Still Dropping into Minecraft to Check on my Farm

Ah, yes, a glorious sunrise in Minecraft valley amongst the idling cattle, rolling waters, and orange pattern of rain among my hermit-bound existence in the randomly generated terrain. For the record, I don't totally remember exactly what it was that I set out to do to do with all this stuff. There is definitely stuff in this game though--glorious stuff! First off, relax. Also, if you need to relax you might want to try creative mode when you first start the game. There are two modes, survival, and creativity. Survival includes fleeing and thumping creatures with sticks of all sorts,…

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Why I Literally Want to Be James Halliday From Ready Player One

"James Halliday, he was like a god." This is not a review, showcase, or anything, but it is a narrative I feel like rolling with. This topic entered my mind a long time ago when I first saw the film version of Ready Player One, and then later when I read the book. Then when I surrendered the dream in Ready Player Two (it's an acquired taste, no dismissiveness or negativity here!) Ever since... well, ever... ever since I can even remember, I've been compulsively enamored with the idea of digital realities--virtual reality, cyberspace, the Matrix, the Oasis, the Grid, Metaverse, what have you. The thing about the fictional character James Halliday is he made it all seem kind of obtainable. Welcome to virtual pizzality. Read on, should you wish to obtain the egg...

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“Cyberpunk” as a Genre And Not Just 2077

It's everywhere now. It's downloaded into your cortex. Drips off the neon katakana of your tube hotel vacancy sign. It's hidden in the channel tuned to static on your peripheral, cyphered, cybernetic headset. It provides the foundation as well as the motivation for things high above its paygrade, but it is still only a literary genre--beyond video games. "Cyberpunk." I'm talking simstim, black mesa stuff here, not Grand Theft Hovercar.

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