Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category

Mechanical Keyboard Love Affair

Friday, December 16th, 2016

My first mechanical keyboard was a full-size, pink Filco Majestouch-2 with Cherry MX Blue switches. Let’s just say I fell in love with first use. Not only is it a gorgeous keyboard, it started my whole love affair with mechanical keyboards.

There’s just something special about typing on a mechanical keyboard versus your standard membrane keyboard. For me, there was something entrancing about feeling how responsive the keys are to the touch. There is something inherently gratifying when hearing and feeling that tactile feedback click. It was strange to adjust to at first, but I can definitely say that I noticed an increase in typing speed thanks to the reduced amount of force needed to actuate a key.

I’ve had my Filco keyboard for… six years now? I’ve never had an issue with it until recently, where I’m pretty sure one the switch in one of the CTRL keys happened to get misaligned, causing the key to struggle with registering key presses. I haven’t gotten around to fixing it (which I will), but that keyboard had me pretty convinced I would spend the rest of my life using Cherry MX Blue switches for the rest of my life.

That viewpoint changed within the past few years.

One thing I’ve always wanted out of a keyboard was that LED lighting, particularly after acquiring an Alienware laptop. I just loved the customization and the colors. My Filco was as standard as they come, with the only lights in place were for the lock keys. Of course, when Razer’s BlackWidow Chroma came out, Tyler and I were pretty quick to grab ’em.

Razer’s BlackWidow Chroma had the LEDs that I wanted; however, they didn’t have Cherry MX Blue switches. Didn’t really matter in the long run, though. The Razer Green switches in the BlackWidow Chroma had a very similar feel to the Cherry MX Blue switches, and they still had that audible tactile bump that I’ve grown to love. I have my BlackWidow Chroma connected to my home rig, and I love it all the same.

As for my Filco keyboard, I brought it to work. My coworkers commented on it when I first brought it there, even though my work is no stranger to mechanical keyboards. However, most people who also had mechanical keyboards also opted for switches of the silent variety. However, people did tend to comment that my keyboard was rather loud compared to everyone else’s keyboards. People adapted, though, and things were fine.

Well, that was until that one switch started having issues. It wasn’t really that big of a deal since it was just that CTRL key (and keyboards have two of them), but I was so adjusted to how I would work on documents that having to reprogram those processes were painful.

So, what to do? For one day, I settled for using my work laptop’s keyboard. Why one day? Because I couldn’t stand it. Constant typos and keys not always registering because of my light typing… I wanted to cry.

I ended up taking the plunge and ordering another keyboard. Sure, I could have toted my Razer back and forth every day, but that was a hassle I didn’t want to deal with. As for a brand new keyboard, I wanted to stick to a full-size keyboard since I used both ten key and the arrow keys frequently in my job. Also, I really wanted to try out a keyboard with Cherry MX Green switches. While I love Cherry MX Blue switches, I still found myself bottoming out my keys. Cherry MX Blue switches worked really well for me when I was constantly typing things, but when I was editing, I was bottoming out my keys left and right. Cherry MX Green switches have a higher actuation force, so I was interested in seeing how that would help with the whole bottoming out.

Even though I ordered my keyboard and had it shipped a bit faster than normal, I wasn’t sure how work was gonna go if I had to type on my laptop keyboard until it came in. Lucky for me, Tyler ended up getting a new mechanical keyboard himself, so he graciously gave (or let me steal) his Corsair K70 RGB RAPIDFIRE in the meantime. This particular keyboard has Cherry MX Silver switches.

Cherry MX Silver switches are similar to Cherry MX Red switches in the sense that they’re linear. They lack the same kind of tactile bump and audible feedback of the Cherry MX Blue and Green switches. While I’ve never regularly used a linear switch keyboard, I have messed around with Tyler’s linear switch keyboards. I always ended up missing the feel and the sound of my Cherry MX Blue switches. I was surprised to find that I really, really liked how the Cherry MX Silver switches feel.

The Cherry MX Silver switches have a shorter actuation point and travel distance than what I’m used to. I kind of like that feel a lot more than I thought I was going to. One other selling point for me was that it feels like there is a bit more resistance to the keys than my Filco. I know I looked it up at one point in time, but in general, the keys feel a lot more firm than the Cherry MX Blues (of course, I have to take in account the fact that my Filco is significantly more broken in than the Corsair). Combine all of that with the fact that my coworkers are no longer driven crazy by the loud clacking sound of my keyboard, all in all, I think that this keyboard is perfect for me at work.

So much for the other keyboard I had coming in (a Ducky One Orange Legends with Cherry MX Green switches).

When it comes to mechanical keyboards, I always tell people to try them out before they buy one. Get a feel for it. Try out different switches, if you can. A lot of commercial gaming keyboards are made with mechanical switches, so you can go somewhere, like Best Buy, and see how things feel. Another thing I recommend is purchasing a switch tester. It’s a cheap and easy way to see how different types of mechanical switches feel. Also, do your research! r/mechanicalkeyboards has a lot of good information, and a lot of people are incredibly helpful on there, too. There are a ton of different places to purchase mechanical keyboards, and there are a lot of ways to customize them, too. Different switches, different keyboard layouts, different keycaps…the world is your oyster.

I recommend mechanical keyboards because I don’t suffer from nearly as much hand/wrist strain as I used to. These keyboards can help you adjust to typing lighter and improving typing speeds. When it comes to computers, keyboards are something you frequently use–why not buy yourself a quality one that will last you quite a while? Sure, it’s a larger investment than simply using a laptop keyboard or that cheapie keyboard, but it’ll last you a while. Hell, I used to go through keyboards a lot. And now? I solely used my Filco for six years, and only now am I having minor (but fixable!) issues.

Maybe one of these days I’ll have to go and take pictures of all the keyboards Tyler and I both have. Then again… there are more on the way, haha. One of these days. ^^

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Thursday, September 1st, 2016

Well, I haven’t written in here in a while. Again. Oops.

Made some updates to my sidebars/information since so much time has passed. Set some goals, as well.

  • More Posts. I was doing so well, and then I got off track. I need to write more in other avenues than my personal journal and my bullet journal.
  • More Pictures. This feature is something my posts, in general, are lacking. So much text and nothing to break it up. So… let’s take more pictures!

Yeeeeeep. There are some goals for ya.

Anyways…I’m gonna be leaving in less than eight hours to Colorado for an anime convention and visiting friends. NDK! Haven’t been there since I started this blog. :3

I’ll post when I get back~! <3

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Father’s Day

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2015

I lost my father at the end of last year, not even days after I got married and a little over a month before one of my favorite holidays to celebrate with my dad, Christmas. Father’s Day holds a special place in my heart.

After my father passed away, I was going through some of his things that he kept in a small box next to his favorite chair in the living room. Little notebooks and brushes for my cat Cortana (whom he absolutely adored). What really stood out for me the most were a pile of cards that I got him for various days such as Father’s Day, his birthday, and so on. He had at least two years of cards from me, only me, in this box. My father treasured me more than anything else, and his love means so much to me.

This is the first Father’s Day I’ve had to spend without him. I can definitely feel the empty space in my chest. Things just aren’t the same. My dad is probably the biggest reason I came out okay, and I can’t thank him enough for everything he has ever done for me.

Perhaps this is why I am so easily offended by all the little posts I’ve read about how there are some people out there who genuinely feel like like Father’s Day is a joke. Of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I believe that wholeheartedly, and I still respect other peoples’ opinions. It’s only fair I share my own.

Father’s Day seems to be a touchy subject for some people, especially the ones that have had negative experiences with fathers. I consider myself lucky to have had such a wonderful father. Even if it does happen to be a fake hashtag on Twitter, #EndFathersDay really does hit a sore spot for me. Yes, there are probably a lot of shitty fathers out there who don’t even deserve the title, but is it fair to call and end to something that appreciates those fathers who took care of their families and fully accepted the responsibility of being a parent?

If anything, Mother’s Day is the one that leaves a sour taste in my mouth. My mother isn’t the worst person ever, but she wasn’t the best person, either. The way she raised me contributed to my stunted emotional development that I’m still working on sorting to this day. My father was always the one who provided me with the affection that my mother was incapable of giving. He was the reassuring voice that dulled the critical edge of my mother’s criticisms. He taught me that I was okay exactly the way I was, and as long as I did my best, he was more than proud of me.

I guess I happen see things from the opposite end of the spectrum. I haven’t had all that positive of an experience with my own mother. I’ve known people who have been abused, mistreated, and abandoned by their mothers. I’ve had friends who had only their fathers to raise them when their mothers ran off. Yet you do not hear me yelling at the top of my lungs that Mother’s Day should sod right off because my mother wasn’t the healthiest parent to be raised by. Who am I to say that all mothers are horrible because mine wasn’t all that great to me?

I have a friend who is so much younger than me, yet she is such an inspirational single mother. My grandmother on my father’s side was one of the sweetest ladies alive, and she gave me nothing but love and happiness the entire time she was alive. I just know so many other inspirational mothers and grandmothers who deserve the love and affection they receive on Mother’s Day. My mother does not dictate the behavior of every other mother who deserves recognition; even then, I still cherish my mother for trying.

Just because some father figures were abysmal doesn’t mean we shouldn’t celebrate the other fathers out there who work hard to support their family, care for their children, and really make that difference in peoples’ lives. After all, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

I miss you, dad. I think about you every day. I’m glad I had you in my life, and I’m happy that I got to be as close with you as I was. I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. Thank you for being such a light in my life.

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Friday, April 24th, 2015

ca·thar·sis

(kə-thär′sĭs)

n. pl. ca·thar·ses (-sēz)

1. Medicine Purgation, especially for the digestive system.
2. A purifying or figurative cleansing of the emotions, especially pity and fear, described by Aristotle as an effect of tragic drama on its audience.
3. A release of emotional tension, as after an overwhelming experience, that restores or refreshes the spirit.
4. Psychology

a. A technique used to relieve tension and anxiety by bringing repressed feelings and fears to consciousness.
b. The therapeutic result of this process; abreaction.

 

An innumerable amount of factors contribute to the entirety of who we are; however, in the process of moving forward, sometimes we have to take a moment to stop ourselves from habitually looking back when we already know what remains behind.

We need to understand the mistakes we have made in order to prevent future mishaps in the same vein. Yet we cannot draw on these recollections too often; constant dwelling on the errors of our ways hinders us from living in the present. When we fretfully reminisce on events and decisions made in the past, we become stagnant. We are unable to move forward because we’ve chained ourselves to our guilt, our fear, our transgressions, our misapprehensions.

 

Releasing ourselves from the toxicity clouding our very existences can lead to a variety of reflexive responses, often in paradoxical combinations.

We must remember why we made the choices that we did, particularly based on the circumstances given to us at that very time. Hindsight, as always, has perfect vision. We can spend our entire lives looking back with regret at the decisions we made when we did not have all the tools and information at our disposal. We have to remember how we felt at that time. Even if this decision lead to a tragic mistake, we cannot hold transgressions that occurred against us that were simply beyond our control.

All we can do is accept the choices we have made, take responsibility for the errors that we directly made, and forgive ourselves for the consequences that are genuinely beyond our reach, our ability to mend.

We assume that we have the utmost amount of control when we perform an action within the world, that accidental consequences that would have never normally factored in are our burdens to bear.

We fail to see the irony in expecting perfection in a universe birthed from chaos.

 

We often forget that, at the end of the day, we are the only ones who have to live with the choices we made, the paths we took, the effort we put in. We forget that the only thing we can genuinely control in the universe is what we do and how we react to what the universe brings back in return.

The universe does not embrace a perfect algorithm as to where you can, without a doubt, provide the perfect action to obtain the desired reaction. We can become well versed in playing the odds, yet we cannot guarantee that every perfectly played interaction will result in success. Even when success looks apparent, we are simply unable to perfectly decipher the silent nuances that keep this game (so to speak) ever changing.

A construct may look and appear structurally sound on paper, yet a singular, almost invisible, fault could just as well rend the whole structure asunder. It may not even be a flaw implemented in creation but a structural anomaly developed over an infinite expanse of time. These elements are beyond our control. To say that the failure or damage to structural integrity is the fault of one person alone (unless purposefully implemented as such) is absurd, yet we find ourselves blaming events, incidents, and accidents on ourselves when our intentions in the whole grand scheme of things were genuinely unadulterated. When others react poorly to a decision we’ve made to care for ourselves, we end up feeling guilty for choosing to make someone else happy instead of doing what needs to be done to take care of ourselves.

The logical fallacies are quite obvious when documented, yet for some reason, in our heads, we feel that others are validated in their consternation towards the pursuit of our own needs. Lost in the moment, we conveniently forget that the people that genuinely care for your well being will not press their agenda on us when we are unable to satisfy our own needs.

We often fail to see the irony in that being made to feel as if we are selfish for genuinely doing what is best to take care of ourselves, when in reality it is that very accuser who is being selfish.

In the end, perception is solely based on the eye of the beholder. Just because someone tells us that something is the way it is does not mean that we have to treat it as the infallible truth. We are able to draw our own conclusions, make our own investigations, and believe what we believe. In the end, it’s all a matter of perspective.

(Author’s Note: Extremism changes the dynamic but not the overall message.)

 

Nothing in life was ever meant to be static. While it retains its general shape and concept, life is constantly in ebb and flow. Just because something comes in to your life means it will always be there. Just because something leaves your life doesn’t mean it will be gone forever. Even in the toughest of situations, we always have a choice, even if some of the choices are unappealing and not what we want to do.

Life is what we make of it, after all.

 

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Fighting Games, Life, and Video Games.

Thursday, March 20th, 2014

I haven’t updated here in forever, have I? I guess now is as good as a time as any.

I entered in the local BlazBlue tournament in January. There weren’t that many entrants, but I am happy I came in third place. I’m sure I could have performed a whole lot better if I really focused on working on new combos. The combos I have seem to be holding me through pretty well, but I feel like I’m genuinely limiting my ability if I don’t learn anything new. Those combos that are in muscle memory are pretty well rooted in muscle memory. I think I just need to do something more than what I already have.

Another thing I really need is matchup experience. I have a lot of experience playing against Tyler’s Kokonoe. I have a bit of experience playing against Estevan’s Valkenhayn. I understand how a lot of the other characters work. I have about as much matchup experience as I do from playing online in previous iterations of BlazBlue. When I rolled in to the tournament, I’ve only seen Azrael in play from videos and Score Attack. Not a whole lot of experience otherwise. I locked up pretty good playing against Chavelo’s Azrael. I feel like I would’ve done better if I had more matchup experience, but hindsight is always 20/20.

The Atomic Mesa household hasn’t been streaming a whole lot lately. We did try something different in the past few months, though: we streamed a Vanguard card game tournament. It was a lot of fun, even though we were lacking in streaming gear at the time. The players thought it was an amazing idea, and they all really wanted to play for the stream. We had advertising on the Cardfight! Vanguard Facebook, and we actually had people in the chat discussing what was going on in the game. It was pretty successful! It was a unique experience for us, and I think we’ll be better prepared for stuff like that in the future.

Tyler has been really busy building and modding fight sticks lately. He recently built a custom Melty Blood stick for himself that came out quite amazing. He designed the art himself, put the stick together, and he even put LEDs into the stick. He went through the effort of programming the LEDs, and it paid off. The stick is quite amazing.

Besides the stick he built, he is also building me my waifu (Kuroneko) stick! He has put in so much effort making it perfect, and I am blown away with what he’s done so far. He’s put the entire thing together save for the wiring (we’re still waiting on the wiring harness to come in). I’ll have to post pictures of it once it’s finished–the work he’s done has exceeded my expectations and then some.

I think I would be doing more with things, but having two jobs has been taking up a lot of my time. I work eight hours a day for my main job, then I go home and get things done around the house, then I go and squeeze in however many hours of work for my second job (depending on how much stuff they have for me at the time). I barely have enough time to squish in gaming, much less a social life. Oh, and add going to the gym on a regular basis in there, and… free time? What’s that? I don’t understand what free time is anymore. I like being busy, sure, but maybe this is a bit much.

On the bright side, I have really been using my handwritten journals lately. I haven’t missed a day since I started seriously writing in the daily ones in January. I’ve almost filled my general journal, too. I’m trying to write more, even if it is about stupid stuff. I feel rusty (since all I really work on is formatting and editing these days), but I think I will eventually get a handle on things again.

Welp. I think that was a good start. Now to actually see if I can keep up on this thing…

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