A Penny's Worth of Thoughts: The Value of Another

I know what some of you are thinking, especially after reading that subtitle, either from the camp of "Yea, we got another one" or "Oh boy, here we go again".  But, here's the thing, in keeping with the neutrality that is "A Penny's Worth of Thoughts", anyone who has read before knows that that's not what I'm going for.  In fact, if I had to say my impressions, it's the extremes on both sides causing the polarity.  In this case, there's actually a bunch of grey area in the middle, just that calling it out will often just put one in the crossfire.

So, why then?  Why paint that target, when I clearly know it will happen?  Because, as I've stated before in a number of my other posts, the neutral ground is a path to resolution, and I know, even as I read that myself, even that statement can cause problems.  Doesn't make it more or less true, however, despite the extremes either way.

I've often been asked, sometimes even criticized for, why I do so much with video games.  The answer surprisingly fits here as well: outside of the extremes, the rules of games are clearly defined in what is and is not possible.  You can start up a game, so long as it is neither already broken or with intention to break, and understand how to play, if with some tutorials.  Plus, the rules of the games, in their own worlds, often make sense, if with that stretch of the so called "game logic".

This similarity is why I write today.  Just as with games, the rules are defined until you get to the extremes, and it is the blurriness of the extremes that we see spun everywhere today.  Yes, there are peaceful protests.  Yes, there are violent officials.  But, to both, there are also the violent riots and the officers who simply want to make it home at the end of the day.  This is why I feel like my neutral ground is so important, a haven, if you will, for those getting painted, whether rightly or wrongly, as being one side or the other.

Because for as much as people say this either is or isn't about color, both of the extremes seem to be seeing an awful lot of red.

Just a penny's worth of thoughts, lost in the chaos.

A Penny's Worth of Thoughts: Difference of Meaning

You hear so much these days of arguments over two interpretations of words.  Some being twisted to suit a certain perspective, others in ignorance or confusion of what the meaning actually is.  Yet, you can still find that both of those meanings can be correct, even in a general sense.

Take, for example, allergies.  If you ask most people what allergies are, the responses will typically be one of two: either they are a seasonal or context based annoyance to a person, usually of the nasal variety, or they will be potentially life threatening if not caught early enough, usually through consumption.  Does that make the seasonal sufferers pity the severe ones, or in the reverse, the severe sufferers wish they could trade off their allergens for the less threatening variety?  It's possible, though it tends to vary person to person.

The point here is that, although the word itself has multiple meanings, each meaning is held at it's equivalent value, usually after the person either specifies or explains their severity.  Why is it, then, that it is more difficult for people to agree on other such variable words?  My thought: because the meaning each side agrees with is based on their perspective of the subject, where it can be more difficult to explain why that is it's meaning due to what I would call an experience gap.  That the meaning that we understand is based more on what we are familiar with, and it is the context, or lack thereof, that throws us off.

I've had some of my own experience on this as of late, from seeing people put quotes around the word essential, as if to demean it to either themselves or to others, to me almost mentally doing it to a phrase, wait time, as I sat on the phone to a DES line seeking answers on an unemployment question, usually after a few minute average extends into hours.  In fact, some of you may have even expected me to do it just then, despite it being grammatically correct either way, if with some word change.

The sad part is, the only way I could see resolving this particular puzzle is to suggest being more open minded to the alternatives, which for many is not an easy task.  I find it perhaps even more of a puzzle to find a middle ground otherwise, as it is an issue that, outside of certain groups potentially, is rarely seen, even rarer discussed.  But it can be done.

Just ask any number of leaders you can come across in Guild Wars 2 why they use the shorthand for crowd control, or CC, as a way of requesting more damage per second, or DPS, on a single boss enemy when in squads or groups.

Just a penny's worth of thoughts, for those who can see the meaning of it.

A Penny's Worth of Thoughts: Crazy World

Things have gotten out of hand here recently, haven't they?  This pandemic has definitely shown how critically opposite point of views can get, even in regards toward attaining the same goal.  There are areas where hearing one of the approaches can have you thinking "Yeah, that could work" while the other can bring out the "Wait, what?" out of you.  There are even varying degrees of each: me, personally, align with the self-isolation, partly because it's an easy thing on my part, usually playing games online with my buddies and all, and partly because, knowing my condition is classified as an auto-immune disorder, it may be the wisest idea for me.  That being said, there is a difference between preparing for the storm and personally emptying shelves of supplies that I may need for a yet uncertain amount of time.

The flipside of that, however, which I think is becoming more prevalent as time goes on is the cabin fever effect showing it's potency, though not without it's own reasons.  Many of those individuals are in positions that know that things will stack against waiting it out over time.  Goods and services are still in use, perhaps even more so now than before, and they have a fear of the reserve supply of each also running it's course.  On this side, I also agree.  I'm eager to return to work, if for nothing more than extra stability.  And so, once again, I find myself standing neutral in a field of polar opposites.

There are arguments to be made for each, as always.  Arguments that you can see or hear through news outlets or social media.  Arguments searching for a one-size-fits-all solution, despite the fact that there has rarely ever been one.  Certain people are better suited for some than others, and the, I would say almost off-hand, parts for the others aren't always the best of options either, as there are just some things that can't be handled from home, just as there are things that can be surprising or overlooked, even with an excess of caution.

In a way, it kind of reminds me of any one of a collection of collectable card games.  The deckbuilding being representative of our knowledge of what to expect, usually with minor additions or a side board for our cautionary stance.  But one thing remains the same, we never truly know what will be on the other side of the table, sometimes not even when enough cards have been played for a reasonable prediction, as there could always be trade outs or tweaks made to what we assume it to be.  But, you can always tell an opponent's familiarity with the game, usually by either their lack of or over-preparedness.  Still, even when we think we know what will happen, one surprise turn can completely turn it around, and that is something I know many think about, with the generally held stance being that there's only so much preparation you can do before the game begins.  The rest you have to do as it plays out.

Otherwise, in attempt to make sure we have all the pieces, all we succeed in doing is running our deck dry.

Just a penny's worth of thoughts, for those willing to draw on it.

A Penny's Worth of Thoughts: Challenging One's Self

Here's an interesting thought: Why do some people make things harder on themselves?  Sure, some will say it's for the thrill of the challenge, but it's also possible to go so far that you give up because it becomes too hard.  You may think there's a fine line between the two, only to be surprised at just how much grey area there is between them.

Consider the last time you asked yourself how much more you could take or even simply stated that you couldn't anymore.  Did it continue or stop?  What motivated you one way or the other?  Was that motivation worth it in the end?  Simple questions to ask, much harder to answer, wouldn't you agree?  Perhaps it was a time you told yourself "Never again" only to do it once more without realizing it.

It can also be humbling, thinking on past goals that were never attained for one reason or another.  The challenges within challenges we've set for ourselves over the years.  At what point was that one criteria, that one extra challenge too much?  And yet the progress we had made, perhaps been blind to in some circumstances, meant little if we couldn't answer that challenge.

This one I have personal experience with.  For most of this past year, I had attained a Pokemon Organizer Basic license, which basically allowed me the ability to host officially sanctioned Pokemon tournaments.  Anyone who knows me could tell you that this was a big deal for me, yet for the entire year I had it, I never once used it.  I thought about it, sure, who wouldn't, but no plans ever came to fruition.

It wasn't that I thought I'd be a bad host.  I've helped many people learn the game over the years, whether it be the TCG or the video games, though it may have required a different approach, as I've usually not been one to force people to play the standard format.  No, the thought that bugged me was the hot shot challenger, the eventuality that someone who cares more about winning and losing than I do would come to one of my events, and within the span of one game try to convince everyone that following me could be hindering them.  Because to me, the game has never been about wins or losses, but bringing groups of friends together, occasionally bull-shitting each other along the way.

Sure, it's hard to argue that it'd be nice one day to go to a Pokemon World Championship event just to say I went.  But to actually be able to compete at that level?  I don't think I'm anywhere close to the experience some of those players bring to the table, honestly because I don't think I could bring myself to care so much about the wins and losses.  Every game has a lesson to learn, especially when helping others learn it.  Sometimes it can mean holding of on your combo long enough to gauge someone's true strength and skill.  To help them see their own value.  The hardest skill to master can be how to lose a winning game.

Just a penny's worth of thoughts, for those motivated to read them.

A Penny's Worth of Thoughts: The Negativity Stigma

Here's a thought stream that I've been finding myself in lately; so much so that I was actually intending on typing out this post last week, but found myself... I don't know how to describe it other than feeling that it needed more thought first.  Stigmas, negativity, and even the duo combined.  There's a lot that can be seen for both anywhere you look, whether it be an individual, or even a personal, view on nationalities, work, or even just seeing a certain state tag on the back of a vehicle who's driver probably needs to retake their driving test.  And, if you let it, such thoughts can consume one's mind completely, even if it's unintentional.

To that end, I've been thinking of a thought experiment that, if I'm completely honest, I don't even know for sure if it'll work as intended.  Think of the things in your life and split them: the good from the bad, positive and negative.  How many of you started with the negative side first?  Was it because you figured it would be easier to find the negatives?  Or simply because you felt there would be more on that side?  Before you scrap that thought though, try this: from the positive side, remove from the list the things that you could do without in a given day, even just for a moment.  And from the negative side, remove only the things that, if they just happened to not be there one day, your day would feel... off.  Did it balance out, or perhaps even find yourself on the flip side of what you originally thought: that you now have more positive than negative.

The point of the experiment is to try and show just how much more focus we can put on the negative in a given moment, to the point where we can overlook the positive that is right in front of us.  And sure, I could say to try and see more positive every day, but I think some would agree that after some amount of time, even with the intention of seeing the good, we feel ourselves drawn toward the bad.  Or perhaps, one particular bad just makes itself more difficult to ignore.

This is where I think some of the stigmas come in.  I'd almost say the saying of "waiting for the other foot to fall" is kind of a stigma itself, leading to a negative expectation.  It's as if that is our mind's default state, we see so much good, so we can't help but feel that something bad is just around the corner.  Sometimes, I think, the expectation almost wills it into existence even.  It's such a complex problem that I don't think there could be a catch all solution to it either.

It's reminiscent of the recent launch of Pokemon Sword and Shield even.  There were loads of stigmas spreading through members of the community, whether by malicious intent or misinformation, and yet, having gotten mine about month into the release, sure, I could see some of the points made.  But, in playing it, it still felt like a true Pokemon game to me.  And that's the point, right?  People saw the negative because they wanted it to be better, but what I think they didn't see just because something isn't better, doesn't necessarily mean that it's worse.

And perhaps that's the biggest stigma we get ourselves into.  The subconscious idea that if it's not better, than it has to be worse.  We get so caught up in trying to be better that staying the same feels like we are letting ourselves down instead of thinking the possibility that maybe, just maybe, at that point in time, the truly better thing is the stability of being the same.  So caught up with the idea of greater or more that we lose sight of the have enough.

The best I can offer in resolution is this: that list from earlier?  Take out the divides, maybe mix it up a little, then take a look at it.  Really think about it when you answer one question: does it still make sense?  Maybe just trade one or two things around?  Sometimes the positive, good things we see everyday can get misplaced until you view it from another angle.  And maybe, that new perspective you gain from that gives tell of your personal solution to the outcome.

Just a penny's worth of thoughts, for those willing to read them.

A Penny's Worth of Thought: A concept of failure

A penny's worth of thoughts.  Just typing those words again brings back some memories.  I figure if I plan to continue with blogging again, what better way than what could arguably be the core part of why I started in the first place.  So, why with a subtitle involving failure?  Simply put, because it's a thought that my mind has had me thinking about most of this past week.

The origination of this particular thought process began last Friday, after viewing a video on youtube called "How Warframe Broke the Rules" on GameSpot's youtube channel, which I'll link at the bottom for reference.  In particular, it was near the end, when asking if they thought they would know when it would come time for Warframe to end.  My interpretation on the reaction was similar to how some people react when faced with a "What if" finale question, as you can almost watch her go from asking herself questions such as "Was it my/our fault?" and "Is there anything we could've done?" to spurting out an answer that almost sounds as much to convince herself as it was to answer the question.  It started my thoughts on why viewing things at an ending can almost have a negative connotation, and perhaps the idea of the failure in itself.

What's kept me from typing out my thoughts before now is, even as the words flowed, I couldn't help but get a sense that they were more than just familiar.  Possibly, that I would end up repeating something I had previously posted.  And then, as the catalyst question to myself, asking if they would be any less true simply because of the fact that I could be repeating myself, and then asking, truly, if it would feel like a failure if I did.

"Sometimes the idea of failure depends on the perspective you look at it from" the familiar sounding phrase would repeat to me multiple times, alongside various examples, ranging from gamers losing a game to a closing-in-on-30 person being asked why they don't have a boy/girlfriend and just shrugging because they aren't quite sure how to answer it in a meaningful way.  And then, to my surprise, I found a new stream of words that seemed to run parallel but not quite touch.  The concept of failure itself.  Because, even that can vary by perspective, and what seemed to be the added variable was time.

And so I begin with how gamers typically have a unique perspective on the concept: if they fail, they can just try again.  But, as watching a number of Mario Maker videos will tell you, the time invested into a level just to constantly catch that kaizo block, even if clearly marked, at the final jump can be disheartening, perhaps even lead some to give up and call it a failure.  Never mind the fact that I couldn't do possibly half of what they have done up to that point personally, showcasing that they clearly are better from the experience of doing similar stunts before, and yet calling it a failure still because that goal was never met.

This is where I believe the issue lies.  Yes, things can end, even with some considerable time put into them.  But to consider the ending a failure, to me, is devaluing the experience earned along the way.  Some goals are put just out of reach, forcing us to learn the proper timing of that final jump as a way of proving to ourselves that our experience was worth it.  But to say that if we miss, if we hit that stupid block one more time, that the experience is null?  I think that's just our minds defaulting to a state of negativity.  Similar to how a presider of a funeral will, at some point, ask if there are memories we would like to share.  Memories, not disappointments.  I feel they do so knowing our minds will trend to darkness, and that occasionally, we must force ourselves to see the light.

And here I go again, thinking I've dipped into the words I've said before.  Yet, with new context, and perhaps a new meaning.  And I ask myself again: does it mean less now than it did then?  I suppose you could say that it might just depend on who you ask.

Just a penny's worth of thoughts, for anyone willing to read them.

GameSpot: How Warframe Broke the Rules

Getting back into blogging

I'm going to get back into blogging.  After all that's happened hear lately, kinda miss it honestly.  Updates from last time: I didn't finish the Autumn Friendly, but had a few good battles, so it was all good.  I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  It's been a little rough, still getting used to some things, but something I added onto the blog here this morning I think should help.  Some of you may have notice a new tab up top that says Sugar Levels.  It's a chart of my blood sugars, and I figured it would not only help make sure I get on the blog more often, but would help my diabetes doctors keep track of me.  I'm still going to do Gamer Thoughts, Penny's Worth, and my story, so if you guys have anything you want me to talk about for the Gamer Thoughts or Penny's Worth, let me know.  Other than that, what I'm thinking I might do is sometimes, if I don't feel like typing or something, I'll post a video with what I wanted to type.

A Penny's Worth of Thoughts Vol. 7

Is originality gone?  Sometimes I wonder, especially when it comes methods of going into competition for games.  It seems like most people these days want the fast and easy way, even though it may not be the legit way.  I see it all the time, mainly in role-playing games.  People look for specific builds, use third party programs to generate what they want, pretty much anything that is faster than figuring it out themselves or doing the hard work.

I understand that the meta-game can sometimes be a fierce competitive battleground, and that most players will do what they think they have to in order to get ahead, but I look at it the way most people would look at sports, there's the easy way of doing things, and the way it should be done.  It's a concept that starts disputes among gamers, because it is often one not delved into enough so that the rules are set.  Instead, they remain phased enough that many feel that, as long as it's within the "legal limitations" of the game, like the maximum distribution of stats, that the method of getting to that point does not matter.

I seek to change that.  I have talked about it among friends of mine, and I'm using my Penny's Worth this week as a public declaration.  I'm currently working on teams on Pokemon Black with the goal to challenge a site called Smogon University.  My teams will be trained the way I have always trained my pokemon: through the process of breeding, effort training, and leveling within the game.  Once they are done, I will go to the Smogon site and climb whatever ladder that they deem to challenge me with.  Win or lose, my goal is simply to show that just because a player choose to be unique in their ideas and use methods without third party programs doesn't mean that they can't still have a place in the meta-game.  Sure, my guys probably won't have the maximum possible stats, or potentially the best movesets.  But, I truly believe that for every weakness, there is a strength.

Just a penny's worth of thoughts, for anyone who wishes to read it.

September 22, 2011

Yawn.... ok, so, I've been kinda getting distracted here lately, and by the time I remember to post on the blog, been tired.  So here's a short post.  Still planning on the Penny's Worth tomorrow.

A Penny's Worth of Thoughts Vol. 6

Music.  One way or another, most of us can relate to a song or be inspired by an arrangement of instruments.  We use music to dance to, escape from reality for a little bit, or distract ourselves from what we are doing.  Like most other things, different aspects of it appeal to different people.

Me personally, I prefer the background music of games I play, not only because they are from some of my favorite games, but it never seems to surprise me when my mind thinks of a song to fit a situation I'm in, or which ones come to mind while I'm just sitting around.  Sometimes at work, after I've eaten my lunch and still have around fifteen minutes of break left, I find myself using one of the wooden tables outside to keep to the beat of a song I have playing in my head, most often seems to be one from Donkey Kong Country Returns.

The reason I bring this up in a Penny's Worth is because sometimes we tie thoughts or visualizations to songs as well, even without realizing it, and sometimes that can be influenced.  Here's how easy it is, using a song from OverClocked Remix: ChronoTrigger - Fight For Our Future.  On first listen, it's a battle song, you can see two enemies dueling it out throughout the song.  By the end, one of them has won.  And it's a remix of a battle song, so why not right?

Now listen to it again.  Do you hear the countdown timer to a long foot race at the start?  You can probably see two people ducking, jumping, and dodging around obstacles this time, am I right?  If I am, your mind was influenced by what I told you to listen for in the song.  If not, perhaps you were envisioning something else at the time.  Point is, sometimes a different perspective, even if it's just written words for a song, changes not only how you see things, but how you hear them.

Just a penny's worth of thoughts, for anyone who wants to read them.

September 15, 2011

Well, today was fun.  The wet shaker and the press decided to be a pain today.  A couple of the guys were also trying to unplug a drainage ditch we have in the back.  Hopefully it'll help a flooding problem we have back by the hoppers.  Got to thinking a little more today too, but I'm still working things out in my head.  Which reminds me, no I'm not skipping Penny's Worth today, just doing it after the daily post this time.

September 9, 2011

It's been a really slow day.  You know, one of those that not only is slow, but makes you feel lazy because it is so slow.  Hence the lack of an episode of Gamer Thoughts, Penny's Worth, and the near lack of even posting this.  Long story short, we were going to run a little at work today to fill up the smaller silos, but turns out that not only did the maintenance personnel not quite finish putting the hammer mill back together, they left it locked out.  Kinda hard to run a machine if you can't turn it on.  So, today was just clean up.  I'll make up for the laziness tomorrow...

Procrastination.... nasty habit.

A Penny's Worth of Thoughts, Vol. 5

People don't tend to like things that are new.  We all are like that for something, simply because when we get used to a way of doing things, and a new way comes out, it takes us a moment to change over.  That moment lasts longer for some than others, and that sometimes causes us to have a moment of frustration.  But, something I think gets quite a bit of heat when something new comes out is entertainment media.

A Penny's Worth of Thoughts, Vol. 4

Something I think people sometimes obsess over is normalcy and perfection.  Let me start off by saying that neither one of them exist, they are simply a perception, not an actuality.  Consider this: take a person who seeks perfection, someone who gets nervous when their grade in school drops below 95. I'm sure some of you guys know someone like that.  What we see as perfection, to them, is normal, because it is a habit of theirs.  Now take someone who wants to be normal.  They seek so much to change themselves to fit in with others.  In their minds, the normal people they want to be seem perfect.

August 19 and 20, 2011

So, I got caught up in a Mario Party game yesterday, by the time I finished, had to head to work.  So what I'm going to do while I'm on the twelve hour shift is do a double post + any of the events of those days both today and Monday after I get home, if I don't fall straight to sleep on Monday.  So, update on things: Walmart was out of stock on the laptop I was looking at, which means another probably low quality Gamer Thoughts video with a glitch Monday.  Also, going to be heading back to work on my usual shift next Wednesday because my dentist appointment had to be canceled.  Ah well, things will work out.  I'll post Penny's Worth next.

August 17, 2011

Wasn't too bad of a day at work today, the mix was a bit wet, so the main issues were the press and the wet shaker.  Apparently some of the loads of char we have been getting have been pretty wet.  Also had a plus of filling up the blue silo.  Speaking of which, guess while I'm on it, should explain about the silos we fill up at the plant.  There are three of them: blue, silver, and big.  I'm not kidding, those are our identifiers for them.  Blue is the smallest of the three, and the big, to me, almost looks like one of the silos you'd see at a grain farm.  Anyway, wasn't too bad of a day today.

Today, I also got to thinking about a couple of things to do on the blog, some of which I'd like readers opinions on.  For starters, to help make the daily posts a little interesting, I had an idea of a "Song of the Day" at the end of each post, where I post a song that has been going through my head at work that day, if I can find it on youtube.  An example being the one below, an OverClocked Remix song: Skies of Arcadia 'Dungeon Cave (Buried Alive Mix)'.  OCR songs generally have the game they came from within the title.  Also got to thinking about having pages on the site for finding the Penny's Worth/Gamer Thoughts faster than looking through the archive, and one for fanart for the story, just in case any of you guys have any.  Not going to lie, I'm good at writing, not so good at drawing.  I'm also thinking about, if we do the live broadcast for the Gamer Thoughts, whether or not to implement the feed of the chat, means I could probably just as easy read the message of interest aloud.  I don't know, just some thing I got to thinking about.  Leave a comment with your opinions on any of it.  Now, for the Song of the Day example:

A Penny's Worth of Thoughts, Vol. 3

Heroes.  When people hear the term, some think of fictional icons.  Spider-man. Hulk. Wolverine. Thor.  Maybe someone thinks of the hero of their favorite book or movie.  War veterans are also on peoples mind when it comes to heroes I'm sure.  But what about the everyday heroes that are around us?  Some of you probably started thinking firemen, policemen, or the EMT's in the ambulance, am I right?  While, yes, those people are heroes, it doesn't have to take a death defying or life saving feat to be a hero.

A Penny's Worth of Thoughts, Vol. 2

I am an observer. Always have been, probably always will be, but what can I say, when your growing up getting picked on, it's helpful to have a source of entertainment. I may not be much on what some people call "common sense", but I truly believe you can learn quite a bit about other people by watching them.

Sometimes, though, even for someone who's observed others for years, you can still run into things that just make you ask "Why?" Why do people think they have to have bulging muscles, a thought that often crosses my mind. People often seem to see "strength" as a physical attribute, something you can lift weights in order to improve. Not too many seem to think about other strengths, least not where I live. Endurance is one that I can think of off the top of my head.

Usually, when I got picked on, it's because someone took one look at me and pretty much thought they could break me like a twig. I think what few of them realized is just how much my body could take. I've walked a paper route after an ice storm because there were some power lines on the road and I didn't trust riding a bicycle on the ice. I've lost part of a toe due to a lawnmower without hardly feeling any pain..... least until time to change the dressing on the stitches after the fact. When I was little, I used to love jumping off of things: tree branches, swings while I was swinging, even down stairs. All that is before the bumps, bruises, and cuts of just everyday life and bullying. So the thought has always puzzled me, why do people think they need to have bulging muscles for strength?

The most I can think of as an answer is that it's just an association people have. "If you want to be strong, you have to have muscles this big" or something like that. If you are reading this and happen to be one of those people that want to have big muscles, sorry, but, there's other ways to be strong. You can be strong charismatically, have strong leadership abilities, a good endurance, even just be really clever at figuring things out. And if you are someone who has picked on someone before because of their lack of muscles, I'd ask you to stop. You might be surprised what us little guys are capable of.

Just a penny's worth of thoughts, for anyone who wants to read them.

A Penny's Worth of Thoughts, Vol. 1

For many years, people have asked me why I like to just watch people, and my response has always been, "You'd be surprised what you learn just watching and listening."  Through observation, you learn that it's not uncommon for things to seem different than what they are, even things that are right in front of us, yet there can be similarities, and to a silent observer, these can be kind of puzzling.  Two friends playing a game against each other can seem to be the worst of enemies at each others throats, two people who are just having trouble understanding each other can seem like two people in a heated argument, each trying to prove their own point.

I had a similar experience today at work between my supervisor and one of the loader drivers, both people I know like to joke with each other.  I don't know exactly what went on, but while I was sweeping by one of the conveyor belts, I heard what sound like my supervisor yelling, and not too happily.  I looked up to see him walking to get a sample off another conveyor, and to me, things pointed to him being upset:  His pace was a little faster, shoulders seemed a little rigid, and his hands in his gloves seemed clenched.  I then look at the loader driver, heading up to the press controls not too far behind, and I see him laughing.  I didn't know if it was another joke with them or if something might have been said that my supervisor didn't like.

I stepped carefully around him for a few minutes, just to be safe.  After my fifteen minute break not too long after, it seemed nothing was different, which, although I didn't ask to see what had happened, lead me to believe either it was another joke, or whatever was said wasn't very major.

I mention this because it raised a thought in my mind: If someone were to see or hear something between you and one of your friends, whatever it is, how might they misinterpret it?  Sure, to some, this may seem trivial, and everyone has certain ways of acting or joking around friends, but, to an outsider looking in, could it seem different than what it is? 

Just a penny's worth of thoughts for anyone who wants to read it.

The start of the Blog

Well.... Hardest part is here, I'm going to kick off this blog.  Here's the plan, means I find it sometimes helps to have a plan at the start, even if something changes later on:

Wednesdays - Posting a chapter a week of a story I'm writing called Warrior Rapter: Legend of a Legend for you guys to read.  No, the "Rapter" part isn't misspelled, that's how I put the name, both for the story and when I use it as a screen name.

Fridays - Penny's Worth of Thoughts.  Essentially, like my notes on my facebook, going to type about observations I have, and my thoughts on it.  The title is suppose to be a twist of how, when people see you thinking, something they might ask is, "Penny for your thoughts?"

Sundays - Gamer Thoughts.  If someone has a better title, feel free, it's just an idea for now, but what it is, using youtube and the video add-on on the blog, going to post a video of playing a game while commentating on things like I would in Penny's Worth.  Might also have co-commentators sometimes, if people want.

Everyday - Posts about anything new that day, whether at work, at home, or on games.  Probably going to be mostly on games, means not much else happens most of the time XD.

First thing I'm going to do though is repost my Penny's Worth notes here, so today is going to be a multi-post day.  Hope you guys enjoy the blog.