The humor in it all

So I was in BC Calculus the other day and the teacher gave us a lecture on applying derivatives to answer problems with related rates of change. Once we completed the mathematical equation our teacher pointed out to us an extended application of one of the ratios. The way it was written implied that as the boat hit the dock, it would be going at an infinite speed. The entire class found this hilarious. The teacher used this as an example to show how mathematical models can sometimes fail to explain real life examples.

In other news, my english teacher plans to have us write an essay on the Aristotelian components of a movie of our choice. Right now I'm considering either Star Wars episode 3, 5, or perhaps 2001: a space odyssey.

Unbelievable

My AP Biology teacher reminded me of this video we saw freshman year. I consider it the Pixar of the scientific community. It shows the molecular reactions in a graceful and majestic video stream. The complexity of life will forever astound me whenever I watch this. A cell is a living city.

Considering the etymology of units

So I've been cramming in physics problems all last weekend and into this week. When reading in the book about forces the book uses SI metric system, yet the British imperial unit "pound" is actually a measure of force. That's why we can talk about pounds per square inch. (On the flip side, the British unit for mass is a slug.) Of course, when considering the verb, it makes sense that a pound is a force. And yet we use lb to abbreviate pound when neither letter is in the word. That's cause lb is based off of the Roman measuring system when weight was called a librae. And yet a librae or libra was a scale, often symbolizing justice and equality. Etymology and recycling of words is mind blowing.

Halo: Reach, Legendary Campaign Gameplay Remarks

Figure 1: Enemies that will bring gameplay to a grinding halt

http://www.bungie.net/images/Games/Reach/images/cutouts/e32010ff/full/Reach_E310_Hunter.jpg

Here I am again, talking about the actual gameplay. Halo: Reach on legendary is hard a hell. As a die hard campaign fan through out the series, one gets into the style of enemies. In particular, Halo's 1 & 2 with Elites as the main enemy, there is a trend that is quite common. Grunt squad, followed by jackals on the flanks, with a few elites, maybe minors or veterans (red or blue). Gold and silver elites are become rarities that the game definitely will prepare you for with a well hidden shotgun or sniper ammo.

Legendary Reach throws that concept out the window, and the results are both terrifying and liberating. 3 ultras (silver armored) elites become child's play in Reach. 6 get thrown at you at least once every other level. And the setting is unfair, often they are attacking you, especially in Long Night of Solace. There is a real sense of being attacked from every side, backed up against the wall.

The other enemies each have unique flavor. If it's drones: stay protected, brutes: fill'um full of lead, turret or fuel rod grunts: priority #1, skirmishers: lead them with your cross-hair. And its the combo of flavors added to a dry yet nutritional serving of tough-as-nails elites that brings challenge to each encounter.

And to match the demanding enemies, the weapons are sparse. The game gets divided into two sections, times with the DMR and times WITHOUT DMR. And the difference changes the game completely. I noticed how much a soldier needs a straight shooting rifle. Heck, I'm sure the Spartan III's are trained on Full Metal Jacket's mantra

"This is my rifle.

There are many like it, but this one is mine.
My rifle is my best friend.
It is my life. I must master it,
as I must master my life."

And master the DMR you will. Especially in combination with the plasma pistol for instant elite death and if your daring, one of the power weapons: sniper or rocket. I must sadly announce that the shotgun has been nerfed to uselessness. Gone are the days of Halo CE where the shotty could take out flood 75 feet away. I only used the shotgun on hunters, because that's the only enemy I could get close enough to.

Then there are times when you regret wasting DMR rounds on trying to headshot that grunt from the ghost.
"Without me my rifle is useless.
Without my rifle, I am useless."

With no DMR, legendary is brutal.

But Halo has a wonderful way of giving you hope with the pathetic weapons you muster from the enemy corpses. Three of the enemy's plasma arsenal are particularly useful (aside for the plasma pistol which is only valuable with a headshot weapon to complement). Needler, fuel rod, and needle rifle, While the concussion, beam and plasma rifle seem too underpowered. (Especially concussion, it just does'nt lower shields as efficiently as it kills you). I felt the plasma launcher became too difficult to aim with the dodging AI.

The land vehicle combat is actually the worst in all the Halo Games. I specify terrestrial because the falcon rocks! It's the closest thing to piloting a vietnam heli. Vehicles parts are just supposed to be ridiculous in halo games ie Tank Army in Halo 3's the ark or warthog shenanigans from Halo CE. There nothing fun about the vehicles. The only tank portion of the campaign was the easiest portion on legendary while the 'hog parts made you too weak. I spent so much time hiding behind rocks to recharge shields in the hog instead of weaving around covy infantry. And that's not fun.

My final post on Reach will include my highlight section and favorite encounters.

Halo: Reach, Campaign Discussion

http://pokeh.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/reachvga-001.jpg

THERE ARE SPOILERS INTERWOVEN IN THIS POST

This is a return to my SF video game posts. A new contender had arrived with quite the bang. I finally beat Halo: Reach's campaign, 12 hrs and 6 minutes. Don't you be snickering, because I was defending Reach on Legendary my first time through. Yeah check my Bungie.net profile, I it clocks me getting all the campaign completion achievements, and the all-important "Monument to All Your Sins" in one day. And I have to say, Bungie made there swan song a wild ride. There was so much throwback to the good old Halo CE days as well as references up the kazoo that as a true Halo fan(atic) I enjoyed the game the whole way through. Where to start?

I must say the greatest aspect of the Reach experience is the tragic dramatic irony, what I would call "The Titanic Effect" much like that epic movie, the audience of Reach knows how the whole story goes down, Reach gets thrashed, pummeled, and then glassed. Humans lose the crown jewel of their fledgling empire and are looking down the barrel of extinction. But Bungie still manages to fit hope into the overarching decent into destruction. From cutting down grunt hordes to destroying the spire, victory seems so close in the early levels, especially Jorge's sacrifice.

Then, there is New Alexandria, and the human slaughter becomes unbearable. Bungie's reference to the jewel of the late Egyptian empire also resolves in absolute destruction. Civilians slaughtered, buildings burning, and the shadow of the Covenant ships always present. An unnatural apocalypse.

The greatness of the spiral toward absolute defeat is the way the landscape of Reach drastically changes as the invasion occurs. I applaud Bungie for their most engaging and stunning visuals. The change from green highlands in the first level to the desolation and dirt that surrounds the perched Pillar of Autumn is mesmerizing. There is a sense of the life force of the planet slowly leaking into the depths of space.

And the final, Lone Wolf level? A hellish wasteland. Absolute ruin, landscaped by the carapaces of Noble 6's Spartan brothers and sisters. The mission "Survive" became an obvious lost cause just by seeing the sandstorm and raw earth blowing around. Yet, all gamer naturally struggle and continue to fight the shadows of their Covenant foes amid the swirling sands. Thus, with the final, death cinematic, I understood that I did all I could Legendary mode. This Spartan was truly beaten.

Tune in Next Time for Actual Combat Analysis

Productive Ecological Day

AP Biology field trip. To a Save The Bay location where we made both zoological and botanical observations.

To capture fish we used a seine net. Mostly killifish and sliver sides. We then recorded the numbers (we'll run

diversity calculation in class next week). Our biggest find was a horse shoe crab, and it was untagged. We

had to tag it, because they, as a species, are a valuable and closely monitored animal.

The botanical part involved counting the number of plant species, such as spartina patens and alterniflora, and

a personal favorite, salicornia, the edible picklewort ( which reminds me of gungan frontier's bubble wort... any takers?).

I hope to edit this post with some pictures but I'm busy.

Local Ecological Upset

What are that chances that my neighborhood animal community shows signs of interactions that you talk about in your local high school biology class? Well it happened to me.

http://www.artsjournal.com/popcorn/Wild%20Turkeys.jpg

Granted, this story is a dictation of my parent's spectacular tale. I'm merely the scribe to get it out to the internet. (I was playing Halo:Reach, it's not my fault I wasn't taking a stroll around the cul-de-sac (I'll have discussions on Reach rather soon)).

Anyway. This is a story of inter-species competition. Between wild turkeys, Meleagris gallopavo and Canada geese, Branta canadensis . The turkey population is a known group. I have been keeping a rough track of them each time the flock treks out into the field and yards of the neighborhood. I'm currently counting roughly 40 birds but earlier this summer I was closer to 30. Clearly, there is a population increase. I would go as far as saying surplus because the of competition observed.

There was a flock of Canada geese resting in the field, picking among the grasses for a quick snack. Suddenly, the flock of turkeys rush out from the forest underbrush onto the field. They aggregate a few dozen feet away and begin to squawk and gobble amongst themselves. After mustering the turkey equivalent of courage they begin to make a rumpus of bird noises. The sounds disturb the geese which begin to collectively migrate away. Suddenly all the turkeys charge into the resting flock of geese pecking and gobbling. The geese, bewildered, take off into the sky. The turkeys had protected their domain.

I like to see this as competition, the turkeys wanted to keep the resources of their land from other groups of birds. I did see this event on a much smaller scale earlier yesterday morning. The flock harassed two crows into taking off. I suspect the large population of turkeys require more resources and thus instinct kicks in to make one feisty flock of turkeys.