Saturday, March 31, 2012

Home Is 12 Time Zones Away

I'm currently one day ahead, about twenty thousand miles or one hemisphere away from home. It's weird chatting at night with people whose time is day.

Why am I here, you ask? And where is "here", by the way?

Well, home, my temporal home, is Columbus, Ohio. On the opposite side is China. I am not in China.

I am in Southeast Asia.

I am here because my dad has surgery in a few days. But also to see some family I haven't seen in a long time.

It took about 20 hours being imprisoned on planes and straddling the airports to get here: an hour's flight to Chicago's O'Hare International from Port International Columbus, then a 15 hours flight from Chicago to Seoul, South Korea, and finally another 4 hours to Manila.

Flights run by Asians are way cooler than American flights. Flights in the States are casual. They may serve a drink or two the entire flight. But in contrast, Asian flights offer meals, and not sparse meals, either. It comes complete with salad and a desert. Also, they serve drinks and refills multiple times for free. Coffee, tea, ginger ale, soda- I had them all. Except alcohol, of course.

In Korea, I watched the Nuclear Security Summit. Apparently, the North Koreans are threatening to launch some missiles and blow up the "free" world again.

In the Philippines, I saw my grandmas(my grandpas are dead), my cousins, aunts, and uncles. We visited our old church to help out with the witnessing. We've done lots of shopping. Sadly, Wi-Fi spots are rare.

It's great and all, but I'm homesick.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Sam's List of Nicknames

I'm transferring my old blog post from Xanga to here, if no one minds.

I have a lot of names, aliases, a.k.a.s throughout my short life. This blog post is mainly for my personal use, but you can answer the question at the end :)

J.S.
Jandyre
Samuel
Rosario (middle name)
Sam (most used)
Jesse (alternate identity)
John Deere (a mispronounciation)
Sammy (only close people can call me this!)
Sammy boy (my name from Brin Washington)
Toucan Sam (bestowed by our late academic environmental engineer; used when I play basketball)
the Dark Crusader (High St. Crusader fan name)
Sam the man (bestowed by Chad Wilson Mainous the Great himself, also Bro. Chris and Dr. Burns)
Sam I Am (a nickname for the outgoing, good side, credit goes to Bro. Bro)
Samma Slamma Jamma (the bad boy counterpart of Sam I Am, named by Kyle Pink)
Sambo (like Rambo, bestowed by the coolest cat Jason W!)
Sambellina (seriously Bro. Chris?)
Samantha (!?! GRRRR:P)
Sammalammadingdong (Bro. Chris again)
Samurai (bestowed by Nick the Ninja B)
Samurai Sam (forever immortalized in youth conference skits)
Secret Agent Man (S.A.M. James Bond-like entity. Very sneaky and stealthy. Bestowed by Anthony and Chad)
Professor (when I get smart alecky, credit to Mrs. Priest, my 5th grade teach)
the Messenger (one of favs, a camero appearance)
Evil Sam (the dark side...)
Dictator (a girl in my 6th grade class gave that name)
Prophet (the fire and brimstone preaching Baptist. Bestowed by David MQ "King". We are the PAK, prophets angel, and king)
gmx0 (my internet username, I usually use this one)
Samwise Maganji (from LOTR, named by K Pink)
Josef Stalin (supplants Dictator, Jayme Woolever)
The Original Dot (named from CP! forum chat Jessi "Skywalker2" and Rikki)
Uncle Sam (for obvious reasons, very patriotic. my nieces and nephews call me that)
Gentleman X to the Zeroth Degree (what gmx0 stands for)
Samx (named by the aweshum Esther Mielke)
Samy (name as a combination of Samx and Sammy, from Dawson)
Samz (an alternate form of Samx from Esther, "Samx, Samy, Samz")
Sambraro (named by Brittany Proffitt)
Grandfather Paradox (for my time travel tendecies...)
Big Brother (by my sisters and others, after the honourable leader of 1984)
Big Brother Uncle Sam (double whammy!) 
Jimmy (a result of not knowing my real name, which is disguised by gmx0 , from Joseph from CP!)
Gimmy (same as above, from Jacob Clifton)
Samol (nick from Chelsea, since I pick on her alot and called her "Chilsay" XD)
Shamol (alternate spelling)
Samy the Hamy (from my CP! sis Victoria)
Jazz (made permanent by Linda)
sammyx  (given by Carreen for my stealing of a nickname, but I don't exist ;)
Sam-sam (given by my CP! niece Sofia)
Doctor Who (Whitney's discovery)
The XD guy (credit goes to Luke Remelgado)
Samsung (credit goes to Maggie/Maglite/Magnut)
S@m (Joshua Cole)
Awe-Sam (Thyanne)

The Prime Minister (from running the VDP)
Samxgmx0
That dude with the top hat (Celticball)
Grey Eminence
Baptist Memes Guy, Baptist Memes Dude (from running @baptistmemes)
That cool Asian kid with a bow tie (Shawnee youth conference)
Billy bob (Shawnee youth conference)
Sans (from Undertale)
The Saint of the Sacred Darkness
Mr. Celestial Body (given by an Insta-follower @a_changed_rebel)
Samta Claucia (@misseejokjv24)
All-Consuming Starry Darkness

Sam Soy (from Chloe Woodward, "soy" as in "I am" in Spanish)
Sam u well (Jadon from BMC)
Jan (Erin Moran)
Mad Genius (Allison Elaine)

Do you have nicknames and what are they?

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

InDev: A Leap Of Faith #1



Yes, this is a real blueprint for a game. It is obviously a platform game, like Super Mario or whatnot. The character has to leap to the other side. But there's a catch...

Your character can't jump very high.

I'm still working on another game, but I already have many levels planned, based on a verse or verses from Hebrews 11 and 12.

I'll post more info soon!

Sunday, March 11, 2012

The Celtic Ball

"We give praise and honor to the Lord of the dance..."

This is a highlight of my life. What an epic weekend!

The Celtic Ball is an annual springtime event organized by home schoolers in the state of Ohio. I was invited, along with a few other fellow CollegePlus! students.

I arrived at the novice practice at about 1:30 PM. Beforehand, I took my SAT at Ohio State University. The practice was in the ballroom in the Ohio Wesleyan University. A bit confused and lost at first, I wandered around the campus until I saw people dancing inside the center.

I gave my ticket at the registration desk and entered the ballroom. As it was just the practice, I came in with casual attire. Standing, I immediately spot Brittany Proffitt and her twin sister Bridget, whom I've met on CollegePlus! chat. A certain person who was supposed to drop by and say hello, didn't. :(

I had the most clumsy practice ever! Its good I hadn't tripped. Afterwards, I met Mr. and Mrs. Proffitt, and we had dinner at Bob Evans nearby. Oddly, or not oddly, all of us teenagers ordered Chicken N' Noodles Deep Dish Dinners. Mrs. Deborah Proffitt interrogated me on some random stuff.

We put on our formal attire, and waited for the Grande March. There were about 250 people in attendance! Miss Lisa Spyker, the one who invited us to the Ball, showed up with the other CollegePlus! students attending. After an impromptu photo shoot, we were off!

With the bagpiper leading the way, I walked with Brittany and Bridget walked with her father in the march. I danced a couple with the twins, and then after the breaks, danced with random girls to traditional Scottish music. I am very thankful that the Ball was not a "dating" thing, or I would have not come, due to a prior commitment. It was great seeing all the happy "couples" and sets and groups.

And.

There.

Were.

COOKIES!!! :D You can't forget about the cookies.

And so my night ended. Tis a very, very, happy night, indeed. Can't wait for next year! (If I don't go to college by then)

Interesting links:


This is not a link, just normal words.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Another Year Of Life

I thank God for another birthday, another year of life. I am now

|4!-10^2|/2-(10^1*2)

years old.
;D (Yes, it's a math problem :)


I thank God for His grace and goodness, even though my life is a record of failures and offenses against Him. I thank Him for all the people He has put in my life to guide me. I hope He continues to guide me everyday.

I thank God that I have now lived half my life in the land of the free and the home of the brave. I thank my God for a loving church and pastor. I thank my Heavenly Father for good earthly parents. I am thankful mostly for His Son coming down on the cross to die for me, and the Holy Spirit He has given me to live within.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

AltHist: Eighteen Eighty Four: Rise of AmCap

The Federalist Alexander Hamilton's National Bank was deemed unConstitutional by a Republican controlled Supreme Court and is never brought to fruition. In the Jeffersonian era, the two Presidencies of James Madison and Andrew Jackson further limited what the national government was allowed to do, slowly turning the federal republic of the United States into a confederate republic. The Second Great Awakenings further strengthened the Protestant/Puritan work ethic and the free enterprise system of economy.
The War of 1811 against British-controlled Canada turned into a decade-long cold war. Frought with other military matters elsewhere in the world, particularly with Napoleon, the British Empire decides to sell Canada to the United States. This passes in the Senate, and the United States more than doubles its area in size. Canada is split into about ten territories for future statehood. Quebec's application for statehood is quickly accepted.
A Mexican War, made famous because of the defense in Alamo, gave the United States the whole of Mexico, divided into 5 territories and Texas, which are now states. There is talk of an "American Empire" in other parts of the world, especially in Europe.
The slave issue was relegated an issue of the state government by the federal government. The Union is preserved through political manuevering, though tensions are still high. However, Civil War was averted, and the North largely ignored the slavery in the South to avoid raising tensions. This show of power by individual states make some term the states "sovereignties", and sometimes "Sovereignties", to show that they now hold more sway over their areas than the national government and thus countries in their own right.
The reason for that the Civil War being averted is a force that has been gaining tremendous power in the North: the corporation. A result of advanced and unfettered capitalism, the North entered a state of technological advancement the world had never seen before. The South struggled in its dated agriculuturally-based economy. But the free enterprise system is not only limited in the North. Soon, entrepreneurs all over the South built corporations of the Industrial Age. The slave owners gradually lost power over time.
The aerocraft, a flying steam vehicle, was invented in 1854. It became a tool for exploration of the expansion. In 1860, electric generators now generated power to the growing Northern cities. In the South, each plantation came to have their own electric generator to operate machinery.
On April 15, 1865, because of the speeches of Lincoln, all Southern states abolished slavery, except as a method of criminal punishment. Slaves were no longer needed for the most part, efficient farming machinery operated by a one person became widespread. Steam tractors and plows multiplied the South's agricultural output. In turn, more and more of the populace began to dwell in the urban areas.
In 1867, Karl Marx publishes "Das Kapital". But he praises what Capitalism has done instead of degrading it, as in this timeline. He inspires a generation of radical entrepreneurs. Karl Marx dies a rich factory owner.
The more industrilized nation began expanding in three prongs: northwards to Canada, southwards to Mexico, and westward to the untamed wilderness. City building is rapid and accompanied by quick advances in technology. Needing a communications network between their polises, the corporations of the sovereignties built telegraph and the newly-invented telephone networks.
As the corporations grew in power, it was just logical that their power structures limit the governments. In 1878, the United States national government was incorporated(jokingly referred to as "U-dot-S-dot-A-dot-Inc" or "U.S.A.Inc"). It still functions as a intermediary between state governments, and the sovereignties maintained the power in their borders. The incorporated National Government is still the only power legally able to perform diplomatic relations with foreign nations, inter-state law enforcement, and since it is incorporated to make profits, no taxation. The government is now run by the citizens as they invest in it as any corporation.
The voting system is overhauled. All citizens can still vote for the House of Representatives and the electoral college for the President, however, the Senate is voted on by investing in government stock. The electoral college votes using the sovereignties investments and stock in the government for the President.
Afraid of the rapid technological change, the Neo-Luddite Party is formed. Initially, their main base of support are farmers. They prove to be unpopular in the long run as they turned radical. They are responsible for some terrorist acts.
By 1884, Europe is fraught into a war by pro-Capitalists and pro-Socialist groups.
In 1902, atmospheric space travel is invented.
(This alternate history is not finished.)