Although it seems hard to believe sometimes in the world of today, people are pretty smart. Humans have the brain power to outperform the most powerful computer in the world 1000 times over. As of now, IBM's BlueGene/L is 360 TeraFLOPS (360 trillion FLoating Point Operations Per Second, or 360,000,000,000,000 processor calculations per second), which is drool causing speed, is only 0.036% or 1/2,778 of one human's brain power. To put that in perspective, the average processor speed within the last five years is about 1.6GigaFLOPS to 10.4GigaFLOPS (1,600,000,000 to 10,400,000,000 calculations per second) when all CPU cores are accounted for. To aid with perspective even more, the BlueGene/L is about 41 thousand times fast than your average computer nowadays, and the human brain is about 114 million times faster than your run of the mill computer.
Your brain is made of mushroom consisting of gray and white tissue of gelatinous consistency. It also sports an awe-striking 30 billion neurons and 150-210 billion glial cells. Those neurons are spider like things which blast information to adjacent neurons and receive information at approximately 210 MPH. The neurons must recharge chemically after firing, but only take about 1/2000 of a second or 500 microseconds (500 millionths of a second) to do so.
Humans have an immense amount of brain power and it seems some of us use it, while others do not. But regardless, our brain is able to process just mounds and mounds of information at blazing speeds; equal to about 1ExaFLOPS or 1 quintillion (1,000,000,000,000,000,000) calculations per second of information processing if it were a manmade computer. With all that power in such a compact space such as our skull, it is easy to be awed by the wonders human life. It's seriously too bad human brain power is not used to its full potential, but a future like that is possible. You seriously have to admire the human brain.
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dghul Blog
Caffeine, A Performance Enhancing Drug
by dghul on Comments
And a weight loss aid, I might add. How you ask? Well there are a few reasons for why it can be considered as such. In the subject of the performance enhancing effects to it, there's still much controversy. But two things are agreed upon; one, caffeine isn't beneficial in the short term, sprinting (etc.); and two, caffeine can enhance performance in endurance sports.
Glycogen is the principal fuel for muscles. As we exercise or sprint (etc.) we use up that ever-important fuel and exhaustion occurs as the fuel is depleted. A secondary and much more abundant fuel for muscles is fat, just plain fat. So pushing yourself longer than exhaustion in exercise can help burn fat. (what a concept)
Caffeine, though, can and probably will decrease glycogen consumption by as much as 50% depending on your tolerance to caffeine based on how long ago you last had caffeine. This is healthy, and because fat is so abundant in comparison to glycogen, the fat, when used as fuel for muscles, provides fuel for a much longer time. When taken 3-4 hours before intense exercise or a sporting event, and when tolerance is built up for a period of 3-4 days or more, these effects of caffeine are unleashed, despite the fact that most other caffeine effects are awakened much earlier after consumption.
Your perception on how hard you are working can also be affected when you consume caffeine. Potentially beneficial effects on muscles are caused, and study of athletes has concluded that when caffeine was taken, the athletes typically thought less fatigue had occurred compared to others who hadn't used caffeine.
There are, however, adverse effects of caffeine can and probably will be unleashed. Caffeine is a mild diuretic which can lead to dehydration, significantly affecting performance and even short-term health. Some people can even experience abdominal cramps and diarrhea in relation to large intestine contractions from caffeine. Doesn't sound pleasant, does it, especially with a combination of the two?
Caffeine can be beneficial in exercise and sporting events, and can be an aid to weight loss along with exercise. It decreases muscle's primary fuel consumption by as much as 50% and muscles then rely on fat. It can affect your perception of how hard you're working, as well. There are many disadvantages to using caffeine, and it should be used with care. Caffeine can be beneficial, but overall can be hindering in many other ways.
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Glycogen is the principal fuel for muscles. As we exercise or sprint (etc.) we use up that ever-important fuel and exhaustion occurs as the fuel is depleted. A secondary and much more abundant fuel for muscles is fat, just plain fat. So pushing yourself longer than exhaustion in exercise can help burn fat. (what a concept)
Caffeine, though, can and probably will decrease glycogen consumption by as much as 50% depending on your tolerance to caffeine based on how long ago you last had caffeine. This is healthy, and because fat is so abundant in comparison to glycogen, the fat, when used as fuel for muscles, provides fuel for a much longer time. When taken 3-4 hours before intense exercise or a sporting event, and when tolerance is built up for a period of 3-4 days or more, these effects of caffeine are unleashed, despite the fact that most other caffeine effects are awakened much earlier after consumption.
Your perception on how hard you are working can also be affected when you consume caffeine. Potentially beneficial effects on muscles are caused, and study of athletes has concluded that when caffeine was taken, the athletes typically thought less fatigue had occurred compared to others who hadn't used caffeine.
There are, however, adverse effects of caffeine can and probably will be unleashed. Caffeine is a mild diuretic which can lead to dehydration, significantly affecting performance and even short-term health. Some people can even experience abdominal cramps and diarrhea in relation to large intestine contractions from caffeine. Doesn't sound pleasant, does it, especially with a combination of the two?
Caffeine can be beneficial in exercise and sporting events, and can be an aid to weight loss along with exercise. It decreases muscle's primary fuel consumption by as much as 50% and muscles then rely on fat. It can affect your perception of how hard you're working, as well. There are many disadvantages to using caffeine, and it should be used with care. Caffeine can be beneficial, but overall can be hindering in many other ways.
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Something Tells Me My Warranty is Voided...
by dghul on Comments
I don't know. You tell me. Does my hard drive look like its warranty is voided. :P
Yes, this actually is my hard drive. It took several days of effort, a hammer, a screwdriver, and a lot of patience to get it open.
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Yes, this actually is my hard drive. It took several days of effort, a hammer, a screwdriver, and a lot of patience to get it open.
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I'm a Person, Wait No, I'm a Move?
by dghul on Comments
I know most of you probably shouted "WTF" when you read the title of this entry. OK, probably not shouted, but you get my point. You may have also noticed that I am now level 27, Sheng Long. For most everyone who doesn't get the connection between the two please read on. In the English version of Street Fighter II, after winning, the character Ryu is quoted as saying "You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance." Gamers and the like thought "Sheng Long" to be a person, while in actuality, "Sheng Long" is reference to one of Ryu's moves. So the name sticks in all our hearts, including the people who were in charge of choosing the name for level 27. So yippee! I'm level 27 now!
And for those who aren't very observant, I also have a cool new banner, which I designed myself like I do for the majority of the pictures I display. I also have a new signature, which is a major step up compared to my last one that I've had for ages. Though it's the same as my banner with a few changes obviously, including size.
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And for those who aren't very observant, I also have a cool new banner, which I designed myself like I do for the majority of the pictures I display. I also have a new signature, which is a major step up compared to my last one that I've had for ages. Though it's the same as my banner with a few changes obviously, including size.
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Who Needs Blu-Ray When You've Got Microholas!
by dghul on Comments
Well, most of us have heard about Toshiba's dropout in the High-Def war, which was a disappointment to me, and many others. This paved the way for Blu-Ray with it's many major backers. Plus we all know hard disk drives, which were invented quite a while ago by IBM, which now can have a terabyte on a 3.5 in. drive, which just blows us away. But all this is nothing compared to the project Microholas. Short for microholographic, this not-so-new project has given us an optical drive that can store 500GB of data on one DVD.
This can be attained by the use of ultraviolet light, which has a shorter wavelength than blue laser or red laser; therefore, allowing for an even smaller track pitch than any blue laser could produce. HD-DVDs and Blu-Ray disks use blue laser for reading and writing, which has a wavelength of 405 nanometers, while DVDs use a red laser with 650 wavelength, and CDs use a red laser with a wavelength of 780 nm. The shorter the wavelength is, the more data can be put onto a disk, allowing for more capacity.
Project Microholas has gone further than just placing an 2D image onto the DVD as well. They've made use of the nanostructure of DVD itself, making a 3D image and allowing for tons more capacity. That combined with the tiny wavelength of ultraviolet light on a Blu-Ray disk or HD-DVD disk would allow for 500GB of capacity, which has already been attained. The project plans to go even further and produce 1TB optical drives, which is just plain amazing. Plus this is all attained on a one layer disk, which opens up more possibilities if you add more layers into the mix. Just imagine the possibilities!
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This can be attained by the use of ultraviolet light, which has a shorter wavelength than blue laser or red laser; therefore, allowing for an even smaller track pitch than any blue laser could produce. HD-DVDs and Blu-Ray disks use blue laser for reading and writing, which has a wavelength of 405 nanometers, while DVDs use a red laser with 650 wavelength, and CDs use a red laser with a wavelength of 780 nm. The shorter the wavelength is, the more data can be put onto a disk, allowing for more capacity.
Project Microholas has gone further than just placing an 2D image onto the DVD as well. They've made use of the nanostructure of DVD itself, making a 3D image and allowing for tons more capacity. That combined with the tiny wavelength of ultraviolet light on a Blu-Ray disk or HD-DVD disk would allow for 500GB of capacity, which has already been attained. The project plans to go even further and produce 1TB optical drives, which is just plain amazing. Plus this is all attained on a one layer disk, which opens up more possibilities if you add more layers into the mix. Just imagine the possibilities!
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And You Wonder Why Topics Are Locked...
by dghul on Comments
I saw this thread and just had to blog about it. I was truly laughing out loud and almost fell out of my chair as I read through it. Just plain hilarious if you catch on to what tool they're talking about. This just goes to show you that OT is really the bastard child of GameSpot. While you're at it, check out this funny thread as well from Ask the Mods.
BTW, I'll have some updates and/or a some sort of editorial-like thing within the next few days.
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BTW, I'll have some updates and/or a some sort of editorial-like thing within the next few days.
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I Feel Like a Moderator
by dghul on Comments
It's very true. I feel as if I'm a GameSpot moderator. In OT today, I've reported probably ten people tonight alone. Then my schedule consists of going through my unions and moderating more posts and reporting people in unions I'm a recruit in. I'm super exhausted from this and I feel as if I'm a moderator myself. *sighs*
I'll post a real blog post tomorrow or the day after. Just thought I'd leave a space filler of my thoughts for now.
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I'll post a real blog post tomorrow or the day after. Just thought I'd leave a space filler of my thoughts for now.
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Apparently I'm 1 1/2 Years Old
by dghul on Comments
... and fourteen days. As of January 31st, I have been a GameSpot member for 1.5 years. Yippee! I'm surprised it took me so long to notice this, but after looking at the 2007 and 2008 calendar, I was able to pinpoint the date, which wasn't hard to find, seeing as how I joined July 31, 2006, the day before August 1st.
Well, that's my quick blog entry for ya! Cheers for 1.5 years of happy GameSpotting. I would write more, but that would be boring wouldn't it? :P
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Grant "dghul" Sanders
Well, that's my quick blog entry for ya! Cheers for 1.5 years of happy GameSpotting. I would write more, but that would be boring wouldn't it? :P
End Transmission...
Grant "dghul" Sanders
St. Valentine's Day Massacre
by dghul on Comments
Being that it's Valentine's Day tomorrow, I thought I remind everyone through my blog of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, which occurred in Chicago on Valentine's Day, 1929. This mass-execution, even today, still has no people charged with the crime. Read on for more information about the murders.
In Chicago during these times, during Prohibition, there existed many powerful gangsters. One large rivalry was between Al "Scarface" Capone and George "Bugs" Moran, both running huge operations with their individual gangs. On Valentine's Day, 1929, seven men were all shot to death and were found to have been riddled with bullets. In the garage where they were found, police noticed that they were all lined up against the wall and killed execution s.t.y.l.e. All of the victims, with the exception of Dr. Reinhardt H. Schwimmer, were mobsters all under the command of Bugs Moran.
An eyewitness across the street said that she'd seen two policemen and two people under arrest had come out right after the shootings. Police had no record of such an incident and didn't find about about the murders 'till much later. After a reenactment of the crime by police, they were able to conclude the the so called police officers entered the garage and acted as if they were on a routine investigation. They were able to disarm the soon-to-be-dead mobsters and shoved them against a wall. Then, two plain clothed men jumped out and opened fire on the victims. This explained the two police officers "arresting" two people because they were actually the four accomplices to the massacre getting away.
Al Capone was the first and only suspect behind the killings, but was never charged or put on trial because of lack of evidence, though he did serve seven years for tax evasion. The shooters and fake policemen were never identified. This crime still remains a mystery today, however, anyone involved in it is either dead or very, very old.
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-Grant "dghul" Sanders
In Chicago during these times, during Prohibition, there existed many powerful gangsters. One large rivalry was between Al "Scarface" Capone and George "Bugs" Moran, both running huge operations with their individual gangs. On Valentine's Day, 1929, seven men were all shot to death and were found to have been riddled with bullets. In the garage where they were found, police noticed that they were all lined up against the wall and killed execution s.t.y.l.e. All of the victims, with the exception of Dr. Reinhardt H. Schwimmer, were mobsters all under the command of Bugs Moran.
An eyewitness across the street said that she'd seen two policemen and two people under arrest had come out right after the shootings. Police had no record of such an incident and didn't find about about the murders 'till much later. After a reenactment of the crime by police, they were able to conclude the the so called police officers entered the garage and acted as if they were on a routine investigation. They were able to disarm the soon-to-be-dead mobsters and shoved them against a wall. Then, two plain clothed men jumped out and opened fire on the victims. This explained the two police officers "arresting" two people because they were actually the four accomplices to the massacre getting away.
Al Capone was the first and only suspect behind the killings, but was never charged or put on trial because of lack of evidence, though he did serve seven years for tax evasion. The shooters and fake policemen were never identified. This crime still remains a mystery today, however, anyone involved in it is either dead or very, very old.
End Transmission...
-Grant "dghul" Sanders
What You Should and Shouldn't Do in Writing
by dghul on Comments
After I read nocoolnamejim's Ten Commandments on blogging, I felt inspired to throw my hat into the ring by serving a platter full of what you should and should not do when writing up something. (Particularly, blog entries)
This post contains many of his ideas, as well as quite a few of my own. It states my viewpoints, beliefs, and pet peeves, as well as Jim's. Maybe everyone born in an English speaking state will eventually learn to read and write like they should; or most likely they'll all be ignorant until they reach adulthood. *sighs*
I now list some pet peeves of mine, and some important aspects that can increase your readership and/or excite your readers, in life, and in you blog.
Do not assume anyone cares about you personally. (Other than your mother who has to do that anyway)
This is a serious annoyance and mistake I see all the time, which I must admit is true with myself often, as well. Do you think anyone on the planet cares that you've gotten through level 20, that you've gotten an A+ on a test, or that your school midterms are beginning in one month, two weeks, and five days? Most could answer that no one really does care.
The fact of that matter is, writing about yourself and your personal life is just plain boring to any reader other than a close relative or good friend. On the flip side, however, never writing about anything personal can give people the idea that you're not a person, but rather, an ugly, green alien from the Andromeda Galaxy. Be sure to show some human-like entries once in a while, but overuse will result in bored readers and loss of readership.
Grammar and Spelling count, and people judge you on it.
Believe it or not, people actually care about spelling and grammar. Having your writing look like your cat walked across it doesn't exactly impress anyone, nor does it make it fun to read, or easy to read for that matter. Though the occasional improper punctuation, or spelling calculator as "calculater" for instance, shouldn't and probably won't be held against you, but no one wants to read an entry full of misspellings and grammatical errors.
Don't ******* overuse emoticons! :D:):P
Honestly, you'd think people wouldn't need a telling to when it comes to this, but then I come across a stray blog post that has enough smileys in it to fill up an entire line by themselves. Using a smiley after every sentence is unnecessary, unneeded, and unwanted. They show less professionalism and are overused.
I'm not saying that usage of emoticons is now forbidden. On the contrary, they show some life in you and can liven up an entry if used properly at the right time. Plus any good piece of writing should need absolutely no, if any, smileys to express your emotions.
Have some sort of personality expressed, not just boring old opinions.
You can write all you want about what you think about something, but that isn't going to make anyone want to read a thing you wrote. Not showing that you aren't as boring as book on cockroaches is just not something you need to be doing. Having elements that show you're a human in your writing shows readers you aren't an ugly green alien from Andromeda.
If you want to keep your readership up and/or keep your current readers happy, you must of course express personality. You could be the funny guy, the grouchy guy, the weird guy, or the indifferent guy. Whatever you wish to be, it is best to be true to your real personality, as it is easy to spot fakers, and sticking with that personality helps tremendously.
There you have it, some good guidelines to stick to when writing anything in the world, especially a blog post. I hope this ends up helping many individuals and also hope people will enjoy this entry. Feel free to use the guidelines I stated, but you don't have to. They're just my thoughts and suggestions.
End transmission…
-Grant "dghul" Sanders.
This post contains many of his ideas, as well as quite a few of my own. It states my viewpoints, beliefs, and pet peeves, as well as Jim's. Maybe everyone born in an English speaking state will eventually learn to read and write like they should; or most likely they'll all be ignorant until they reach adulthood. *sighs*
I now list some pet peeves of mine, and some important aspects that can increase your readership and/or excite your readers, in life, and in you blog.
Do not assume anyone cares about you personally. (Other than your mother who has to do that anyway)
This is a serious annoyance and mistake I see all the time, which I must admit is true with myself often, as well. Do you think anyone on the planet cares that you've gotten through level 20, that you've gotten an A+ on a test, or that your school midterms are beginning in one month, two weeks, and five days? Most could answer that no one really does care.
The fact of that matter is, writing about yourself and your personal life is just plain boring to any reader other than a close relative or good friend. On the flip side, however, never writing about anything personal can give people the idea that you're not a person, but rather, an ugly, green alien from the Andromeda Galaxy. Be sure to show some human-like entries once in a while, but overuse will result in bored readers and loss of readership.
Grammar and Spelling count, and people judge you on it.
Believe it or not, people actually care about spelling and grammar. Having your writing look like your cat walked across it doesn't exactly impress anyone, nor does it make it fun to read, or easy to read for that matter. Though the occasional improper punctuation, or spelling calculator as "calculater" for instance, shouldn't and probably won't be held against you, but no one wants to read an entry full of misspellings and grammatical errors.
Don't ******* overuse emoticons! :D:):P
Honestly, you'd think people wouldn't need a telling to when it comes to this, but then I come across a stray blog post that has enough smileys in it to fill up an entire line by themselves. Using a smiley after every sentence is unnecessary, unneeded, and unwanted. They show less professionalism and are overused.
I'm not saying that usage of emoticons is now forbidden. On the contrary, they show some life in you and can liven up an entry if used properly at the right time. Plus any good piece of writing should need absolutely no, if any, smileys to express your emotions.
Have some sort of personality expressed, not just boring old opinions.
You can write all you want about what you think about something, but that isn't going to make anyone want to read a thing you wrote. Not showing that you aren't as boring as book on cockroaches is just not something you need to be doing. Having elements that show you're a human in your writing shows readers you aren't an ugly green alien from Andromeda.
If you want to keep your readership up and/or keep your current readers happy, you must of course express personality. You could be the funny guy, the grouchy guy, the weird guy, or the indifferent guy. Whatever you wish to be, it is best to be true to your real personality, as it is easy to spot fakers, and sticking with that personality helps tremendously.
There you have it, some good guidelines to stick to when writing anything in the world, especially a blog post. I hope this ends up helping many individuals and also hope people will enjoy this entry. Feel free to use the guidelines I stated, but you don't have to. They're just my thoughts and suggestions.
End transmission…
-Grant "dghul" Sanders.
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