, Heavy, Tank Destroyer, and SPG (artillery). This leaves the game up to what your play-style is. Personally, I play SPG, which is more of a defensive type position, which is more my gamestyle. I'm balt11t here too.

Third: Language! .ui .i mi tadni la lojbo ku

That's just a sample of the constructed language Lojban. It's completely unamigious, meaning that one thing always means one thing, whereas in English, one thing can mean a thousand depending on who you talk to. It's also logical, meaning that everything makes sense. If you hear a letter, it's there. If you don't, it's not there. None of this "i before e except in almost every case possible" crap. It makes sense. If you're interested, http://www.lojban.org offers free books to people interested in learning. While I'm not that great at it myself, I love it, and I'd be more than happy to answer any questions.

Well, that's all for me today. This is Taylor, signing off.

Skidmore Story: Woe is Me.

Well to kick things off: I'm sick. And that really stinks. I have a sinus infection coupled with pounding headaches, but I knew I needed to make an emergency post.

First: STARGATE UNIVERSE. The third installment to the Stargate series has been cancelled. While it wasn't a bad show, there were a plethora of mistakes made during its two seasons on air that set it far back. In the past, Syfy (previously Sci-Fi), has always broadcast its new shows in the summer and winter, in order to avoid the fall competition with the big channels like NBC or CBS. They decided to change that for this show, for unknown reasons (well, to me anyway). This move to the fall really hampered the show's promise, as most people watch the big channel hits. The second mistake was moving it from Friday at 9 to Tuesday at 10. At this point, a drop in numbers was seen for the show. And now it's gone. Let's face it: if they would've just kept Atlantis, we wouldn't be here now. But on the bright side, Stargate Worlds is still turning out quite nicely.

Second: Well, actually, I have nothing else. Being sick is pretty boring. Hopefully my weekend won't be a total drag.

This is Taylor Skidmore, signing off.

Skidmore Story: Pure Awesomeness

Man officially cured of HIV

Yes, you read that correctly. It has been done. Anyway, if you don't read the article, he was cured of his HIV by a mutation in Stem Cells he received to cure his Leukemia. While the process is not safe at all and the mutation is extremely, extremely rare, it's at least a start

If you've never been to Gizmodo, take some time to look around, it's a neat site.

Second: TRON LEGACY. Releasing tomorrow, Tron Legacy is the the 27 year overdue sequel to the 1982 movie, Tron. I'm pretty pumped, I have to say. Daft Punk composed the entire soundtrack, and even have a cameo in the movie. If you see it before me, keep an eye out for them!

Third: MUSIC (not Daft Punk). As you may not know, I am a bit of a metal head when it comes to music. I love metal, but I also enjoy a lot of rock. One of my favourite groups, Cage the Elephant, releases their new album on January 11, 2011! Their first album, entitled Cage the Elephant, had songs like "Ain't No Rest For the Wicked" and "Lotus," both of which are extremely good songs, and I definitely recommend them and the group as a whole. Or, if you're into heavier stuff, Wolf (My all time favourite band) is also releasing a new album in Q1 2011. They're a Swedish metal group (have no fear, it's in English), so they're a little bit of a different style. "The Avenger" is a great song by them, and "Children of the Black Flame" is also pretty good. No curse words are in the above songs, but not everyone will like them. You've been warned.

Fourth and final: BOOKS. That's right, I'm going to talk about books on a library blog. Unheard of, I know. If you've never been to Half-Price Books, check it out, it is one of the best stores ever. While I was there on Sunday, I picked up two new books, both in the Warhammer 40,000 (click if you want an idea of what I'm talking about) series. While I've only started one, it's pretty darn good. [i]The Sons of Fenris[/i] follows Ragnar, the Wolf Lord of the ultra-elite Space Wolves chapter of the ultra-elite Space Marines, as he protects the human race from the evils of Chaos in the year 40,000. These novels take on a different aspect to sci-fi, to where it integrates gothic elements into a futuristic thriller. These books are not for everyone, but I will review them here as soon as I can.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop a comment or email me at taylor.j.skidmore@gmail.com

This is Taylor Skidmore, signing off.

P.S. I'm fighting off a pretty bad cold, and I've been studying for the past 5 hours so give me a break if things seem oddly typed/written

Welcome to the Skidmore Story!

Greetings readers!

I'm Taylor Skidmore, and I'll be hosting a new blog segment entitled "The Skidmore Story." For those of you who don't know me, I'm a sophomore at DeKalb High School, and facilitator of the Teen Advisory Board. I'm in the marching and concert bands where I play the mellophone and french horn, respectively. Other than that, I do speech team, where I participate in Impromptu and International Extemporaneous. I love computers (tech in general), sciences, and music.

This blog will essentially be a blog about recent technology, science, and life in general, as I offer you a glimpse into my life. This is the Skidmore Story.

See you soon everyone!

Taylor Skidmore

P.S. If you have any questions/"letters to the editor"/anything else, drop a comment here or email me at taylor.j.skidmore@gmail.com