Breakthroughs That Define Generations

A Graphene chip, showing off its flexible properties.

Generations in recent memory have been defined by the technological state that they grow up in. For the 80's crowd they witnessed the birth of commercially available technology and the internet, and the 90's watched the field of technology evolve into its now current streamlined, targeted, and interconnected nature. The latest comers of the 00's grew up as everything was getting smaller and more powerful than ever.

Currently our technology has hit kind of a wall in regards to materials. Everything we're still using today consists of silicon chips, theres a limit to what we can do with this material. Our advancements have reflected this as well, with silicon being the choice material platform among the realm of semiconductors and their ilk. Its major drawback that holds us back is the problem of heat: we can run all the juice we need through a chip to make it do what we need it too but the material itself heats relatively easily, and as such needs to be cooled down with heatsinks, liquids, or fans.

Now what if I could say there was a material right around the corner which could solve not just this semi-conductor problem, but also make conventional metals obsolete in every way? Graphene (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphene) might just be the next step to reinvent our capabilities. With a Strength 200 times greater than steel, Lighter than anything else in the field, with a high amount of heat resistance, and conducts electricity, this dream material is just what we need. Fortunately some patents have been put out to mass produce this refined material, so hopefully in the near future we'll finally be able to make some serious tech advancements. Cars that are 1/4th their current weight and more than 3 times durable that are also immensely fuel efficient are possible. Supercomputers (By todays standards) could be out preformed easily by a computer with graphene components. Aerospace travel also becomes revolutionized, the main problem with flight (and spaceflight, by extension) is weight. With weight being cut by such dramatic amounts, and computers increasing in power exponentially, aerospace companies can break down the barriers holding us back from expanding beyond the earth.

I've been thinking about this for a while since I read an article on this material, and seemingly the possibilities for this continue to amaze me. I imagine that the defense industry will put that material to good use as well, this produces some frightening possibilities. Lighter and more durable armors are the first things that come to mind, current ammunition as well would achieve record-breaking lethality. That goes without saying how tanks, aircraft, and the emerging field of Exoskeleton (and robotics, by extension) research could be revolutionized as well.

Ladies and Gentlemen, its a good time to be alive when we are. If we're lucky and the process for these materials become more refined and productive, we'll be able to see a new age of technological revolution firsthand. I wonder how it will effect the generation that comes up when this material makes its way into our lives?

Boo! a LAN party blog post.

My First Attempt at a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. costume, taken at a campus LAN party.

Stay awhile and listen! Let me tell you about one of my favorite pastimes that I never partake in often enough: LAN parties. Last weekend the student organization i'm apart of had our first LAN party this semester, dubbed "Gameaplooza". Since it was close to halloween we decided to toss in a costume contest as well. The above picture is myself in a makeshift "S.T.A.L.K.E.R." costume. (I actually had to explain to a campus staffer it was a costume, someone saw my setup, freaked, and almost called the cops. Assumed I was a school shooter, haha.)

To run and organize a LAN party is an exhausting, thankless, and sanity eroding experience, and I would gladly do it everyday of my life If I could. What really motivates me is whenever I get the chance, to watch other people enjoy themselves. In the finite time avaliable too us in life I believe its the best course of action to pursue happiness, and having the ability to catalyze that emotion in anothers life is an exhilarating experience in and of itself. The chance to offer people a personal gaming experience with a feeling of community is more than worth the work put into the event, to me anyways. At the end of the day when I flop down on my bed sore after helping run an event for about 10-12+ hours all I need to do is remember the smiles and laughs and it justifies the work right then and there.

If I have the good fortunes to attend a LAN party, I do enjoy them alot. It makes gaming alot more personal when you can see your opponent and talk to them in the flesh about the match afterwords. LAN Tournaments also add a layer of competitive experience that one cannot attain otherwise, especially with the presence of teams. I've seen teams communicate with sign language rather than speak aloud because their opponents would know what their planning, this is one of those things that separates a hobbyist from a competitive player. you cant get the value of a good after match handshake from home with anonymous players, its a reward only attainable at a social gaming event like a LAN party. Preforming well in public also leaves you up to harsh criticism, its once said that we build houses of compliments only to have them demolished by the scrutiny of others. This much is immensely true for the gaming type, after a good match or round, a cheer or applause can go a long way and with a rare roar of the crowd can send your ego flying. The opposite is true with bad play, almost as if you can feel the crowd cringing when a bad strategy is executed. This social and mental obstacle can make or break some people, I, for one, relish it when I have the chance and is why I get my gear together to go frag in the flesh.

If anyone reading this would be interested in donating prizes to my student organization for our LAN events to hand out, please email me at: nuclearp0pt4rt@gmail.com The event is hosted by the "Kent State University Tuscawaras Technology Club" we're a non-profit student organization, we host these LAN parties about twice a semester.

What Battlefield means to me.

In the self promise of keeping up posts on the site on a semi-regular basis I figured I'll drop something about one of my favorite gaming franchises: Battlefield. I would have loved to throw in some personal screenshots of the beta and maybe a video but I couldn't find a way to take screenshots, much to my dismay. But with that being said here goes!

In the multiplayer arena there are always good games present to bring the pinnacle of specific skill to the surface. Quake brings the best of the arena gaming players out, and even so much to create the biggest esport legend: fatal1ty. For many years (and it still is, in my opinion) cs1.6 has brought out the best tactical shooter players to the forefront in a game that's spanning generations. Although not the forefront man shoot that it once was it still holds a meaty competitive scene, despite time. But personally for me my favorite tactical shooter has always been battlefield. BF2 brought the elements of class based tactical shooting to the forefront and added armored warfare to the mix among huge maps and present day armaments. Battlefield, to me, is not just to bring the infantry players into the mix but to get the armor players out from their hibernation. Few games are dedicated to vehicular combat and tactical infantry play together. Skilled pilots of the vehicular kind adds a layer of teamwide depth beyond the simple gear setups on foot. The simple presence of vehicles allows one to pit your skill against larger situations and harder challenges, and with airpower being present you're required to not think of the combat in a 2-dimensional plane. The combat becomes much more when you're worried about all the angles, not just other footsloggers camping corners or covering killzones. The open nature of the maps promotes a much more careful and aware gameplay, rather than enemies coming at you from a few preset ways their forced into like rush or any smaller TDM gametype, all your sides are exposed and your situational awareness kicks in sharply.

Which immediately brings me to battlefield 3, having been an avid battlefield player since 06' I cant say with enough enthusiasm that I am excited for this. They've taken elements from recent FPS franchises and reworked them to be an addition and not a necessary burden. First and foremost: customization. Where in Battlefield Bad company 2, you restricted yourself to tool up your chosen weapon, by missing out on other upgrades, to slap on that scope or sight. In Bf3 every weapon has a large quantity of attachments (around 10-17 usually per weapon) and 3 slots on each to tool up your weapon at no expense of personal upgrades, its simply always present. Vehicles are now the same way, as you play in your iron beast you'll unlock a heap of options for your ride, which also has 3 upgrade slots for you to configure however you want. This is nothing compared to the fact that this gameplay also comes smooth and flows well, even on gigantic maps that are equal to small regions. Everything feels great and responsive which just makes the deal sealed in my case.

The beta was not without flaws and the glitches and problems we're aplenty for sure. But DICE, being the good developers they are have stated that the 1.0 release of battlefield 3 has most, if not, all of the major problems fixed. We were given the true nature of a "Beta" release. Not a perfect product, but a glimpse of the vision their reaching for the final product.

Battlefield, to me, isn't about specifics. Its about all those things together in one package, all of those elements together in an open warfare environment. Where solutions to freeform situations are created by the player leading to a constantly changing combat landscape.