FELIZ NAVIDAD

Hello Everybody and a tip of the hat to you all, it is I the TopHatMan here for another blog post.
Its December and you know what that means.  Its Christmas time, the greatest time of the year.  Whether it be hot chocolate while doing your World of Warcraft dailies, or having a Christmas dinner with friends and family, or if you open up presents under a tree that you decorated just for the occasion.  However, have you wondered what Christmas is like in other places?  Me neither, but lets talk about how the Mexicans celebrate Christmas.  They incorporate the very bare essence of the Catholic Christmas traditions and add the spin of their own unique culture to make a very unique Christmas celebration.
Have you ever wanted Christmas to last longer than a single day, well Christmas in Mexico decided that one day was not enough, so Christmas is celebrated from the 12th of December, to the 2nd of February.  They hold a celebration called the Posada which illustrates the travel of Mary and Joesph trying to find an inn for the coming of the baby Jesus.  On the final Posada (the ninth one held on Christmas Eve) the baby Jesus is placed into the manger and then the community goes to midnight mass in commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ.  There is also a special name for the midnight mass, it is called the misa de gallor or the mass of the rooster, where they sing lullabies to the baby Jesus.
Besides actual Christmas, there is also a holiday celebrated on the 28th of December.  The Los santo inocentres or the Day of the Innocent Saints remembers when king Herod slaughtered countless babies in search of the baby Jesus.
There is one main difference in Mexican Christmas to an Americanized Christmas, and that is the children receive their presents on the Epiphany or the 6th of January.  The presents are brought by the baby Jesus or by Santa Clause.  Speaking of the baby Jesus, the Mexican Christmas also has the eating of the roscas.  the Roscas is a sweet bread where a plastic figurine of the baby Jesus is placed inside.  This symbolizes the need to hide Jesus from King Herod who actively sought to kill Jesus.  The knife that everyone cuts the roscas with symbolizes the danger Jesus was in during his birth.
The Christmas season ends on the 2nd of February where the Nativity is put away and there is one final dinner to commemorate the end of the Christmas season.
That's the end of this blog, Merry Christmas to all of you.
Sources
http://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/mexico.shtml
http://www.santas.net/mexicanchristmas.htm

Terrible Game Launches

Hello Everyone and a Tip of the Hat to you all!  It is I the TopHatMan here for another Blog Post.
Alright let's talk about it.  This year video game launches have been some of the worst we have seen.  Assassins Creed Unity, WOW Warlords of Draenor, Farcry 4, Watch Dogs, Halo Master Chief collection, ESO, Fable Anniversary, etc etc etc.  This year we have had some of the worst launches we have ever seen.  Whether it be massive FPS issues, popin, crashes, glitches, or character model glitches, consumers have struggled through many problems when trying to play the latest games.  I am an advocate of waiting a bit before buying a new game due to these very issues, however the problem of horrific launches still lies in the hands of the developer.  It is completely unacceptable behavior if your game does not run properly or at all after the transaction.  Lets talk Ubisoft.
Except for Child of Light, name me one Ubisoft game that was released this year that had a launch free of technical complications.  Farcry 4 may be the least affected of Ubisoft's latest releases but there are still problems when trying to record game play and with the frame rate when in the main town.  Remember Watch Dogs, the game hyped up i the past couple of years to be the best looking and best game of all time, remember when it released?  Not only were the graphics on PC downgraded from the initial E3 reveal in 2012, but the graphics were found turned off in the murky depths of the games files, there were better graphics that were deliberately disabled.  Also the frame rate was nothing to write home about constantly dropping and struggling to achieve 60 FPS on high end rigs.  Assassins Creed Unity still suffers from frame rate issues, popin, and model issues.  When your game struggles to achieve 60 FPS on high end gaming PC's, your optimization was inadequate.
Warlords of Draenor with people getting stuck in the ground and your garrison bugging out, a necessary part of the questing experience didn't work.  Not to mention the 5000 person que to log into the bugged mess of the expansion.  While Warlords is easily the best WOW expansion ever made, the launch was also the worst launch WOW has ever had.  Halo the Master Chief's collection's matchmaking would not work with people searching for a lobby for hours to find the lobby had been bugged and thrown back into the que.  ESO, well that was just a bad game with multiple issues, seriously just watch the AngryJoeShow's angry review about the game he explains it perfectly.
This type of behavior is unacceptable and needs to be put down before it gets out of hand.  Devlopers and publishers will keep pushing out unfinished games to us if we refuse to show them that as consumers we will not stand for this.  STOP PREORDERING VIDEO GAMES, THERE IS NO BENEFIT TO IT, stop buying day one releases of Video Games, wait a month or a few and most likely the price will drop, it will go on sale, and it will have had plenty of patches (hopefully).  Vote for the business practices you like with your wallet.
Click this link for Angryjoe's channel

Video Game Review

Hello everyone and a tip of the hat to you all!  It is I the TopHatMan, here for another Blog Post.

Today I am going to discuss a subject that I talked about last week but I want to go more in detail about the effects and benefits of video game Review is.

Video Games are a new form of media, to most of us it may not seem new to most of us because video games have been with us for most of our life in one way or the other.  However literature has been around since ancient times with cave paintings, film has been with us since the 1890's, television has been with us since the mid 1900's but gaming has only been with us enmasse since the 1980's with the original NES of Nintendo.  Video games have only been with us for about 30 years and society is still working out the kinks on to how th industry operates.  One of the most crucial aspects of the industry is the review process.

Some people view people should not make money based off of someone else's work.  A reviewer by their logic should not be able to make any money for reviewing a video game.  This however is largely misunderstood as to whose work the reviewer's review belongs to.  Whether it be Jim Sterling's written reviews or AngryJoe's Angry Review on Youtube, the review is the work of the reviewer.  It is not the work of the developer.  No reviewer should be forced to give royalties to developers for reviewing the developer's game.  The review, the effort of playing the game, the effort of writing the review, and the effort of making the review belongs to the reviewer, not the developer.  Through this, there is also less room for bias by the reviewer because they are forced to give money to the developers.  Likewise developers should not pay the reviewer because the review may draw sales to the game.  In neither scenario should one party give money to the other.  

Review is a necessary aspect of the video game process.  I am pro consumer, I do not care about big or small industry.  I care about which will provide the better deal to the consumer because we are the ones spending the money and we are ultimately the ones who decide which industries succeed and which fail.  

Some developers also believe they should be able to censor negative review.  Some people defend these developers by stating that the negative review is impacting sales.  That is the point, if a game is bad and broken then there are others who will agree or disagree.  If people watch or read a review by Jim Sterling who believes a game is terrible and broken then most people will agree.  If a game runs well and has mechanics that make sense it will find its audience.  If a game is broken then consumers should be notified before the waste money on  game they would know beforehand that they would not enjoy.

Click this link to watch the AngryJoeShow as an example for youtube video game review.

Bonus Blog on Thanksgiving!

Hello everyone and a tip of the hat to you all!  It is I the TopHatMan, here for another Blog Post.
This week is Thanksgiving.  If you do not live in the United States than it may not be a holiday you generally celebrate given that Thanksgiving is an American Holiday.  Thanksgiving celebrates the Pilgrims who sailed to the Americas in the early 17th century and had a feast with the occupying native Americans.  It is a holiday celebrating all that we are thankful for and is also a time when family gathers around one table to eat a variety of food with the center piece being a freshly cooked turkey.
Now the food can vary but the message stays the same.  Love of Family and if you are religious, Love of God(s).  Thanksgiving is a bigger holiday for some and a less important holiday for others.  For a lot of American kids the importance of Thanksgiving is that they get three days off from school.  The day before, the day of, and the day after Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday of November so that means a two day week for school children.  However days off from school for some is not the important thing for most about Thanksgiving.  It is sitting down for a meal with friends and family and being thankful for one another.
Even though traditionally Thanksgiving has been a traditionally American holiday, you do not need to be an American to be thankful for what you have.  This Thursday, take time from your day and be thankful for everything you have in your life.  Be thankful for friends, family, and your own uniqueness and individuality.  Also be thankful for food, a substance we may take for granted but many in the world don't have.  Be thankful for who you are, we all have a purpose.  Life is just discovering that purpose.
This is the TopHatMan signing off for the week.
Happy Thanksgiving

Copyright Law for Video Games

Hello everyone and a tip of the hat to you all!  It is I the TopHatMan here for another Blog Post!
Video Games are by far my favorite hobby.  Video Games enable the player to explore whole new worlds and experience things and do things you would not typically be able to do in the real world.  Whether you personally prefer Indie Games, or Triple E games, the love of gaming is a glue that links all gamers together.  Most gamers want to see the industry grow and expand.  While Gaming is expanding and the industry is becoming more and more accepted as a legitimate form of media, there are still those stuck in their ways who do not understand the industry.
Before we get to that, lets discuss gaming media.  Traditionally, video game media has been locked to magazines and online websites that post news releases and written reviews that take only a couple of minutes to read.  However Youtube came into the fray and has exploded in popularity.  Millions of people love to watch their favorite personalities play games and witness their reaction or here their opinion on the video game that is not through blocks of words.  Review and first impression based content has become the go to for people to find out if a video game is right for them.  People also enjoy watching lets plays of games where a YouTube personality plays through either segments of the game or through the entirety of the game and experience the journey, hardships, and successes of the gamer's trek through the interactive media.  Many people ask what is the point of watching someone else play a game, why not go out and play it yourself.  The answer is simple, people love to watch reactions of other people.  People love watching the reactions of other people in various situations whether it be reactions to the story of a game, to multi-player aspects of the game or through the horror elements of a game.
There is a misnomer in society.  Some people believe that when people watch a lets play or a review then they will not buy the game, because they have experienced what the game has to offer.  The problem with that is that you can not prove that they were even going to purchase the game in the first place.  There is no way to tell.  Also if a game's experience can be fully had through merely watching it, it has failed as a video game.  The whole unique aspect of the video game is that it is interactive.  To fully experience a game such as Journey, World of Warcraft, Halo, or Minecraft, you must play it for yourself.  If that experience can be gained through watching it, it failed as a video game.
Let's defend review and first impression shall we?
Some people argue against review and first impression by saying that it can negatively affect game sales.  That is the point of a review or first impression.  To state the pros and cons of the game in perspective of the reviewer or personality.  If a game is fundamentally flawed, either it is not optimized, is broken, or there are subjective aspects of the game that the person does not like, then that is for the viewer to decide if those problems outweigh the pros of the game.  I will admit, I am not pro big business or small business, I really could not care about either, I am pro consumer and the rights of the consumer are paramount to me.  If someone believes/knows they will not enjoy a game, then they are not inclined to purchase or support said game.  That is their right of a consumer.  But TopHatMan, developers will go under if no one purchases their game.  The answer is produce a good game that is well optimized and not broken.  Mechanics of the game and genre are subjective and the likes of each mechanic and genre will vary from person to person.  If you send a well optimized game that is not broken (when I click play it plays) it will find its market.  Not all games succeed, just like every other industry, some companies flop and some companies prosper.
The idea that some companies on Youtube can copyright strike and take down critique of their games is inherently anti-consumer and should be excised from society like the plague was.  If critique is not allowed to live in the industry then consumers will buy games they do not like, and will have wasted hard earned money that could have been saved for games they like.  People also have made jobs off of critiquing games and albeit an easy job in comparison to other manual labor based jobs, it is difficult to prosper as a youtuber.  When you find your audience you have to hold onto it or they will forget you and move on.
That is the end for this blog.  Thank you all and have a nice week!'
My favorite youtuber.

Bowling Coverstocks

Hello everyone and a tip of the hat to you all!  It is I the Top Hat man here with another Weekly Topic. 

Bowling.  A sport that goes back in human history.  Bowling has evolved throughout the centuries.  The balls originally used to be made out of stone, now they are made out of multiple layers.  I will focus on the most interesting, the outer layer.

The outer layer, or more commonly referred to as the cover stock of the ball is the defining fact of the ball in how it will react on the lane.  Each cover stock is made from a unique material with key differences depending on the type of lane the ball is used on.  The different types of lanes are either dry lanes, medium oiled lanes, or heavily oiled lanes or any combination there between.  The correct choice of cover stock for your lane of choice can make the difference between a ball that hooks into the pins solidifying the strike, or the ball that keeps going straight or curves off to the wrong side and you either get a spare or a gutter ball.  

There are a variety of different kinds of cover stock available to the general market.  It is up to you the bowler to learn the various types of cover stock, the lane you predominately bowl on, and match the correct cover stock to the right lane.  Lucky for you, the Tophatman's knowledge is vast and is willing to share it with you.  Plastic cover stock is best on dry lanes.  Urethane is good on dry or medium/dry lanes.  Solid reactive is great for heavy to medium oil lanes.  Hybrid Reactive is a combination of Solid and Pearl Reactive, and is good on the mid lane and back end.  The Pearl Reactive is a ball that reacts quickly and its reaction is extended in length on dry lanes.  

Link for More Information of Bowling Cover stocks.

The Dark Web

There is something strange in the neighborhood, who you gonna call?  Not the ghost busters since they are fictional characters.  There is something strange and that is the Dark Web.  The Dark Web is untraceable due to the TOR network among other similar networks.  It is the black market of the internet where millions of pounds of illegal narcotics are purchased every day.  The Dark Web is the antithesis of NSA surveillance.  Due to a complicated Encryption Network such as the TOR network, the identity of the user accessing the Dark Web remains anonymous.  While many people may love the idea of a 100% anonymous web where the government and tech companies cannot track us as they due with the regular world wide web, complete anonymity poses multiple problems.  Primarily through criminal activities.  Terrorist organizations can log onto anonymous websites and organized events and travesties without anyone knowing who, or where the author of the post is.  Also through sites such as Silk Road, drug trafficking becomes immensely easier because deals can be made where only the drug lord and recipient knows the details of the transaction.

However, there is something I would like to debunk.  The idea that anonymity can be completely disregarded in society because bad people will do bad things with it, is a fallacy.  Bad people will do bad things regardless of the tools you give them.  Criminals are like insects that will adapt to any given situation to suit and thrive off of any situation.  If you take the ability of the internet away from criminals, criminals will continue doing criminal deeds like they have been throughout human history.  However just because this is the case doesn't disregard the idea that a monitored internet has benefits.  Online polls, personalized adds and emails, as well as tracking criminals are all pros of a tracked internet.  A middle ground must be achieved to satisfy those who do not want their privacy to be taken away from them, as well as those who see the benefits of a monitored internet.  The extreme of either is harmful to society.
Information abounds.

November 10, 2014 Weekly News Blast

Monday News Blast
Hat of the week, Beanie

Hello all and a tip of the hat to you all, it is I the Top Hat man with another science news weekly recap for you all.
This week in the news:
1)  Einstein's gravity waves might be found through different methods.  If you are familiar with Einstein's famous General theory of relativity, then you know of the concept of Space time and that space time can be shaped and bent by gravity.  Mass distorts the field of space time according the amount of mass the object has.  The ripples in space time are caused by the mass of the object.
If stars are affected by the gravitational ripples then the stars would absorb a large amount of energy resulting in the star becoming brighter for a period of time.  By judging the unnatural brightness of the star, the gravitational waves can be determined if they exist.

2) Humanity is not that far away from reaching the age where science fiction becomes a reality for humanity.  Tractor beams, the famous beams of energy that pull star ships into the bay of larger star ships.  Technology long though to be pure fiction, however recent studies manipulating heat energy show that tractor beams are definitely possible.  While large scale tractor beams are far off, small scale beams that can move a few particles are being experimented with.
Link of the Week

V for Vendetta Questions Answered

To what extent do people fall in love with the particular facts of a conspiracy, or with the idea of a conspiracy?
People fall in love with conspiracies because questions that the individual had about mainstream thoughts are answered in some conspiracies.  They also feel as if they are taking part in something from the ground up and relish to see the theory become mainstream thought or to be proved correct to say that I was a part of that from the beginning.  People love alternate history and timelines and some hope to see one of the alternate timelines become reality.  People however fall in love with particular theories because they believe them to be correct based upon the facts or ideas presented by the conspiracy.

What are the differences between propaganda and conspiracy?
Propaganda is generally issued by the government to convince people to ally themselves with the government ideals and principles in pursuit of the good of the government.  Conspiracy is generally issued by the people against mainstream thought or government to persuade other members of the population to believe in something different than what the government tells you.

Is V a hero or villain
V is a hero because he stood up against a tyrannical Orwellian government.  While his methods were acts of terrorism by blowing up federal buildings and killing high members of Parliament, the government needed to be torn down and dismantled.  A tyrannical government needs to be vanquished by those citizens who want to see freedom instilled in the land they love.

Using your answers to these questions, develop a position about conspiracy theory and cover up, and the role multi-media is used.
Conspiracy theories have been used by members of a country or organization to try and expose cover ups.  Conspiracy theories are used by people who do not trust their government and believe through evidence they deem substantial enough, to try and forge their government to what they think it should be.  If people think that JFK was assassinated by means other than what the government provided the common populace, then they believe the government covered something up and they wish to expose the real truth.
Cover ups are used by the government to conceal truth they believe would pose more harm than it would by covering it up.  Say the government had contact with extra terrestrial beings and they did not tell the people out of fear of mass hysteria.  Governments also cover up details and stories to make the government look better such as Tienanmen Square of the Chinese Government.  Some cover ups like Tienanmen Square is to prevent the people from knowing the truth.
Multi Media is heavily used because it is a universal tool that everyone can use.  Information can quickly be transferred to the various parts of the country and the world with a few taps of a button.  However multimedia also can be used to spread conspiracy theories of the government.  Multimedia is used to transfer data on cover's or conspiracies across the world toa  broader audience other than that of the one country or government.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_for_Vendetta_(film) 

V for Vendetta POV and conspiracy theory

The movie is an excellent interpretation of an Orwellian society that ends in the government being toppled for freedom.  The idea of the Anonymous mask generally associated with the internet hacking organization terrorizing the digital space is given a new face in the movie V for Vendetta.  Instead of a cyber organization, the Guy Fawkes mask is dawned on by one man named V who is trying to topple an Orwellian society set in England after the United States had fallen to war and corruption.  The government is cruel and manipulative such as Big Brother in 1984.

The connection between V trying to influence the protagonist EV, a woman whose parents were captured by the government and now works at BTN, the local news network.  As the movie progresses. their relationship and friendship is put to the test as V captures her and tortures her in the guise of the government to help her lose any sense of fear and live a life without fear as she had asked him beforehand.  On the following 5th of November (the anniversary of Guy Fawkes death), V has gathered the support of the civilians against the government to march on Parliament while EV sets a train filled with explosives and fireworks including the corpse of V off to Parliament through an underground rail road system.  Mr. Finch who finds EV in the tunnel allows her to blow Parliament up.

The movie brings up the concept of conspiracies that when government is dishonest to the people, the truth will come out.  While most modern governments are not Orwellian, a comparison can be made to modern society and even modern understanding of history.  Look at Stonehenge and the large stones that were used to construct the figure.  Now picture the technology available to the prehistoric peoples that constructed the monument.  They had basic stone chisels and hammers and pickaxes.  They did not have an advanced understanding of math as we do today, or an understanding of science as we do today.  They do not have the technology modern man would require to build and lift such monolithic stones weighing tons of pounds each.  Prehistoric man could not have constructed Stonehenge because with the technology mainstream archaeology tells us they possessed.  Advanced technology is required to construct these stone structures that ancient man constructed.  Even if by some strethc of the imagination ancient man could construct and lift these stones with chisels and hammers, why did they not cut the stones into smaller stone to make it easier to transport.  Why do something so agonizingly painfully difficult.  The answer is that it wast that difficult for them.
Remember Remember the Fifth of November.  
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434409/

Halloween in Multimedia

As multimedia is increasing in popularity, traditional holidays are being celebrated like never before.  Whether it be hanging out in World of Warcraft while doing the Hallow's End event with people from all over the world, or watching your favorite Halloween Special,  Halloween is quickly being assimilated into the Internet lifestyle.  Whether it be playing a horror game such as Outlast or watching the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy's Halloween special, multimedia has something for everyone during the scary season.
Check out youtube and search for any scary game and watch a plethora of lets plays and face cams as people indulge in the season of trick or treat.
https://www.youtube.com/