Yup, I am currently attending the University of Arizona; and I've gotten a little more familiar with their project: Phoenix. It is not some ordinary project though. It's actually the most recently launched investigation lander sent to Mars to search out potential evidence of life or the previous existence of life.
Yeah, I may be doubting my true interest in Astronomy as a major, but this stuff is still pretty cool. Some may say the search for other life is pointless. My response to that is you never know what answers any particular field of knowledge can bring. Plus, it gives us something to do.
Oh, and it's called Phoenix cause it's supposed to portray this project as rising from the ashes of an old one. You can view all about it at this site.
Well, we've got a nice little RSS Feed section here at the Tallon Space Colony, but as of now we have no description as to how to use them for those who don't know. I intend to change that. The following is a basic RSS tutorial to help you learn to use these helpful updaters both from the TSC and from other sources.
1. What is RSS? RSS, short for "Really Simple Syndication," is a method commonly used to announce updates on a webpage or blog. Some common uses include updates to the site, news items, comics, blog posts, random announcements, and a wide variety of other things. RSS exists in the form of feeds: small files containing code that allows you to automatically view the updates the author has made.
2. What is an Aggregator? An aggregator is a program used to compile multiple RSS feeds. It is an essential aspect of RSS viewing. These programs can exist in many forms, such as executable programs such as RSS Owl, web pages like My Yahoo, and Firefox extensions like Sage. A good list of RSS Aggregators can be found on Wikipedia here. I personally use FeedReader (and RSS Owl on Linux). Which aggregator you choose is entirely up to personal preference, so it helps to compare them before you decide on one arbitrarily.
3. How do I make my aggregator work? This is probably the most important and most variable aspect of RSS. Each aggregator has its own method of acquiring feeds, updating them, storing them, and displaying them. A good place to start would be to read any documentation or help files that come with your aggregator or by asking for help on the program's official or unofficial forums, if there are any. In general, though, there is a common procedure that works with most aggregators. The first step involves finding the RSS file on the site, which can be done by searching for the RSS Symbol (you can find a sample on the TSC's RSS page) and clicking on any link related to it (it may be the symbol itself). You should then see a page listing all the recent items of the feed and asking which program you would like to use to "subscribe" to it (if this does not happen, either try a different link or check your browser's RSS settings). From there you can proceed in two ways. You can either select your aggregator from the list at the top and click subscribe, or you can copy the URL. If you copy the URL, you have to open your aggregator and select "New Feed" or something of that nature. Clicking subscribe should do this automatically. When you reach this point, you can paste the URL into the provided box if it isn't already there and click "OK" or whatever the affirmation option is in your program. Once you do this, it should incorporate the feed into your aggregator and display its name somewhere. When you click on the feed's name, you should see a list of its news items. Depending on which aggregator you use, you may be able to view these within the aggregator itself, but in some cases, the program may open them in your web browser. Regardless of how they are displayed, though, you can view any news item in your subscribed feeds by simply clicking on the item's title.
That's pretty much it. I think that covers most of the basics. RSS is a very useful tool, particularly if you like to keep up with things up-to-the-minute and get annoyed having to check each individual website. I hope this tutorial has been helpful.
So, as many people have heard, Neon Genesis Evangelion - one of my favorite series of all time - is getting redone for the twenty-first century in the form of four full-length films. I was absolutely delighted when I first heard this a while back, and just recently dug up some more info about it. According to Wikipedia,
The first three movies will be an alternate retelling of the TV series (including many new scenes, settings, backgrounds, characters), and the fourth movie will be a completely new conclusion to the story; the series is intended to be much more understandable and accessible to non-fans than the original TV series and movies.
This is good news for those who may want to get into the series, but haven't seen the original anime. It's also good for fans like me who own the entire series, the directors cut episodes, and both movies on DVD already in that it's going to be a retelling, not a remake. The additions of new scenarios, locations, and characters is very exciting, especially considering that the fourth movie is all-new. As if Eva didn't already have enough endings. =P
Even more exciting for me, however, is the trailers. A post on EvaMonkey.com contains links to six - yes, six - different trailers for the Rebuild. I'll repost 'em here in case anyone's interested.
This is looking awesome - one of the classic anime series redone in a completely different vision. There is no official U.S. release date, but the films are supposed to release in Japan over 2007 and 2008. Let's hope they bring them here soon!
So... we had a huge storm the other day and it knocked the power out. We were without power for a little over two days, and some people around us still don't have it back.
The amount of stuff we couldn't do reminded me just how dependent we are on electricity. Our TV didn't work, the computer didn't work (and we had no internet for the laptop), the A/C didn't work, the fridge didn't work, and of course, the lights didn't work. Not to mention that there was heavy rain and a ridiculous wind outside. I know it's nowhere near what the people in Hurricane Dean are going through, but it was pretty scary. We were trapped in school for a while thinking there was going to be a tornado. When we got home and the lights were out, we thought to ourselves, "oh great. Now what?" Our sump pump was off, so it was making an annoying sound and we were worried about the basement flooding. Thankfully it didn't but it came pretty close and we had to stack everything and bucket some water out of the sump room. That wasn't fun. We had to run and get a car battery to get it running again after the main one ran out, and throw all of our food in coolers to keep it cold. Now I sleep in the basement, right next to the sump room, so going to sleep was a pain in the rear - or ear - with a constant high pitched beep all night. At least I got my homework done.
Also, since I possess about three-quarters of all battery powered light in the house, I got to be the flashlight donor. I still haven't gotten some of them back. The next day I had no school, so I got to sit upstairs by the window and read Jurassic Park and Angels and Demons all day. We had waterlogged waffles for breakfast and basically hung around all day. Our marching band football game halftime show thing got postponed until this afternoon.
Surprisingly, though, when the power came on at 10:30 p.m., we really didn't care too much. We sorta said "look, the power's on" and resumed whatever we were doing. Today we basically just hung out in front of electronics. It's amazing how fast you adapt to not having power, and then how fast you forget not to take it for granted afterwards. Just sort of a random thought I had.
Either way, as you can tell, my internet's back, so I'm back here. Fun times.
Alright everyone, time to take my yearly week vacation to the one and only Ocean City, Maryland. So, before I head on out tomorrow morning, here's a treat for all 15 loyal followers (XD): DOUBLE POST OPERATION "FINAL LAWSUIT: GENESIS - EPISODES # 2 & 3" COMMENCING...
Hokay, so...I got a treat for everyone when I get back. Hopefully. XD If everyone goes well, within the three remaining days of my summer life, I'll be uploading daily video logs from my trip. These logs will be from 3 to 10 minutes long a day, and will most likely by added all at once. So maybe these vids will be the first time you lay eyes on the amazing Shin Lunaar himself, or maybe you'll just meet some nut who's crazy about tacos. Who knows. I'm doing it for the peoples.
Enjoy your gift! I'll be back August 31st, Saturday! If you ask for a new episode that weekend I will decapitate your babies!
EDIT: Fixed the link error. Haha, that would've sucked if I went away for a week and you guys had episode #1 and an error screen for your two episodes. Ahahahaha...haha. Ha. >__>;
A couple days ago, I was browsing game community stuff as I usually do. I stumbled across this. You've got to be kidding me. As said in the article.
When asked how this compared to the motion tracking opportunities offered by the Wii Remote, he went on the say: "In Eye of Judgement it's all about summoning the creatures. With other games it'll be about creating a whole different dynamic so, in a way, you could say there is much more potential and ability in our technology."
More room for potential than Wii? I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm hearing this right. You expect us to believe this motion-sensing copy will be much better than the Wiimote? Especially when you haven't even really seen the Wiimote's true potential. It's nothing new, I guess. You all can expect this from Playstation on a regular basis, and definitely even more so when they are losing huge amounts of money on this.
Call me a fanboy if any PS3 fans are reading this, but do you really think this compares? Normally, I would have click the next interesting link to read about. It is just so frustrating to see these guys always trying to put themselves above Nintendo, when the console market outcomes thus far clearly states otherwise.
That's right. I'm back everyone, and this time - it's pretty.
Final Lawsuit's back on track and I'm remastering all 36 episodes, releasing one per week - giving me PLENTY of time preparing you for what awesomeness awaits you after the dreaded inactivity repents.
I'll leave up Freewebs' FL site until the fifth episode is released. After that I'll tear it down and it'll cease to exist. So, please. Get a good look at it. Because you're going to notice little changes here and there throughout the series, and you'll at least chuckle to yourself for it. :D Five weeks left before nothing is left of the original episodes of Final Lawsuit. Make sure to check 'em out while you still freakin' can!! www.freewebs.com/finallawsuit
One for the Avatar club... Don't mind me, just writing up some cool stuff to watch out for.
There's soon, about a month and a half or so, to be another season of Avatar: the Last Airbender. If you don't know what that show is, shame on you. Not really, but you may want to watch it somehow. It is an animation with a very in-depth plot though, and is well worth the check. I am doubtful of how good the show will be if you start watching it at the start of the third season with out watching the previous two.
We have all been wondering and waiting what happens after the climactic end of season 2. Apparently, a new trailer was spread everywhere; and Serris-X summarizes it pretty nicely.
Looks like we'll finally get that air battle, Appa has armor, Teo returns. Aang doesn't wake up a long time after the finale, and he's in the Fire Nation. FL Zuko returns, this time addressing a crowd, I think it's a dream since I don't think Zuko would be redeemed that easily. Zuko's "you could've been a hero" and Aang's "I need to do it alone" show much stubbornness from the main characters - stubbornness that has arisen for reasons unknown, stubbornness that is destroying their friendships, and stubbornness that needs to be gotten rid of. Roku looks like he'll play a huge part in book 3, both past and present. We see a new firebender, looks evil, also has glowing eyes, is he an avatar? Aang has a blue glider. There's a new armada of ships, is it fire nation or water tribe?
You can watch it here if you like:
Some of our feedback...
Darthzoomer:
Oh man that looks awesome. And your right about that stubbornness. In almost any of those shows when the main character is like that he needs to get over it and let his friends help him. Also Zuko is being a real annoyance. I liked him better when he was good. Except that one when he was like so uber happy it was scary. It was very scary. Anyways this book seems to have a lot of potential.
Serris-X:
Actually, the progression from humorous skit-like adventures to dark and intense plot is the path that many series take (such as Harry Potter). I for one like the formula (I liked each progressive HP book, and the second season of Avatar better than the first). I'm looking forward to lots of awesome fight scenes (which are always so well-done) and a rich story in book 3. The later episodes of book 2 did this so well and were my favorites of the series, and this is what I'm expecting the third one to be like. Comedy will still play somewhat of a role in book 3, but I think it'll be more sarcastic in nature to fit with the darker story. The characters are growing up (personality-wise if not in age), and with them grows up the story.
Come on. Who doesn't like insane fight scenes with manipulation of the elements, secrets of the nations being told, and legends of the spirit world? Drop in Nickelodeon on Friday, September 21. You may seen a post or two about avatar before then though. And as always, join us for the discussion in the Spiritbenders' society if you are a member of TSC. There was also loads more information on a site that was taken down that we have knowledge of. :P
Yes, it said on the channel the new videos would be available TODAY. Of course, they weren't updated until about an hour ago. Anywho, today we get videos explaining the Aurora, and one of an absolutely AMAZING Spider Ball track! However, like last time, all the videos are horribly spammed by viewers. So to avoid any Lag or buffer, I once again Embedded the video of both for your pleasure. I'm curious to hear your theories on the first one. Actually, no, I already know what you think. Just comment about it anyway...
Hey TSC, Atilme here. Bringing you a pretty cool little program that I like called AutoHotKey.
So what does it do? In a nutshell, it automates tasks. Meaning that for a task that you do repeatedly, put in your user name and password to log in somewhere, frequently hit backspace to correct words, or open up the same programs every time you turn on your computer, it can do those tasks for you, and many, many more.
For programmers like me, it can be used for other things too, recently I've made a Winamp "Now Playing" script for myself that works great, you might have been annoyed with it on occasion if you're a frequenter of #TSC. And I'm constantly thinking of new things that I would like to try with it, just so I can say that I did it =)
An example. Say you always typed "would" wrong, you typed it as "wolud" (I have this problem, I need to work on it) So you want to fix it. You open up notepad, you type in :*:wolud::would Save it as a .ahk, and your done! Now, whenever you see that the problem is coming back, you run the script, and your wolud becomes would automatically. Neat huh? There are also several scripts that have already been written on the internet, from auto-capitalization to a full GUI to a script that helps you navigate the start menu. You can also export your scripts as .EXE's, so you don't need AHK to run them, and you can give them to your friends or something.
So anyways, give it try. Come to me if you need help using it, I'll be happy to help =)
Yes, If you have a Wii setup to WiiConnect24, you would have gotten a Blue Light today. 3 days ago you did as well, and we got a New Firmware update for our Wii with that, yes, I should have made a news post about that, but whatever. I'll be ahead of the game for now on, I just took a little "Personal Break." Seriously though, today we would have seen that a Preview of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is available for download via Wii Shop Channel. No demo, haha, like Nintendo would do THAT. Anyway, there are two movies to watch. One of which is a trailer so awesome, it makes me cry for the fact I won't be able to play it on launch day.
If you don't have a Wii, or just wish to avoid the serious amount of Lag and Buffer from people spamming the videos currently, here's a YouTube'd embeded version. Of course, it shows the download process as well, so just bear with it.
Hey, it's me, the one and only Serris-X, and like Atilme, I'm using my first post for introductions. I'm the latest addition to the NetOp (network operative) team, and I very much look forward to writing for the Network Display.
If you go to the forums regularly, chances are you already know me at least somewhat. I'm the resident jack-of-all-trades-master-of-some who cringes at excessive grammatical abuse.
I like video games, hence my presence at the TSC. In particular I am fond of the Super Smash Bros., Metroid (of course), Legend of Zelda, and Ace Attorney series. I am also a bit of an up-and-coming anime nut, and have fallen in love with Neon Genesis Evangelion, Trigun, Lain, and Haibane Renmei. However, since none of these are currently airing on television, I have become an almost unhealthily devoted fan of Avatar: the Last Airbender, and manage the local Avatar club. Another of my interests is in webcomics, particularly those pertaining to anime and video games. My musical tastes range from rock to jazz to techno to symphonic to basically any non-rap/hip-hop music with a nice melody. Much of my library consists of music from video games. Reading is another of my favorite pastimes, especially science fiction and fantasy novels. My favorite series would have to be the Harry Potter, Alex Rider, and Ender Wiggin series. I am in the marching and symphonic bands and on the track team at school, and am a bit of a science nut, with an affinity for physics and engineering. I love to write, and am currently working on an ongoing Avatar fanfic, which is turning into an extremely good example of the evolution of my writing style.
I love computers, too, and keep looking for new things to do with mine. I've taken up graphic art to an extent (I'm a TDC member), and have also spent many an hour searching for cool new open source programs to install. I love open source, and will likely return to using Linux once I get a new computer with Vista inevitably installed as the default OS.
So that's my unnecessarily lengthy introduction. Again, I look forward to posting some cool things up here on the ND in the future. This is TSC NetOp Serris-X, over and out.
Hey TSC, Atilme here. I'm just writing to Introduce myself (notice the title, heh), mainly because I don't think people know me that well, and I would like them to =)
I like video games, like most of the people on this forum do. I'm a Zelda, Kirby, and Metroid fan, with all three being on my Winamp playlist. I also like techno/game music, but I don't listen to it very often. I'm a programmer at heart, though I haven't programmed lately due to lack of interest/ technical difficulty involving Adobe CS3 Flash. As soon as I do get back to programming though, you can be sure to see something from me in Flash =) I like reading. My favorite genres are Science-Fiction and Fiction. My favorite author would have to be Piers Anthony, I can't say that I have a favorite book though.
I hate technical problems. For instance, right now I can't get CS3 to install because it says some components can't install. Those components happen to be the three programs I want, Photoshop, Flash, and SoundBooth. It irks me because I know I'll probably have to reformat my C drive just to install it. On the same subject, as many of you in the #TSC channel know, I've been having wireless internet problems lately. Randomly, it seems, the wireless internet just disconnects, sometimes for hours on end. So I just sit here and twiddle my thumbs, waiting for it to decide to reconnect.
Sorry for my rant, it's just really annoying having to reconnect and stuff... Anyways, that's all I wanted to post about. Have... a nice day?
I guess this has been about in the air for a while, but I'll throw out my opinion on the matter publicly. The stages in Super Smash Bros. Brawl... Yeah, what's to say? Some have gone on with this complaint of sorts. I think it goes: "the style is the same for all of them; a typical platform with three main platforms." This isn't the first time I've spotted negativity. Where is the optimism people? When this was going around, they had released around 8 stages, correct? Out of a possible 30 (for certain, more than Super Smash Bros. Melee), you are jumping to the conclusion ALL of the stages will be exactly the same. I like how one of our members, Serris-X puts it.
Well, they've been (until now) showing us characters that we've already seen before and little more in that category. They're probably doing something similar with stages, only instead of showing us stages from Melee, they're showing us the stages that are all the same and saving the special ones for later (like with the characters). It's just harder to pick up on since we haven't ACTUALLY seen the stages before.
And he goes to another point. It keeps things more interesting in the final days running up to Brawl's release. You can also take Lunaar's appeal and just reassure yourself that it'll be fun no matter what.
Tell me, what kind of stage do you think would represent originality? If it's going to be any kind of fun, it has to have platforms. That's pretty much the style of Super Smash...taking advantage of each stage's different assemblings of platforms, traps, obsticles, etc. Each stage is unique from the other...even what little revealed to us now differs from the next. Just because there are platforms with moving backgrounds doesn't mean it won't be an amazing stage that's fun to play.
Basically, all I'm trying to say is don't worry about it! Most will agree they did a very nice job with Melee, so I don't understand all this, "Omg, this game is ganna suck!" In a few months, you'll be playing Brawl; and I will be sitting here saying I told you so. But then again, if the tri-platforms does turn out to be the regular; then it is probably because you praised it so much in Melee... Or based on what I said in the SSBB topic earlier.
If a lot of the stages do end up being like most of the ones so far, it's not without reason. I don't know how many people here go to Smashboards. It's the biggest hardcore smasher's forum on the net, and you'll find out a lot about the game just be looking through some of the topics. I'm not much of a poster there, but I do look every once in a while. There are lots and lots of tournaments. Famous ones at peoples houses, really famous ones with thousands of dollars of grand prizes, and small ones all over the place. A huge concern is stage fairness. Many stages in SSBM have been banned in tourneys (including hyrule temple) for various reason that could make a certain character "cheat" their way to victory or just make the fight not really a fight. If you ask me, a more basic layout for a lot of the stages is what this community is asking for. More stages like this makes the game play more fairly.
If you really think about it, either way won't ruin the game. So you can stop frantically showing everyone that link while saying the game is going down the tubes.
Well, it's happened. I've rid myself of Freewebs. I've had Final Lawsuit showing it's episodes since October 2005 on Freewebs...and dammit, I've finally grown too tired of it. I know I have something...something new and refreshing here, and FlamingMetroidZD was most generous enough to let me host it here on the Tallon Space Colony Network Display.
As any fan of mine would remember (yes...all...umm...15 of you), I had become inactive for a good deal of time, due to life situations...work ethic...and umm, annoyance with programs. But I think I've gotten the hang of it, and this time...I'm finally back.
Starting umm...SOON...Final Lawsuit will relaunch under a new somewhat remastered set. Nothing too shiny, but some new things here and there. I'm starting over at Episode #01, and updating every weekend. This way, people can be reintroduced, with a fresher, more professional taste thanks to FMzd's fantastic graphical design on the TSCND. This will also give me more than enough time to finally continue the series from where I left it - Episode #36. Lots and lots of action and plot is to unfold after that point, so while it is unfortunate it will be a good amount of time before you all can finally see the new episodes, you can be assured that they will fill in whatever gap you had in your heart for a need of actual plot and character development.
Now I leave it up to FMzd, to let me know when I can give rebirth to my child.
Indeed... This is pretty much just a welcome post; for the new Network Display, that is. With college around the corner, I'm preparing as much as I can with the site here. I felt it would be much easier on me if I finished my ideal Network Display before working on other sections of Tallon Space Colony. Soon, I won't be the only one posting around here; and I have a feeling this project will get a lot more attention and activity from users and viewers alike.
Give the commenting system a try. It seems to be a little glitchy sometimes and the administrators of the system don't seem very attentive to issues, but it's pretty good for regular commenting. Maybe someday, we'll have better, but it'll serve its purpose for now. Thanks for reading. Definitely more interesting posts to come later!
Hey TSC, Atilme here. Bringing you a pretty cool little program that I like called 
