That’s how I would greet you if I were standing close enough to do so. The probe, named Voyager, was sent by the people of the planet Earth, but this message was composed by a single person, individually.
I make a note of this because the Voyager probe was built by a team, a large group of humans. That’s what we call ourselves.
I, and many other humans, are very curious about the world we love in and the wider universe. That’s why the probe was launched. It’s been sending information back to us during its long trip.
Before it grew too distant for a message to be sent to it, I was asked to write this note. I was not given a topic, so I apologize if much of this has been self-evident by the remaining co tents of the probe. It did contain items meant to convey information about the human species in general.
I’m nearly out of space in this, so I’ll wrap up by saying that I truly hope to see a return message during my lifetime, but even if it arrives after, it’s worth sending, so please do, and tell me about who you are.
Ah, 2015. It was a pretty good year, on the balance. I think I accomplished most of what I actively set out to do.
I am a bit bummed that I did kind of fall off on my exercise plans, but that’s easy enough to pick up again. I think I’ll do that more slowly, to build up the habit more easily.
Today’s the day! The new Star Wars movie begins it run in theaters this evening. My or pre-purchased ticket, reserved months in advance, is for an 8 PM screening.
Hopefully, I won’t be completely useless at work today due to the excitement. I’ve actually seen the movie at the premiere screening earlier this week, but the movie’s so good, I definitely want to see it again, even if just to pick up more details I might have missed.
It isStar Wars, after all, right?
I’ve loved the universe of Star Wars almost my entire life. I was too little for the initial premiere of the original film, and I’m side it was not a luxury my parents, taking care of my 1-year old self and my baby brother, could afford, that warm May day back in 1977. My first viewing is the same as many my age: on TV (likely on ON TV, an early cable provider), and I was hooked.
Every time after the first, if I saw that Star Wars was on the TV schedule, in TV Guide, or via a commercial, it felt like a short holiday. I knew I would be trying to watch it when it aired.
I’m sure my parents loved it too. They certainly had no problemd watching when it was on. All three of the originals were experienced by my brothers and I (3 of us by the time Return of the Jedi was released) on TV, in fact. It wasn’t until the re-releases in theaters, after years of wearing out the boxed VHS tape set, that we’d see the first trilogy in theaters.
So, fast forward from the 90’s to the present. We all still love the films, I’m able to not onlh costume up as, but also able to perform as a Jedi, as part of a group of like-minded fans and friends, in Saber Guild, an LFL-recognized, international lightsaber performance group.
I’m a Jedi
We create and perform shows, in characters of our own creation and with known characters, and any funds recieved are donated to local charities. We volunteer our time to spread the wonder and excitement of Star Wars to others.
It’s my association with, and participation in that group that got me involved in the comic conventions I’ve attended, such as the Long beach and San Diego comic-cons. I’ve met many fellow fans and made many friends across the other costume clubs, such as the 501st and Rebel Legions, The Dark Empire, and others.
It’s been a great deal of fun, and some work, but it’s also been a dream come true. I feel so lucky, and grateful to be alive, now, because, even in the face of the spread of evil and fear-mongering I’m the wider world, there are those that fight that depressing really off, in bursts, as they can, by spreading love and hope. I could not be prouder to be a part of such a community. Yes the movies are fun, but the community is what drives many fans to band together for good causes.
Saber Guild Outer Rim Temple
I’m excited today that yet another generation will get to experience the awe and wonder from what follows these words on the big screen:
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” – Frank Herbert, Dune
I’ve seen it over and over. A blank page is the most frightening thing to a writer. I extend that fear to any creative undertaking. Heck, I’d even extend it to software development. A screen, with nothing but a blinking cursor is pretty daunting.
I don’t think I’m a great storyteller, but maybe that’s because I’ve never tried it out. The more I think about how much I love to read, hear, or watch a story unfold, the more I think that perhaps the stories worth telling are only such simply because they’ve been told, and not held back.
That’s still poking me sometimes. I don’t believe I have very interesting stories to tell. Whether that’s true or not isn’t always up to me, but I’ve long thought that even the struggles I’ve been through don’t seem so bad when I look at the problems of the wider world. Although I do experience some pretty exciting events and have fun with friends, not much of it falls into the nostalgic reminiscing level, in my opinion.
Maybe I’m setting the bar too high for my own biographical standard. My life’s not that mundane, after all.
I’ll think some more, and be more mindful, just in case something I do think is interesting happens. It’s the time of year (Winter holidays) when interesting things do sometimes occur. I shall try being less afraid of sharing.
Today, something cool happened, but it’s probably going to be remembered by very few due to the current freak-out surrounding recent events in a neighboring county to Los Angeles and how they’re adding to the very polarizing debate over whether or not firearms should have more sharply defined regulation. I’m not going to weigh in here about that.
No, instead, I wanted to focus on something I spotted today that helped give me a nudge.
This language, which is a system-programming language, is used mainly to write application software for the operating systems of Apple, such as iOS and MacOS X. It can, of course, be used to write software for other platforms, as of today, with Linux (Ubuntu) as another place where Swift code can be compiled.
No, it’s not Earth-shattering news, but it is of interest to me because software development is interesting to me. Even though I’ve not completed a formal education plan related to it, I did spend some time in computer science programs, and did pick up a few languages, with the related languages of C, C++, and even some Java in there. I simply have not been practicing programming over the years. The rust is thick.
I never completely lost the itch to code, though, and this news feels like a gentle reminder that it might not be too late to at least put some effort into picking up another language, just in case it becomes useful to have in the techy tool belt.
So, I’m getting more interested now. Due to that spark, I downloaded the latest version of the official Swift book, and am going to fill in idle time with chunks of it. I’m hoping that it will be time well spent and that I’ll pick it up quickly. Swift code definitely appears, at first glance, to not be terribly hard to read.
There were a few unrelated game-related announcements as well, and even a game awards show, but the above is really what captured my attention enough that I felt like writing something about it. I sure hope some awesome stuff comes about as a result of this.
It could be a few things, such as that thing the guy does when you initially order cable for the first time. It could also be the thing you wait for when your car is broken and won’t go.
Perhaps it’s even all those things, combined, that the people who fight fires, take care of the ill, and fight battles overseas do to help make life better for the rest of us.
All of these things seem to be services to me. What do dictionaries say? Let’s see:
Service
noun
an act of helpful activity; help; aid: to do someone a service.
That also looks good, and pretty much all of the above, and more, fit that particular definition. It’s not the only one, and this is one word that is very versatile.
Lots of things can be invaluable, but what’s invaluable to me? This is actually a tricky thing to figure out. Would it be something like my glasses, that help me to see without getting headaches from eye-strain?
Maybe.
Possibly, it could be something much larger, like the entirety of the internet. It’s a vast resource that often allows me to achieve feats of wizardry, as I pick up knowledge that would have been very fuzzy in accuracy back in the days before I had access to it. In those days, knowledge was primarily gained from ancient objects known as books, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias. Those were often bulky or far slower to find relevant information from. Back then, however, they were definitely invaluable, and their importance and continued existence and evolution are an important aspect of the internet.
A dictionary that pronounces words and has hyperlinks to synonyms and antonyms is super-awesome. That was an expensive way to go before the internet, which put it largely out of reach in any practical form for me.
That usefulness extends to my smart phone, an iPhone, and that also makes it an invaluable device to have. I literally have access to any part of the internet whenever I carry it and have cellular service or free wi-fi.
I do sometimes wonder when I encounter a person that actually struggles with finding information and yet, they also carry a similar device. Why don’t they try to use it to answer a question they have. Reliance on “group think” on the small scale (people actually present) can sometimes be error-prone, especially if nobody there has the relevant expertise or experience to properly field the question, so why not try getting the information from a larger, usually first-hand from those that deposit the information? Yes, sometimes bias creeps in, but, for the most part, for information that needs to be factual, with no room for opinions, there’s often no better source at hand than the internet.
I definitely don’t claim that sites like Wikipedia are perfect, but I do believe that sites like Dictionary.com, which pull from their traditional counterparts, can be very solid.
So, if you don’t look up information online first, or you still try to first memorize directions to a location without assistance, why is that so? Comment on that.
Well, well… It’s Thanksgiving again. I’ve yet to be away from home this time of year, so the routine begins again. Hopefully, I don’t read as ungrateful because, for me, being grateful has been something I’ve made a personal habit of fairly recently.
It’s been roughly a month since my morning routine has begun with more than exercising my phone’s multiple alarm clocks as I begrudgingly climbed out of sleep. For me, inspired by a post I came across somewhere that escapes me at the moment, I’ve made a direct effort to list out a few thinks I’m grateful for. I’ve done it almost every morning since mid-October. Today, I actually am sure that I’ve shared that task with many more people.
Just think about doing that if you haven’t been. If you think gratitude should be a daily thing, make it happen. Have a great day, even if you don’t celebrate anything today.
Hello!
