Comics

Been trying to organize all my digital comics over the past month or so. Its quite easy to do as long as you have 2 (maybe 3) programs.

To manage the library theres none better than ComicRack.

To add metadata tags to the comics, I tend to prefer using Comictagger over any of the ComicRack plugins. Theres a couple reasons for this. First off, ComicTagger allows you to add ComicLover tags to the files as well as ComicRack tags. Now for PC users this means absolutely nothing, but Mac users appreciate it. Even better than that is ComicTagger allows me to change my ComicVine API code very quickly so I don't have to wait for 15 minutes after every 200 comics. When tagging series like Action Comics, Batman, Superman, and Detective Comics this is a very big plus as each of those series is more than 600 comics long.

Now the third program I use is called 'Bulk Rename Utility' and honestly, it is a godsend. Much too often comics are named in such a way that comicvine confuses Issue number as part of the series name, or heck, sometimes the comics name is just plain wrong. This tool allows me to rename entire series quickly in such a way that Comicvine can grab the series title, volume, and Issue # and then tag the comics. Everything this program does however is temporary because after I tag the comics, ComicTagger can then rename the files and I follow the Format...

Series Name v[Volume #] #[Issue #] ([Year of Publication]) - Issue Name

This has so far worked for me.

Now though I come to my first major gripe. There are a few scanners and scan groups out there who have a tendency to either put their scanner tags BEFORE the cover Image or in some cases, such as the DCP Archive, outright replace the cover with something of their own. This not only screws up tagging programs such as ComicTagger, but because Comicrack shows the first image as the cover in your library, you end up having dozens if not hundreds of comics displaying scanner tags instead of the cover.

Listen, I'm not opposed to scanners taking credit for their releases. If they want to add tags to comics at the end that is FINE with me, Most people are still going to see them. Just dont screw with the covers and dont put your own tag BEFORE the cover. I have begun to manually remove every tag that replaces the covers in my collection and I must say, it seems limited to a few groups (thankfully) but those groups tend to cover the big series like Batman, Superman, Spider-Man... So yeah, my point is just dont be an asshole. Put your tags in the filename and at the end where they belong.

Some of my Favorite Books (Historical Fiction)

Its quite close between Historical Fiction and Fantasy over which is my favorite genre. I've read more Historical Fiction than any other genre out there. Heres some of my favorites.

Historical Fiction:

Bernard Cornwell - The Grail Quest:

The Grail Quest (S): Story of a young englishman whose village is raided. Lost in the raid is the village's most prized possession. A relic claimed to be the lance of Saint George. The story takes place during the time of the 100 year war and by the end he finds himself in France.

Sven Hassel - Legion of the Damned:

Legion of the Damned (B): Tells the story of a German soldier during World War 2 on the eastern front. Sven is a deserter who has been sent to a punishment tank regiment. There he has to fight to survive against the Russians.

Conn Iggulden - Genghis: Birth of an Empire -  Emperor:

Genghis: Birth of an Empire (B): Great story that tells the life of Temujin and his life from birth until founding the worlds greatest empire as Genghis Khan.

Emperor (S): The story of a young Gaius of the Julii family as he is thrown into the world of politics where he is forced to plot and scheme just to survive.

Gary Jennings - Raptor - Aztec:

(Note: Gary Jennings is my favorite author, I had a lot of trouble choosing which Books to feature. Check out His other works, Spangle and The Journeyer, as well.)

Raptor (B): The 'memoirs' of Thorn, an Ostrogoth who hides a secret, 'he' is a hermaphrodite, a person who has the genitals of both a male and female. At a young age he is sent to a monastery, where he is soon found to have female parts. He is sent to a convent where it is discovered he has male parts. Kicked out of both he travels through the Roman Empire searching for the other Ostrogoths.

Aztec (S): A series which begins with the tale of Mixtli and his life from before the Spanish arrival in America and later his travels through the countryside and then working with the spanish. Unfortunately Jennings Passed away after writing the second book, his estate has hired other authors to finish the series based on Jenning's notes he had for further books.

Some of my Favorite Books (Science Fiction)

I've not really read a lot of science fiction. The majority of it is rather mainstream stuff. Nevertheless I am going to jot down my favorite authors and books.

Science Fiction:

Sarah Bayen - G11:

G11 (S): The computer has taken over the ship and now runs day to day life. Adults enter cryogenic sleep until making landfall, leaving their children at the whim of the computer. This story used to be widely available online, Books two and three in the series have become difficult to locate. I have uploaded them HERE (Book 1), HERE (Book 2), and HERE (Book 3) so you can read them if you'd like. If you enjoy the books they are available from amazon as well and I suggest you support the author.

Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game - Shadow Saga

Ender's Game (B): Overcrowding on earth has restricted parents to two children per couple. Ender, a 'third', is selected by the military for training in their elite school in space. The school may teach other things, but the primary function is to host the 'game', a zero-gravity battle arena where students are taught war tactics and leadership skills.

Shadow Saga (S): Following the war students are sent back to earth and as each student as seen as a brilliant conqueror by their nations, political strife is rife.

Frank Herbert - Dune

Dune (B, S): Paul's family is given command of the only planet known to have 'spice', a drug that is needed to navigate space. When this leads to conflict Paul finds himself living amongst the natives and learning that his destiny may be far more than he thought.

Some of my Favorite Books (Fantasy)

I have mentioned that I am a big book reader. Theres really only a couple genres I dislike. I don't care for mysteries, mostly because I can figure out "Who dun it" within a few chapters, and of the mystery books I have read, NONE surprised me at the end. If you know of any REALLY GOOD surprising books let me know in a comment. The other genre I dislike, though don't have much experience with, is romance. I do like to read 'literotica' online and there have been a few stories that were available in print, but I have yet to read any romantic or erotic literature that would find success in mainstream shops.

So what genres do I like? Well to be honest I like most of them. I have read everything from Historical Logistics reports to Dr. Who novels. My favorites though are Historical Fiction, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi. To avoid turning this into a post that never ends I will try to limit myself to 1 Book and 1 Series per author. I'm also going to break up the post by Genre. Books will be marked by (B) and series by (S), if I haven't read anything outside the series posted I won't list a book.

Fantasy:

Raymond Elias Feist - Magician - The Empire Trilogy:

Magician (B): This book tells of the story of a young man who is discovered to have power and taken as a magician's apprentice. His nation soon finds itself at war with an invading host and he and his friend Tomas are swept up in the conflict. Its a great story of love, loss, and reunion with plenty of political intrigue.

The Empire Trilogy (S): This series is co written by Janny Wurts. It focuses on Mara of the Acoma, a young girl who finds herself head of one of the houses of the Tsurani. Its a tale of political intrigue, assassinations, and general life within the Empire of Tsuranuanni.

George Raymond Richard Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire:

A Song of Ice and Fire (S): If you like fantasy books and haven't read this series than I feel sorry for you. Its the series that has spawned the TV show Game of Thrones. Full of political intrigue, assassinations, battles, romance, and mystery, this series is one that simply cannot be missed.

Jennifer Roberson - Chronicles of the Cheysuli:

Chronicles of the Cheysuli (S): More political intrigue (starting to see a pattern?), assassinations (okay, you SHOULD be seeing a pattern here), battles, and magic. It tells the story of the Cheysuli, a race of people who are being hunted down and their attempts to restore their birthright as leaders.

Brent Weeks - The Night Angel:

The Night Angel (S): A story about a young street urchin who is taken on as an apprentice to a 'wetboy' (type of assassin) and his transformation into one of the best in the world.Full of (you guessed it) political intrigue, assassinations, battles, magic, and romance.

TV Shows...(Not Sci-Fi)

Okay, I covered some of the Sci-Fi shows I like in the last post, but thats just one genre and there are many more out there. So how bout we cover some of the other shows I really have enjoyed (why do I ALWAYS type that word as enjoied?)

Band of Brothers: This is one of my favorite shows. I love history, especially World War 2 history. I have read countless books, both fiction and non-fiction, that cover the war. This show is great, its based of a book that I have not read (but plan too) so I can't actually speak on the quality of the adaption. However I can tell you that there are a few vets who I have spoken with who fought in Europe and told me "If you want to know what it was like, watch Band of Brothers or the opening to Saving Private Ryan."

Breaking Bad: While not my favorite show ever, its up there. I know it has won a lot of awards and that I just jumped on the bandwagon after the fact to see what everyone was talking about, but really it is simply that good. I love watching the fall from school teacher to drug cook.

Game of Thrones: Its not a TERRIBLE adaption of the books, it is missing quite a bit but thats always going to happen. So if its a bad adaption (but not terrible) why is it on this list? Because its EPIC. Its testament to just how great the book series is that so much can be left out while still creating an awesome TV series. Which do I like better? I'll wait until both are complete to decide on that.

The Walking Dead: When this first came out I had never heard of the comic. I used to read a lot of mainstream comics such as Batman and Spiderman. I had heard of Image but couldn't tell you any of their comics other than Spawn. My Guild Wars guild mates were watching it but I really wasn't that interested in it. They convinced me to give it a shot and I was blown away. Any time a show opens with a child being shot in the head you know its something thats not going to hold anything back. I think it was that opening scene which both shocked and hooked me to the series.

Dexter: I love the books. Apart from Season 1 they pretty much abandoned basing the show on the books, which in my opinion was a good call. Since Dexter was supposed to be such a prolific serial killer there was bound to be many more stories to tell and I think they did a pretty darn good job with them. Except the ending. The ending was TERRIBLE.

House (M.D.): One of my favorite shows ever. Hugh Laurie is hilarious and he brings just enough humor to the show that its not all gloom and doom. I honestly have not finished season 8, mostly because as long as I don't finish it theres still more House for me to watch and its not ended... Sad I know, but its been my favorite series for a long time.

Six Feet Under: I laughed when my mother watched this show. She wanted to be a mortician and I found it bizarre. It wasn't until about 7 months ago that I watched the series for myself. Its quite funny and well worth watching. I honestly just watched it because it had Dexter (or at least the actor who plays Dexter) in it.

There you have it, my top 7 TV series I have watched in the last year.

TV Shows...(Sci-Fi)

I don't watch a lot of TV. In fact our TV isn't even hooked up to receive TV signals. Instead we have it hooked up to to our computers so it can act as a second monitor. I honestly don't miss TV all that much. Boring commercials, boring shows, never anything you really want to watch, just something to pass time.

Thats not to say that I don't watch TV shows. There are quite a lot that I have watched and enjoy, even some that are still ongoing. Recent shows I have watched include Game of Thrones, Dexter, The Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy, Dr. Who, and Breaking Bad. These are all shows that I have watched in their entirety. Is this dedication, fanaticism, or just downright mad? No, not really. If you cut out commercials, you can watch 4 episodes in the same time that it would take you to watch 3 with them.

I used to like Seinfeld. I used to adore Simpsons, Futurama, and all those cartoons. Now though I really don't care for Sitcoms, in animated variety or otherwise. Sadly the genre I really liked seems to have been left behind. All the great sci-fi shows from the 90's and early 00's have been canceled or just run their course without any replacing them. So what were my favorite Sci-fi shows?

X-files holds a special place in my heart. I grew up watching the show, staying up late to watch it come on right before Outer Limits. I remember following these two our local fox station would go into static until the news at 6.

Battlestar Galactica is one I just recently finished watching. It was amazing. I know that it was based on an earlier series, which I haven't watched, so I don't know how it compares to that one. However that still doesn't stop me from saying its one of my favorite Sci-Fi shows I've seen.

Stargate series used to come on before some other show I would watch on Sci-Fi channel. I can't remember which but I found myself tunning in an hour early just to watch it as well. I've not sat and watched the entire series, though I do have it downloaded so I intend to do that at some time.

Without doubt my two favorite series though are Dr. Who and its spinoff, Torchwood. Being American I didn't have any exposure to the show until I saw it on TV when I first arrived in NZ. I can honestly say its one of my favorite shows I've ever seen on TV if not my favorite. I had no understanding of the Doctor or how they accounted for his appearance changes when a new actor comes on, so it was a bit of a shock after the first season of the 2005 relaunch. I still tear up each time the doctor regenerates.

Torchwood, well really I just love Captain Jack Harkness. However the final season was just awful and while I would love to see a return to the offbeat stories of seasons 1 and 2, I doubt we will be seeing a 5th season of the show.

Now what about what I think of other shows? I think I'll split this post into two and cover them later.

Hooked on 'Project Zomboid'

I love zombies, I went over it a little in my DayZ post but I think I'll go into it a big further here. I am a big fan of zombie games, books, movies, whatever. Some of my favorite books are Day-by-Day Armageddon, Zombie Survival Guide , and World War Z (which is NOTHING like the movie incase the movie is holding you back from reading the book.)

Movies have been hard to come by. Good ones that is. There are plenty of bad ones out there. Most zombie films have become a mix of horror/comedy. You have pseudo-zombie movies like 'I am Legend' or zombie films such as '28 days later' and '28 weeks later'. But none are really that good.  'The Walking Dead' is EASILY the best portrayal of zombies on screen. It is a rather good adaption of the comic, and keeps the fear of the zombie paramount even when there are other problems.

Sadly, most games treat zombies as something to go out and hunt rather than something to be feared. Games like Dead Island, Left for Dead, Dead Rising, and Killing Floor are all eradication games rather than simply trying to survive. These games are still very fun but they don't depict the type of Zombie I like. The slow shambling terror thats moan can 'call' all nearby zombies.

In steps Project Zomboid. Its a survival game that sticks you right in a post apocalyptic world and tells you straight off 'This is how you died.' It is possible to survive for a long time, but very difficult. This is after all a survival game as well as a zombie game. You need to scavenge food, manage sickness, and create/find shelter.

Just when you think you have all that covered, Power and Water get turned off. All that perishable food you scavenged is now going to slowly rot. Hopefully you have been preparing for this and have farms and water collectors built and ready.

Killed all the nearby zombies and think its safe? Think again, with random gunshots and helicopters, the zombie hordes can and will cross the map. Some just may end up at your front door. 

The game isn't perfect and there are something that seem odd, such as why you can't just leave a pot out in the rain to collect water, but if you don't like something the game is easily moddable. One of the first things I modded into the game for instance what the ability to create wood nails (called trunnel or treenail) that could be used instead of scavenging for nails. Next was the ability to dry wet towels. I don't resent having to mod these 'basics' into the game, and rather appreciate the ability to. There are far too many games out there without the ability to mod things.

All in all the game is NOT perfect, nor is it finished. It is however the closest thing I have come in a game to the survival aspects of a zombie apocalypse. 

Books are better than Movies!

Okay, I previously put together a list of Movies that I enjoyed watching more than reading the Books. I promised I would put together a list of Books that I found better than the movies as well. This is that list. 

1) The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers: I loved Tom Bombadil in the first book and was very disappointed he was removed from the film. Yes it doesn't really contribute much to the mission they are on, but it adds a lot of flavor. While the first book is Hobbit heavy (the reason I disliked the third book) there is enough of the two fun hobbits (Merry and Pippin) that its still a better book than movie. 

2) World War Z: Three words, No Fast Zombies!

3) Harry Potter Series: Okay, I won't break down each book or give specifics events. The biggest thing is all the little flavor lore in the books that is missing from the movies, there is a TON of it. Probably next, which is common in books to movie adaptions is the characters thoughts. Reading the ideas and thoughts of the characters is important.

4) The Hobbit: This may not be fair as all three movies aren't out yet, but I am worried that the movies will become too drawn out. I loved The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins was awesome in it as were the dwarves. 

5) Chronicles of Narnia Series: Okay, again this may not be fair, there have been multiple attempts to adapt the series for movies and thus far no one has been able to complete it. While I have enjoyed the films that have been released, the books that are skipped over or missing just expand on the lore of Narnia too much.

6) Interview with the Vampire: I love the Vampire books by Anne Rice. When she "found god" and stopped writing them I was very disappointed. These were mature books about vampires who did vampire things rather than a love story. I found Interview to be very different from the others. While I was first reading it I can recall asking my mother who were favorite character in it was and was shocked to hear her say Lestat. I hated Lestat, and continued to hate him throughout the book. When the movie came around I didn't feel that same loathing for the character that I had when reading the book.

7) Queen of the Damned: What is wrong with this movie? Its okay and has some decent music but the real problem comes from the fact that it is a VERY BAD ADAPTION of not only one, but two books. This movie completely changes the back story for the main character of Lestat (who I will say is my favorite character in the series, Yes from loathed to my favorite) and then only spends about 10 minutes going over events from the Title namesake. The rest of the movie is a bad adaption of the preceding book 'The Vampire Lestat'. I will say that this movie is easily the worst film adaption I have ever seen.

8) The Shining: Okay this book is just plain scary. The movie is good, but this is the only book I have ever read to actually give me nightmares. I can recall reading it in winter during a snow storm and the way King describes the wind outside the hotel and my window just gave me goosebumps.

9) Bridge to Terabithia: It may be an age thing, but when I first read this book it reminded me a lot of 'On My Honor' a book I had read earlier (though this book was published first) and at the time it was only the second book to make me cry. I hated when Leslie died and Jesse loses his friend. The movie is good, but it didn't have the same effect on me as reading the book did.

So there you have my list. Its incomplete and probably won't ever be completed considering how much I read and watch movies. I know its not a very good mix of Genres, I mean the whole list is made up of either Horror or Fantasy. I apologize for that but it seems that a lot of Sci-Fi books that I have read haven't actually been turned into film. Nor have many of the historical fiction novels.

Its quite a shame really because I think that there would be some really good movies to be made from them.

My conversion to Rugby League

Back when I was in Maryland, I would watch both Rugby League and Rugby Union. After moving to New Zealand and watching more of both I noticed that the officials in Rugby League were terrible. Not only were they inconsistent in making calls, but even when they did make calls they were usually incorrect.

Not only this but if a call was reviewed by the TMO (television match official) the on-field official wouldn't make a call leaving it up to the TMO. This would be fine if not for the fact that "benefit-of-doubt" always went to the attacking team. So if the TMO wasn't sure what happened the attacking team would automatically get the call. I hated this.

These things led me to watch more Rugby Union, where the refs were more consistent.

In the past two years however Rugby Union officials have got much worse, often completely ignoring rules such as forward pass, hands-in-the-ruck, players leaving feet, incorrect entry, high tackles, and knock ons. Officials will also now go to the TMO and either make the call themselves without waiting for the TMOs decision, or in some cases, overrule the TMO and go with their own decision.

Rugby League meanwhile has rid itself of the "benefit-of-doubt" rule, requiring on-field officials to make a call which can then be confirmed, overruled, or upheld for lack of evidence. Officials now rule on knock-ons, forward passes, and illegal tackles much more often than in the past.

Considering I don't support any specific team in either form, I find i easy to flip from one to the other based on which i enjoy most at the moment, and the only I enjoy most will be the one with the most consistent officiating.

Of course Aussie Rules (AFL) is better than either.

List of Movies I enjoyed more than the book

I saw a list on Huffington Post of Movies that were just as good or better than their book counterpart. There were only a few on there that I had seen AND read but it got me thinking of my own list. So here it goes...

1) Return of the King: Why don't I like this book. It has some great moments in it, and the writing is fine. Its on par with the other two books in the Lord of the Rings series. No, the reason I don't like this book as much as its movie is because it focuses so much on Frodo and Sam. It gets to the point in Frodo's corruption that I just want to wring his neck myself and I was actively hoping that gollum would kill him.

2) Jurassic Park: SEE BELOW

3) The Lost World: Michael Crichton is just a little too long winded for me. I liked both books, but nowhere near as much as the movies.

4) The Bourne Series (Identity, Supremacy, and Ultimatum): The Movies don't follow the books and are completely different stories. The books are great, I just like the movies a bit more. I would not call this series an adaption of the books but rather borrowing the character and title.

This is in no way a complete list of Movies that are equal to their book, only movies that I enjoyed as much or more so. There are books like the Godfather which I should read...

Stay tuned for a list of books that are better than their movie.

Why I don't play DayZ

I find it weird to say but I love zombie entertainment. There are a few books I really like, movies, tv shows, games, and even radio dramas. I also enjoy survival games, and really, zombies and survival are perfect bedfellows. Recently I have been playing a lot of Project Zomboid and State of Decay.

So why don't I play DayZ? Well when it first came out I found it hard to install. Also whenever I tried to join a server I would get timed out for having a high ping. Now its easy to say, "Just join a server with a lower ping." and you would be right that for most part that is an easy solution. However that leads me to the next reason I didn't play... Different versions of the game. I'm not talking about different mods, I'm talking about different base game versions.

Every New Zealand server that had low ping also ran a different version of the game. There were some aussie servers that were alright, but they weren't very well populated. Now I'm sure these problems have been fixed with integrated Steam install, but have no idea. Why don't you host your own server? This brings me to the number 1 reason why I don't play DayZ. Players are unable to host their own servers.

This is true for both Standalone and the mod. Now I am okay with Multiplayer only games, but not when the user is unable to host the said game.

EDIT- April 1st, 2014: It has come to my attention that servers for the multiplayer only game RUST is also available only through sponsored hosts. You are unable to host your own private server for it. As the game is in early access this may change in the future. However there has been no word on whether or not that will occur.

As far as DayZ, I have also learned that you are unable to reserve player slots for servers, that means if the server you pay for is full, you can not join it until someone leaves. You are given no priority or special access to the server even if you are the one paying.

What is a chip?

I've lived in New Zealand now for close to four years and in that time I've come to accept that besides having no real cuisine of its own, it doesn't seem to have a common definition for what a chip is.

Since arriving in New Zealand I have seen many things called chips, so I am going to try to enlighten the country for what they should be calling the various fried potato sides you eat.

FRENCH FRIES (aka. SHOESTRINGS, FRIES)

These are the fried potatoes that you get at most fast food shops. They are long and thin, often cooked to the point that they are crunchy throughout. They can be curled around in a spring-like pattern to become curly fries.

CHIPS

These are the typical kind of fried potatoes that you will get in most New Zealand fish and chip places. They are slightly thicker than french fries and aren't as crisp. They have a much more potato taste as compared to fries. Americans will call these fries and often won't distinguish between them and french fries.

STEAK FRIES

These are fried potatoes cut slightly thicker than what New Zealanders call chips. Some may argue that they are the same as chips, however I have noticed that steak fries tend to be slightly larger and to contain more potato than chips.

POTATO WEDGES

The are a fried potato side that is cooked with the skin on. They tend to be roughly the same size as steak fries but to contain slightly more potato. They often have a crisp outer layer with a much softer inside.

POTATO CHIPS (aka. CRISPS)

Potato chips are potatoes that are cut extra thin and then fried.  They are completely crunchy and don't have any interior potato past that which has been exposed.

So whats all this tell us about the different Potato sides? Well for one thing theres too many of them. I have not seen any Steak Fries in New Zealand. Wedges are popular to make at home, Fries are only really common at fast food places, Chips are common at most take away restaurants, and Potato Chips are a very common snack food.

I personally don't care for most crisps or steak fries. There are crisps that are home made that are thicker cut which I like, but for the most part I avoid them. Steak fries don't have enough taste for me, I like wedges and chips though.

Space Question

I know that there are Binary star systems where two stars orbit a common center of gravity (often outside either star) and have a stable orbit.

Recently I have been taking part in Galaxy Zoo helping to classify images. I have seen a lot of merging pictures and it got me thinking. Can there actually be a Binary Galaxy. The real question here is can two Supermassive black holes (herein refereed to as SMBH) reach a stable orbit around each other without one of them becoming too dominant and sucking the other into it.

Everything we know suggests its not possible. It would require two black holes which have the same mass merging, and then it would require that each other those black holes grows at the same rate (so it doesnt grow too large and suck the other into it). Even if there is a very slight difference, over the course of billions of years it will lead to one of them cannibalizing the other.

Since it is believed that at the center of every galaxy is a SMBH that would mean there can never be a binary galaxy.

UPDATE 3/23/2014: After contacting 2 astronomers and 2 physicists, the results were somewhat surprising.

Both astronomers told me there are no observable binary galaxies in the universe that are in a stable orbit around each other. They also informed me that our own Milkyway galaxy is in a binary system with the Andromeda galaxy. We are not however in a stable orbit and are expected to merge within the life span of our own sun. What this tells me is that all binary galaxies are in the process of merging.

The physicists however disagreed and told me that it was entirely possible that somewhere out there a binary galaxy with two black holes at its core can exist. They did not comment on the possibility of multiple galaxies being in a stable orbit around each other.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

I've been semi-following the story of MA-370. I found it interesting that flights could still just disappear as this one has. Various news sites began to report on the store just hours after the scheduled arrival time for the flight.

I first read about it about 2 hours after the scheduled arrival time on CNN. There was very little information, basically read as if a flight had got lost and they were trying to reestablish contact. When I first read it I figured that the flight had made an unscheduled landing somewhere and the airline forgot to inform the media. At this point its seeming unlikely this was the case.

Since then they have discovered a couple passengers were flying on stolen passports (which CNN was very quick to link to terrorism) but little else. Vietnam is cutting back on search efforts, and since hearing that Malasia Airlines is claiming that the flight may have gone west (closer to Vietnam) then what was originally thought.

What prompted this blog post though was a report on CNN, "Could meteor have hit Flight 370?" I love space, I love space games, I love sci-fi, I love images of space. I have been meaning to buy a telescope since I was 12. However looking for an extra terrestrial reason for what happened to this plane is completely insane.

Yes a meteor could have burned through the earth's atmosphere and struck the plane causing a sudden and violent decompression that tore the plane apart, but the chances of that are so astronomical that its almost just as likely that they were abducted by aliens. Actually statistically speaking it's far more likely that they WERE abducted by aliens than were killed by a meteorite. In-fact there has never been a human fatality that was caused by a meteorite.

I want to give my condolences to the families and friends of those who were on flight 370. I also want to remind people to keep it REAL. Thats a statement I never thought I'd make, but it seems like people have to be told every once in awhile. I mean come on CNN... A FUCKING METEORITE!? Thats something I expect on the tabloids.

UPDATE 3/23/2014: I thought CNN had reached rock bottom with this story and a potential meteorite. I was wrong. CNN has now suggested it got swallowed up by a small black hole "as occurs in the Bermuda triangle". Shoot me now, even Hitler's propaganda had more truth in it than the shit that is coming out of CNN these days.

Let me enlighten you CNN. There is no black hole in the Bermuda triangle. The reason ships get lost in the Bermuda triangle more than other places is because of a magnetic anomaly that screws with navigation systems. Back when ships were actually sailed by people who navigated by the stars, this area was not known as anything special. Infact it was a major trade lane between europe and the 'west indies'.

No Black hole can occur as you suggest. Not only would a black hole tear apart earth, it would tear apart our entire solar system and most likely the entire solar neighborhood. It is suggested that there are 'rogue' black holes that are not at the galactic center, but we honestly aren't entirely sure about that.

Oh Hell! (Card Game)

Growing up my grandmother used to play a lot of card games, some of which are not well known. One called the 'Mafia Game' consisted of runs (1-2-3-4...) and sets (I don't remember if this was of a suit or specific card) but you required certain configuration (1 set and 1 run or 1 set and 2 runs...) between each hand.

Another game has been easier to remember, its a variant of Canasta called 'Oh Hell' and followed closely the rules of Canasta with slight variations. It is a game for 2-4 players. When playing with four, players are split into two teams, alternating turns. You require canasta (sets of a specific card) that come in unnaturals (consisting of a wild card, Jokers and Twos) and naturals (no wild cards).

I will list the rules and then differences between Canasta and Oh Hell.

The game is played with 3 decks if 2 players and 4 decks if 4 players.
Each player is dealt two hands of 13 cards each.

The hands are stacked into piles without looking at them and the top card is compared. The hand with the high card is played. Twos and Jokers are equal (to 2), Ace is high. If both cards are the same, the hand held in the right hand is played first and the second hand is set aside.

The top card of the stock pile is flipped over and placed on the discard pile. If the player wants this card they may take it and replace it with a discard of their own. If they choose not to take this card, they draw two cards from the stock pile and then discard one. Unless going out or to their second hand, a player must discard. During the course of the game the stock pile may become exhausted. When this occurs the discard pile is reshuffled.

Players must 'meld' groups of cards in front of them in which they play their cards.  A meld is a group of cards all of the same rank (from 3 to Ace) In order to meld you must have at least 3 of the same rank.

At the start of the game you must be able to meld 50 points before you can play any cards to the board.
When your game score reaches 2,500 you must meld 90.
At 5,000 you must be able to meld 120.
At 7,500 you must be able to meld 150.

Red 3s are worth -300 points each.
Black 3s through 7 is worth 5 points each.
8-K is worth 10 points each.
Twos and Aces are worth 20 points each.
 Jokers are worth 50 points each.
Twos and Jokers are wild and can be meld with anything. The amount of wilds played on a meld can not outnumber the rank cards.

Once a player has meld sets onto the board, that players partner (if applicable) may play their own cards onto those sets. A partnership cannot have 2 sets of the same card. Any points played on a partners set does not count toward your own meld count.

When a player has exhausted all cards in their first hand, they may continue on to their second hand. If they exhaust their first hand without discarding they may continue to play during the same turn. If they discard they must wait until their next turn.

In order to 'go out' you (your partnership) must first have a' Natural' and 'Unnatural' Canasta. This means when playing with a partner that if you have no canasta but your partner has the required natural and unnatural that you are still eligible to go out. Natural Canasta are worth 500 points each, an Unnatural is worth 300 points.

A 'Natural' Canasta is a meld of seven cards of the same rank without any wild cards. An 'Unnatural' Canasta is a meld of seven cards with the use of wilds. To make it easier to identify what type a canasta is, a Red card is placed on top to signify a Natural and a black card to signal an unnatural. In the case of a Natural Black 3 canasta, inform the table that it is a natural.

Once a player has gone out the other players count the point value in their hands, as well as their second hands if they have not reached it, and subtract it from their teams score. Then the players count the points they have meld using the same values as above. Aside from the Canasta value, each card in a canasta is also counted individually.

Normally a game ends when a player (team) reaches 10,000 points. This can be extended to whatever value players at the table agree upon. In our games we had some marathon nights that we played to 100,000 points.

One big difference between this game and Canasta is that a second hand is dealt to each player. The player can not look at (excluding the top card when determining which hand to play) or play from this hand until he has played all of the cards in his first hand. Another big difference is that a player can pick up any card discarded without having to meld it. Instead of picking up the entire discard pile, the player only takes the top card.

Another BIG difference is in Canasta Black 3s are worth 100 points each and cannot be meld, in Oh Hell Black threes are ordinary and instead Red 3s have a Negative 300 points.

Today I Learned pt.2

Today I learned that the actor who played C.G.B. Spender (More commonly known as 'The Smoking Man') from the X-files, William B. Davis, was an ex-smoker when he took the role as Spender and was given the option of tobacco or herbal cigarettes.

Davis originally took tobacco cigarettes but soon switched to herbal cigarettes because it was "dangerous" to his health as well as his fear of becoming addicted to them again. During the time he was on the show, he campaigned with various anti-tobacco organizations.

Davis was not only an ex-smoker, but he was a vehement skeptic who believed in neither the occult or aliens.

Beyond

I've recently been thinking a lot about Space. It started when I found out that the Gas cloud that is features in the 'Pillars of Creation' image is most likely gone now. It hasn't been destroyed since the photo was taken, but rather its 7000 light years away and scientists believe it was destroyed by a SuperNova 6000 years ago. That means in 1000 years we will be able to observe it.

We have recently located a galaxy 13 Billion light years away. This means that what we are seeing actually occurred 13 Billion years ago. Less than 1 Billion years after the Big Bang.

Really though I have been thinking about life out there. I believe there is life elsewhere in the universe. Even intelligent life, both far more and less advanced than our own. I base the technological difference on how quickly humanities technology changes. In only the past 100 years Humanity has discovered Nuclear Power, what will we think of next?

The law of averages practically guarantees that somewhere out there is another intelligence. I have come to accept this without any difficulty. The only thing that I can question is that whether man has had contact with aliens, and if so to what extent.

Its possible, however unlikely, that the probe we sent out was intercepted and a more advanced race could have traced back its point of origin. I then suppose that the race could have come here. This is all speculating that they are far more technologically advanced than us.

What about UFOs? I believe in the strictest definition of a UFO. I believe there are OBJECTS that are FLYING in the sky and remain UNIDENTIFIED. Are these "aliens"? I don't know for sure but I highly doubt it. I believe that the majority of sightings which are not gases, weather balloons, or other obvious explanations are experimental aircraft. Good examples of these would be the flying wing aircrafts that were developed in the 60s and 70s, these include the B2 Bomber, F117, and more recently the RQ-170.

So while I don't know much of anything for sure, I believe a few things...

1: There is life beyond earth, INCLUDING intelligent life of varying technological levels.
2: Given the age of the universe, there will be races out there capable of contacting us if they knew we were here and wished to.
3:  Given the vast distances between stars and galaxies, its improbable that life from outside our solar system has arrived on earth.
4: I do not believe that Intelligent life would come to Earth for reasons that would be good for humanity.
5: I do not know if life originating within our solar system has come to earth. I do NOT believe that this would be intelligent life, but rather microbes.
6: I believe that UFOs observed in the sky are gases, weather balloons, or experimental craft.

Bonkers

I used to shop through Amazon.com a lot back when I lived in the states. Mostly I would use the marketplace to buy books and games second-hand as they were much cheaper than buying them from shops such as Gamestop. Since moving to New Zealand shipping has become an issue, often negating any savings I would get from getting a good deal.

Since I bought a Nexus 10 I have had to purchase two cases  for it through Amazon. The first one was a Poetic Bluetooth keyboard case which did not work at all. Amazon wouldn't ship this to New Zealand so I had it shipped to my mother who forwarded it to me. When I found it didn't work and requested a return slip they could only provide me one for shipping within the USA, understandable since they were only supposed to be selling them within the USA. Instead they told me to send it back to my mother who could use the slip and to scan invoice for the international shipping and they would reimburse me for that. This worked out great and even though the case was terrible, I at least got my money back for it.

I ordered a case from within New Zealand for $10, something which is quite difficult to find since the Nexus 10 isn't sold here. While it has served its purpose for a couple months, its not something I would use long term. The buttons for sleep and volume control are difficult to access and the screen is partially covered. This is bad considering its on the side of the device that like to be on top to have easier access for the POGO Charging Cable.

To replace this cheapo case I ordered another case from Amazon, a leather MOKO case. Again this case could not be shipped directly to me and had to be forwarded to my mother. I told her to watch out for it and asked her to forward it to me when she received it. In late January the tracking on the package changed to Delivered. My mother told me she didn't receive any case so I waited a while. This isn't the first time that a courier has given me the wrong tracking info, nor would it be the first time that my mother failed to find an item that had been delivered.

I honestly forgot about the case for a bit and it wasn't until today when Amazon e-mailed me about an unrelated purchase (from 7 years ago!) that I remembered I was expecting the case from them. I e-mailed my mother asking if she had got the case yet, she replied that she had not. I decided it must be lost and filed a claim with amazon. They processed this claim in under 2 hours!

Now heres the brilliant thing. After receiving the email from amazon telling me I would be reimbursed, I then receive an email from my mother asking me "...what color is it?" and I send her a picture of what the case looks like, which i must say is VERY case-like. Her reply? "that is the thing I asked you about. Yes I think I have it here." [sic] GAH! I only told you 3 times that it was being shipped to you, and only asked about 5 times after it had been "Delivered" if you had received it. Then on the same day you tell me No, which leads me to file a claim with amazon, and then tell me Yes!

My mother drives me Mad.

Today I Learned...

Well today I learned a few things. The first thing I learned was that vitamin c does not actually prevent colds. It decreases the length of the infection but does little to nothing to prevent you from actually catching the cold in the first place. Instead zinc actually helps to prevent them.

The other thing I learned was that astronomers need to come up with a better definition of what an asteroid is. As of right now there are objects that are dual classed as asteroid/comet, asteroid/moon, and asteroid/dwarf planet. This I learned when trying to find the difference between a comet and asteroid. The definition of asteroid makes no distinction between the two. It is only when you look at comets that you find that a comet has a tail made up of melting ice whereas an asteroid does not. However all comets will eventually become asteroids as the ice melts away and the tail disappears. This calls into question why there are objects that are dual classified as both.

Inevitable

Listen GOP. I myself am a registered member of your party. So you should know now that what I am about to say does not come from some bleeding hearted liberal. You, and by you I mean all the narrow minded church going bigots out there, have lost. You have lost touch with what this country wants, you have lost touch with things that are occurring in this country. Instead of addressing these issues you continue to fight a losing battle opposing gay-marriage. Americans will no longer tolerate flagrant discrimination in our laws. Fighting against equal marriage from state to state is a waste of resources, with each case that is set aside pending appeals you push the supreme court closer and closer to being forced into ruling that all states must allow it. That day is coming, whether it comes in the next year or the year after that. There is no stopping it at this point.

Instead of fighting this losing battle you should be devoting yourselves to reaching young people. More and more are beginning to see the party as a pack of old fools desperately clinging to the past.

Steam (app already running)

I don't know why but I had the sudden urge to play Titan Quest earlier today. I played it in the past when it was released and really enjoyed it, so much infact when it was released on Steam as the Gold Edition I bought another copy so I didn't need to worry about the disc disappearing on me or something.

Steam's installation of the game is rather stupid. First you need to download the base game and run it. Failing to do this can result in errors when trying to run the expansion. Now this wouldn't be so bad, except then you need to download the full game a second time in addition to the expansion. Altogether it tops out at about 6 gigs.

Now originally I didn't know about the errors encountered when you don't run the base game so I downloaded both at the same time. When I try to run the expansion I get the message "Steam not found" and my internet browser opens up the steam download page.

I close that, make sure theres no Titan Quest executables running and then try to run the base game thinking maybe I needed to run the base game first. However I get the message "(app already running)"

Googling reveals that its a known issue with Titan Quest, though there aren't many posts on it, and directs to a page with solutions. So off I go to redownload the game, another 6 gigs. None of the solutions worked. I emailed Steam about it hoping they would have more ideas.

I get back an email suggesting that I run Steam as administrator, doesn't work. I email them back and get some BS apology and one final solution of reinstalling steam.

I go and do this and the uninstallation freezes, or so I think. Apparently the reinstall first uninstalled every game i had installed, all 700 gigs of games, uninstalled. Now Steam gave me no heads up about this happening, neither in the email or in the application.

So now here I am, downloading all the games again at 900 kb/s. The good news in all this is that Titan Quest runs.

Breaking Bad

[SPOILERS]

I just finished watching the series. I dont really know how to feel about the ending though. Yes Walter had to die and I'm glad they didn't try to save him. I am happy that he found a way to pass on the remainder of him money to his son (I noticed that he gave all his money to his son and nothing to his daughter, asshole) but at the same I really wish that his wife had not been exonerated and had gone to prison for either money laundering or the assault on Ted.

My favorite character was always Jesse and it was nice that he lived in the end, though how long he would have stayed free after escaping is another story entirely. He would have been wanted by the DEA and there would be a massive manhunt out for him. His fingerprints would be all over the place at the White Power gang's lab/club. Presuming Saul is right and you only get one chance with the Vacuum guy he would have to do it on his own. Jesse really doesn't strike me as the type of guy who could do that.

It is a shame Hank died, but I understand that it was required in order to set his family firmly against him. He went out in a way that fit in well with the character, Hank always struck me as the type of guy who wouldn't beg for his life and in the end he didn't. Though I'm sure even if he had it wouldn't have done any good.

Its a shame the series only lasted 5 years. Really though 5 seasons to represent 2 years in the show was beginning to... show. When Walter called the school in the final season to talk to his son, the students looked more like college students than high schoolers. Which is understandable considering they would have used extras the same age as Walter Jr so the difference wasn't as apparent. Not to mention the whole Cancer thing of course.

I have read in numerous places that are making a spinoff centering around Saul Goodman called 'Better Call Saul'. The character was a good supporting role but I honestly don't have enough interest in him to see why they are making a show for him. I much rather see a show centering around Jesse's life after his escape. It could focus on him coming to terms with the death of his ex-girlfriend and either his life on the run or trying to fit into society.

In the end the show was quite good and I can see why its been rated so highly. Its not my favorite show to end recently, that honor goes to Dexter, but its definitely something I intend to keep around for awhile.

Steak

I don't know why it is that all of my best steaks have come from when Geno is out of town. They aren't too bad when hes here, but for some reason when he goes out of town I manage to get the cook times down perfectly.

I like my steak Rare - Medium Rare. I can eat Medium as well. Anything more than that though isn't worth digesting. I tend to go by site, and my guidlines are thus

Perfect Steak:
Hot & Red on the inside, Black on the outside.

Good Steak:
Hot & Red on the Inside

Acceptable Steak:
Warm & Red on the inside
Pink on the inside

Bad Steak:
Purple on the Inside (this can still be salvaged in some cases by popping it back on the heat)
Brown on the Inside (cooked too long)

Worst Steak:
Grey on the inside

It is very difficult, if not near impossible to get a pan-fried steak perfect and I have only managed to do it once. Most of my steaks fall into the acceptable range and I get more bad steaks than good ones. I think a lot of this has to do with the cut I cook. I prefer to cook a thick cut steak, gives it more time for the outside to get that dark crisp crust while the inside cooks.

My main method of cooking isn't the best, I know that its better to cook a steak on medium than on high, however for some reason every time I have tried medium heat it either comes out Brown or Purple.

What I do is:
Salt Steak on both sides 40 minutes in advance, leave out to bring to room temperature
Wipe thin layer of oil on Cast Iron Pan
Heat pan on high until it starts to smoke
Place Steak in middle of pan
Depending on thickness I will flip anywhere between 1 minute and 2 minutes
Once flipped I bring the heat down to medium to cook the other side
After 1-2 minutes I flip the steak again and put a lid on the pan.
If I had been flipping every minute, I cook with the lid on for 30 seconds, if 2 minutes I cook for 60 seconds.
If I see red on the sides of the steak I flip and repeat the lid.
Once thats done I pull the Steak out of the pan and put on plate.
I then fry mushrooms and onions in the pans juices.
When these are done I put them either on the plate or in a bowl and pour whatever remaining juices are left onto the steak.

When time is gaged correctly this steak will be hot and red.

To end this I just want to say something to everyone who thinks Steak is just a hunk of meat and because they have tried a certain cut they aren't going to like it. The cut of the steak makes a HUGE difference. If you think its too tough, its probably because you have had a bad cut. Sirloin is about average and if your not a meat eater I wouldn't recommend it. Instead I would go for something more tender like a filet, rib steak (prime rib, scotch filet, or rib eye), or T-bone/Porterhouse. Yes most of these are more expensive, but they are like night and day when compared to your typical rump steak.

PANIC!!!

I couldn't just leave it alone...
Let me start from the beginning.

I have been wanting to install CyanogenMod on my Nexus 10 for awhile. It seemed simple enough, I already had Clockworks Recovery mod installed from when I rooted the device. Instructions all read and all I had to do was flash the ROM. Well here's the tricky thing. Even though I have the latest version of CWM when I went to flash the ROM it gives me a status 7 error and doesn't really inform me what that is. A little googling reveals that it is some sort of verification error and all I have to do is modify a couple files on the ROM zip.

I restart my nexus and this is where the trouble really starts. Its stuck in a recovery loop. Every time I try to reboot the device it boots up CWM.
Bootloader is saying "Reboot Mode Flag: Recovery" so I figure that's what's doing it, all I need to do is change that back to none or normal and it will boot fine. Well apparently there is no simple way to change that flag for the nexus 10 that I could find on the internet. There were plenty of people giving solutions for nexus7 and the s3, but none for my tablet.

To make matters worse, I can't access the tablet through USB on computer. This is when I start to panic and yell at myself. After 10 minutes of that (without touching device, I know not to do anything while panicking) I recall that the nexus root toolkit boots directly into cwm, so there must be a way for it to reset the flag once its done doing whatever it is it does. I connect the nexus to the computer once again and the program is detecting it. I run a couple access tests on it which all return with positive results. During the second test I notice that the bootloader flag is back to none. Yay problem fixed, nope.

The nexus boots up and I get the nexus loading screen with 4 circles, and then black. Reboots back to cwm. At this point I'm thinking the operating system must have got corrupted when it gave me a status 7 error, even though I can find no other examples of this on the internet. I mean status 7 is a verification check before it actually does anything. One more thing I am comfortable trying, and that's a full factory reset. I restart into bootloader and start up nexus root toolkit again. I next run the flash stock + unroot tool and it does its thing.

5 minutes later I am running a fully wiped unrooted locked nexus with stock 4.4.2 AOSP. I quickly unlock and root the device, then install twrp. Within 5 minutes I am running cyanogenmod. So what'd I do wrong? Well. Nothing. Apparently theres a fault in CWM that occasionally ROMs fail the verification check for no reason, and there's another fault that CWM can occasionally get caught in a recovery bootloop. My bad luck to have got them both at the same time.

Now I need to mention that they say they have fixed these problems in the latest version of the mod. THEY HAVE NOT as I was using the latest version downloaded through their own manager. If you need custom recovery, use twrp instead.

Raglan Beach

Ah yes, its winter up north isn't it? I know nothing warms the heart quite like summer beach scenes from down under. However we don't live in Australia, so you'll just have to make do with one from New Zealand.

This would be the entrance to Whaingaroa Harbour (aka. Raglan Harbour) in Raglan New Zealand. Off to the left of the picture is the Tasman Sea. The Tasman Sea is the section of the Pacific that separates Australia and New Zealand.

Raglan, New Zealand is quickly becoming known as the best towns for surfing in New Zealand. There are 3 bays within a kilometer that are highly rated and because of the towns location, it rarely becomes crowded. The only people who visit the beach are locals and people from nearby Hamilton that don't want to drive an extra hour to hit the beaches on the Bay of Plenty.

If you're not into surfing or playing in the waves, you can swim in the much calmer harbour that surrounds the town.

Microtransactions

Okay, I knew that the android was full of apps that were rife with microtransactions. I knew a lot of these freemium games started easy and then grossly inflated the difficulty so you had to follow a set strategy or pay mad money to buy powerups. I knew this when I bought a tablet. What I didn't expect was just how much they try to cheat you.

I have Plants vs Zombies on PC. It was my first experience with the game but I knew there was a mobile version as well. Today I purchased PvZ for my tablet. This is NOT a freemium game. I bought it outright for money, yet the first thing that happens upon loading is an ad for some other popcap game. I don't want ads in the games I buy, maybe in the free games, but its unacceptable to have an ad in a purchased game.

Still, its  great game and aside from that annoying ad at the main menu it seems to be a complete game. Feeling like they can be forgiven because it is a great game that I enjoy I decided to download PvZ2 and give it a try. I am so disappointed. It is the same game, except they expect you to use real money to purchase plants. Or so I thought, apparently most of the plants (which will set you back $5 each) and upgrades (which are over $10 each) can be unlocked in the game just by playing through it. Nowhere is this mentioned. Most, if not all, of these plants are from the previous game. Half way in through the first world (which outs me around 20% into the game) and I have yet to see anything new apart from skins, and a superpower that is to be used when things get too difficult (aka when they artificially ramp up the difficult to make it impossible to play without spending money.)

I'll continue to play as long as I can without spending anything and report back when I reach the limit or beat the game.

Games Id like to play

Now that I have a PSP with custom firmware I am given the opportunity to play a lot of games that I have missed over the years. I have always been of the mindset that emulators play best on mobile systems. God knows that I have everything from a NES emulator to a PSP emulator (don't know why) on my nexus 10. One of the great things I have discovered about emulation is that there are a lot of games out there not released in English that have fan translations.

Here's a list of the games I am planning to play this year...

Final Fantasy I - XII : The first Final Fantasy game I played was VII, I never completed it. In fact there have only been 3 Final Fantasy games that I have completed, 8, 10, and 10-2. I am planning to start from the beginning and play through the series up through 12, I also have plenty of FF games on other consoles that I want to play.

Lunar Silver Star Harmony : A game I have wanted to play ever since 1992 and it was released on Sega CD. I have no idea why in 20+ years I have not played this.

Star Ocean First Departure & Second Evolution : This is another of the series that I have never got around to playing. No excuses, There's just always been something else I wanted to play more.

Armored Core 3 Portable & Expansions : I played Armored Core 3 a ton on the PS2. It was one of my favorite ps2 games. I never even heard that there were more expansions after Silent Line, and I want to play them.

.Hack series : .Hack/Root is probably my all time favorite anime. The games however were Never available for purchase in any of the local game stores. Now to buy then costs nearly a fortune.

Generation of Chaos series : Honestly I played quite a bit of the first PSP game. I didn't finish it, but now I find out there are 2 more games in the series. I want to play them.

All the rest : There are far too many games I want to play to list them all. Suffice it to say there are games from just about every major device since NES that I wish to play, the majority of which are RPGs.

Changing Music Tastes

Lately I have been listening to a lot of jazz, classical, and game OSTs (Original Sound Track, music that is written specifically for something) and I have noticed that I am playing music through my headset but often at the beginning of songs I am unsure if it is coming from the TV or my headset. I don't think this is a problem with my ears, but rather that the music I have begun to enjoy the most is stuff that is quiet.

I used to be a big fan of metal, hard rock, and techno. Now I find that most metal and techno songs will give me a headache. I'm still a rock fan for the most part, but I've started to appreciate the alternative style which isn't loud more and more. I know peoples tastes in music change as they get older, I always a thought that mine would change into something more modern as I have always liked older stuff. Instead I find the majority of music I listen to are by people who have been dead for decades if not centuries.

Sure there is a lot of new stuff I like from active artists, but when I go and look for other things by them I am usually extremely disappointed.