{"data":[{"content":"Another year of radio silence on the site. No apologies\u0026ndash;I\u0026rsquo;ve been genuinely busy with other things, and honestly, that\u0026rsquo;s perfectly fine. When I do eventually come back to writing here with any regularity, it\u0026rsquo;ll be because I actually have something worth saying, not just to fill space with throwaway content (unlike today\u0026hellip;hehe).\nThis year brought a lot more reading and some hands-on experiments with a new 3D printer that\u0026rsquo;s been keeping me occupied. I\u0026rsquo;ve also been tinkering away at getting a parametric viewer set up for some of my simpler models, though I still need to track down where I stashed the latest code for that project.\nUsually around this time of year I get the itch to completely redesign the site\u0026rsquo;s style, but this current version actually works pretty well. Sure, the artist images from my latest listens are mysteriously broken and I need to figure out what\u0026rsquo;s going on there, but the overall layout and structure feel right. The real challenge I\u0026rsquo;m facing? Finding a genuinely smooth workflow for getting content posted and properly previewed without burning through hours of setup time. I\u0026rsquo;m starting to think I might have to build my own lightweight CMS to make the whole process actually work the way I want it to.\nSome ideas that have been rattling around in my head:\nI need to refactor the \u0026ldquo;Links\u0026rdquo; post type so it pulls directly from my Linkwarden collection or maybe from a simple data file instead The \u0026ldquo;Quote\u0026rdquo; type only has a single post anyway—if that whole category vanishes, no real loss there I\u0026rsquo;ve got this plan brewing for handling status updates through Discord as a makeshift CMS, which could actually be pretty fun to set up Last on the list are some quick updates to freshen up the About and Garden pages Here\u0026rsquo;s a wild thought that keeps coming back: what if I used Jupyter Notebooks as the actual source files for posts? The possibilities are intriguing—data-driven posts with live visualizations, embedded 3D models you can interact with, computational stuff rendered right in the page. Might need to settle for linking out to external viewers or using embeds instead of native integration, but it still feels worth exploring.\nJust thoughts percolating for now as the year winds down.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/what-am-i-doing/","date":"2025-12-24T20:00:02Z","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/q_auto:good/c_scale,w_1550/c_crop,h_1044,w_1550/notebook/digital-pwb","tags":["site","commentary"],"title":"What am I doing?","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/what-am-i-doing/"},{"content":"POW Aden Jansen is recruited to go undercover in Gretia to wipe the slate clean. If he can succeed—and survive. Dunstan Park is on piracy patrol to track down the space-born arm of the uprising. Idina Chaudhary hopes to root out the insurgency on the ground. And Aden’s sister, Solveig, discovers how the bank behind the rebellion is closer to her than she knew.\nDescent by Marko Kloos Background So this is Book 4 of the Palladium Wars Series by Marko Kloos. I was a big fan of his Frontlines series of books, and this appears to be his next major series. What is different from my previous reads of his, is that where Frontlines and others focus on a primary person/group, The Palladium Wars is split between 4-5 \u0026ldquo;main\u0026rdquo; characters and can become a bit disconcerting.\nWhat sets Descent apart from the rest of the series is that all the different stories are beginning to fully intertwine. There was progress in the third book, but this one really begins to pull it all together. The second book was a bit of a slog as it appeared there wasn\u0026rsquo;t much movement in the story, but this one ramps it up quite a bit.\nThe \u0026ldquo;center\u0026rdquo; of the story is beginning to be focused on Gretia, which helps all the diaspora of storylines coalesce. Aden is now fighting not only for his freedom, but for what he feels like a worthy mission. Solveig is breaking out of the restraints of her father and finding more than she bargained for. Dunstan and Idina still feel like ancillary side stories, but Idina\u0026rsquo;s is really beginning to blend in and I can only hope Dunstan\u0026rsquo;s will more in the next book.\nReview As with the last book review, I\u0026rsquo;m beginning to look at some of the series that I\u0026rsquo;m \u0026rsquo;tied\u0026rsquo; to and see if I can dump them. This one keeps be involved. The webs are focusing into a solid story and there\u0026rsquo;s just enough intrigue to keep me wishing for more. Solveig\u0026rsquo;s story is probably the one that I was wishing progressed further than it did, but it\u0026rsquo;s ok, I\u0026rsquo;m still in.\nUnlike the previous two books that weighed heavy on the politics, this one does not. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t ignore the politics behind the situations they are in, it simply doesn\u0026rsquo;t bog you down with the \u0026ldquo;whys\u0026rdquo;. At this point, you should know people are operating on baser instincts. Aden has a drive now unlike anything before, and Solveig is deeply investing in finding out information.\nIdina\u0026rsquo;s story is good, although it went much more violent than I was expecting. This is not a bad thing, necessarily, but does show that her story might go pretty dark if it needs to. The book ended before I felt she really got going, but just means there is more to come.\nIf I was to have a negative, it would be that Dunstan\u0026rsquo;s story still doesn\u0026rsquo;t fit well in the overall arc. As well as this book seemingly took a bit of a shift in his character. There is a moment in the book where Dunstan has a question regarding conscience and if he should abide by orders. Unfortunately, after all that was established by him, this particular break felt out of character and problematic. I hope it takes his story directions that I didn\u0026rsquo;t expect, otherwise there is significant shift in my desire to continue to read about him.\nOverall, this book take great strides in restoring the quality read from some significant difficulty of the last two books. So this one is a solid 7 out of 10.\n7 10 RATING url:https://traeblain.com/blog/descent-by-marko-kloos/","date":"2025-01-28T17:57:54-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/q_auto:good/a_90/c_crop,h_1044,w_1500,y_180/v1738108830/books/descent-kloos_wlnphe.jpg","tags":["review","reading"],"title":"Descent by Marko Kloos","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/descent-by-marko-kloos/"},{"content":"Finished reading System Collapse by Martha Wells. This is the 7th book of the Murderbot series (the first few as novellas), and I think this is the one that will end the series for me. Might have some Spoilers, I\u0026rsquo;ll try to warn you!\nSystem Collapse by Martha Wells Synopsis Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly-colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there’s an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if Barish-Estranza can’t have the planet, they’re sure as hell not leaving without something. If that something just happens to be an entire colony of humans, well, a free workforce is a decent runner-up prize.\nBut there’s something wrong with Murderbot; it isn’t running within normal operational parameters. ART’s crew and the humans from Preservation are doing everything they can to protect the colonists, but with Barish-Estranza’s SecUnit-heavy persuasion teams, they’re going to have to hope Murderbot figures out what’s wrong with itself, and fast! (From Amazon)\nReview Martha Wells is a great writer. The fact that Murderbot fights with both human experiences and machine experiences is well blended and a great subject to present. Unfortunately, since these stories have gone from novellas to novels, they\u0026rsquo;ve become bloated and filled with boring sections. I also think that due to the length, there\u0026rsquo;s early plot points and situations that feel forgotten about and left with no payoff later in the book. The initial setup of the situation was well structured and engaging. Murderbot\u0026rsquo;s battling emotions and feelings his machine side cannot connect with, and it sets itself up for a gripping internal as well as external struggle (with Barish-Estranza).\nUnfortunately, we\u0026rsquo;re given hundred pages of filler with discussions with the colony\u0026rsquo;s inhabitants and systems. The brief back and forth with BE\u0026rsquo;s people isn\u0026rsquo;t very engaging because the motivations of both sides are well known to the reader, and therefore, not very interesting. It\u0026rsquo;s just hard to make something like that interesting with you already know what and why people are doing things. Then when it came to the more interesting and gripping scenarios at the end, there\u0026rsquo;s a twist out of nowhere. You would think this would redeem the earlier exposition, but instead is unsatisfactorily resolved (in the way we all knew it would) and the most interesting aspects (BE Exec and new SecUnit) are written off and we\u0026rsquo;re left with a \u0026ldquo;back where we started feeling\u0026rdquo;.\nHonestly, I have felt that this series should have remained as novellas. The early ones were concise and only included what you needed. Wells was fantastic and getting everything in in that short length, but in these longer novels it feels she doesn\u0026rsquo;t know what to do with the extra page count. Overall, I think I\u0026rsquo;m done with this series moving forward. Gave both the novels a try and feel pretty let down by them. I will move on to other things. Giving this a 3.5 or 4 out of 10.\n4 10 RATING url:https://traeblain.com/blog/system-collapse/","date":"2025-01-19T03:38:05Z","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_crop,h_765,q_auto:good,w_1099,y_400/e_gen_remove:region_(x_25;y_25;w_275;h_310)/v1737258024/systemcollapse_uqng7c.jpg","tags":["review","reading"],"title":"System Collapse","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/system-collapse/"},{"content":"I spent forever just scrolling through this site. It was amazing fun watching all the facts and details as you scoll up to the Kármán Line. Sites like this don\u0026rsquo;t get enough publicity but it really should. Just a fun time. Making sure my kids get to see it as well is a treat. You should spend time there as well.\nEnjoy and let me know what you think as well. Catch me at Mastodon.\nSo much fun.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/space-elevator/","date":"2023-04-29T16:09:05.78Z","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_scale,q_auto:good,w_2048/notebook/elevator.jpg","tags":["fun","science"],"title":"Space Elevator","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/space-elevator/"},{"content":"Colin Meloy of The Decemberist had ChatGPT write a song in his style. It\u0026rsquo;s an example of how a great artist can bring a terrible-to-mediocre song up to something pretty decent.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/link/chatgpt-wrote-a-song/","date":"2023-02-13T23:27:49.854Z","image":"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1200,h_600,c_limit,f_jpg,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2aafe882-b8d3-4bc0-ae06-f393f8725cb1_1544x752.png","tags":null,"title":"ChatGPT Wrote a Song","type":"link","url":"https://colinmeloy.substack.com/p/i-had-chatgpt-write-a-decemberists"},{"content":"These fools chopped a rear tire of motorcycle in half\u0026hellip;and the outcome is amazing.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/link/split-wheeled-motorcycle/","date":"2023-02-08T18:03:24.759Z","image":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/YWrQyLsI2vCbjsI9BR1MeMzVoEBKYYHyqLvdKhfNX07bcbcZ82VjNVgJNYHtbjhajEljrVL1fvzJ5OqyKTMnv-3ojTbRt2HcmZcA5Fk=s324","tags":null,"title":"Split-wheeled Motorcycle","type":"link","url":"https://laughingsquid.com/split-rear-wheel-motorcycle/"},{"content":"Why is it that there are very few file based, git backed, content management systems (CMS) out there? I see all over people using Hugo, Gatsby, 11ty, Jeckyll, and more to run their static site. The common denominator on all of these? They prioritize the use of .md files and flat-file systems to house their content. Although most of these can operate by pulling remote data from an API, this wasn\u0026rsquo;t the primary function.\nAdditionally, code repositories (i.e. git) have been the standard in storing and versioning these flat files. With all this pseudo-standardization, you would think that there would be a plethora of options to post and edit content through the browser. It seems like the default is that you have a development machine readily available and at your person at all times to edit/post content to your site.\nWeb Browser Front End We really need to understand that we won\u0026rsquo;t always have this access, all alone. Being able to post, edit, and brainstorm through the browser is key to more and better content. This seems hard to get to.\nNetlify CMS was one of the groups committed to bridging this gap. I use Netlify, and running on their system without dealing with all the sync, git commits, and more made this a fantastic tool. But as of late last year, Netlify has ceased to continue development for the tool and it has a number of problematic quirks that make it frustrating to use.\nForestry.io was the next beautiful service for static site management. It was also able to show to details, commit to the repo and even preview the design. It worked well with Hugo (but didn\u0026rsquo;t require it). They are sunsetting Forestry to focus on their new system. This new system, TinaCMS, has a whole slew of features that Forestry had that Tina is not considering to support. This really bummed me out because I was able to completely refactor this site to get rid of some custom JS that made Forestry balk. This would have been my prefered way of updating this site.\nThis is where I got stuck. I really don\u0026rsquo;t see any other systems out there that work with most static site generators in how they work natively. Most all other systems operate on the \u0026ldquo;we store your data, your site pulls from us\u0026rdquo; method. So outside of always having a development system on hand, I was stuck.\nFrontMatter to the Rescue So I was worried that I was stuck with NetlifyCMS and fighting through all the quirks that this involves. But at one point I remembered, I have code-server setup on a system.\nCode-Server is basically Visual Studio Code running in a browser. Using my server\u0026rsquo;s system as the base, I could run Hugo from there and both generate content and preview it from there. This works, but it\u0026rsquo;s not ideal for understanding what content you have and linking that content together. This is what a CMS is good for. But then a random look through the Extensions, I ran across FrontMatter. It basically turns VSCode into static site CMS. It has git capability, but with VSCode already having a robust git connection and capability, it\u0026rsquo;s really not necessary. Being that Code-Server runs remotely, it\u0026rsquo;s like having a remote CMS and development system at my disposal!\nIt has some quirks of it\u0026rsquo;s own, but it\u0026rsquo;s still under active development. So those should get ironed out. It\u0026rsquo;s honestly a nice system. Go check them out: FrontMatter CMS.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/static-site-cms/","date":"2023-01-24T21:08:11.151Z","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_scale,q_auto:eco,w_1920/v1674600173/notebook/coding.jpg","tags":["site","tools"],"title":"Static Site CMS","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/static-site-cms/"},{"content":"People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/quote/know-everything-asimov/","date":"2023-01-20T19:06:23.91Z","image":null,"tags":null,"title":"\u0026amp;lt;p\u0026amp;gt;People who think they know …","type":"quote","url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/quote/know-everything-asimov/"},{"content":"So, I\u0026rsquo;ve been able to work on my own recently. Due to people being out for Christmas and then many taking longer breaks than normal, I get to work on my own a bit. That\u0026rsquo;s good and bad for me because I do need some external stimuli to keep me moving\u0026hellip;yet I\u0026rsquo;ve also been able to hyperfocus on a couple things well.\nTo maintain that focus I tend to listen to a great deal of music. I have Spotify open and on repeat. So, I figure I\u0026rsquo;d share the songs I cannot get enough of right now. Enjoy.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/good-music/","date":"2023-01-16T01:28:17-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_scale,q_auto:eco,w_1920/v1673854553/notebook/record-on-white.jpg","tags":["music"],"title":"Good Music","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/good-music/"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m currently working to update my website. It is really fun to find things and rebuild\u0026hellip;but that\u0026rsquo;s for a different post. I\u0026rsquo;ve found it pretty difficult to build the front-page content for this one though. My current page is full of me and my life, from showing tweets, links, television, and the like. I really like this type of lifestreaming approach, I even worked with this topic on the lifestreamblog website.\nOne issue I have is the shear quantity of information on the front page and the overwhelming presentation if provides. I love looking at it, but not sure anyone else really does. So in this rebuild I wanted to explore what\u0026rsquo;s out there to see if there\u0026rsquo;s some inspiration I can take in making a new site.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s some really great sites out there that look wonderful but it lead me to a couple key takeaways.\nIt appears the average person doesn\u0026rsquo;t have just a regular site. Most all sites are now used to sell the person. There\u0026rsquo;s nothing wrong with this, but it means that all the beautiful site belong to writers, artists, designers, personalities, self-help people, etc. There are some developer sites that have a decent amount of \u0026ldquo;this is who I am\u0026rdquo;, but even these tend to be resume sites, not just \u0026ldquo;looky here\u0026rdquo;. Type sites. Best place to find simple sites was that we\u0026rsquo;ve been IndieWeb lists. So I think I have some ideas, just wasn\u0026rsquo;t sure it was going to be this hard. More to come\u0026hellip;\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/personal-websites/","date":"2023-01-12T21:59:15-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_scale,q_auto:eco,w_1920/v1673582314/notebook/blueprints.jpg","tags":["site","thoughts"],"title":"Personal Websites","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/personal-websites/"},{"content":"\nThis may remain in Draft form in perpetuity.\nHeadings Sint sit cillum pariatur eiusmod nulla pariatur ipsum. Sit laborum anim qui mollit tempor pariatur nisi minim dolor. Aliquip et adipisicing sit sit fugiat commodo id sunt. Nostrud enim ad commodo incididunt cupidatat in ullamco ullamco Lorem cupidatat velit enim et Lorem. Ut laborum cillum laboris fugiat culpa sint irure do reprehenderit culpa occaecat. Exercitation esse mollit tempor magna aliqua in occaecat aliquip veniam reprehenderit nisi dolor in laboris dolore velit.\nhttps://traeblain.com/\nHeading two Aute officia nulla deserunt do deserunt cillum velit magna. Officia veniam culpa anim minim dolore labore pariatur voluptate id ad est duis quis velit dolor pariatur enim. Incididunt enim excepteur do veniam consequat culpa do voluptate dolor fugiat ad adipisicing sit. Labore officia est adipisicing dolore proident eiusmod exercitation deserunt ullamco anim do occaecat velit. Elit dolor consectetur proident sunt aliquip est do tempor quis aliqua culpa aute. Duis in tempor exercitation pariatur et adipisicing mollit irure tempor ut enim esse commodo laboris proident. Do excepteur laborum anim esse aliquip eu sit id Lorem incididunt elit irure ea nulla dolor et. Nulla amet fugiat qui minim deserunt enim eu cupidatat aute officia do velit ea reprehenderit.\nHeading three Voluptate cupidatat cillum elit quis ipsum eu voluptate fugiat consectetur enim. Quis ut voluptate culpa ex anim aute consectetur dolore proident voluptate exercitation eiusmod. Esse in do anim magna minim culpa sint. Adipisicing ipsum consectetur proident ullamco magna sit amet aliqua aute fugiat laborum exercitation duis et.\nHeading four Commodo fugiat aliqua minim quis pariatur mollit id tempor. Non occaecat minim esse enim aliqua adipisicing nostrud duis consequat eu adipisicing qui. Minim aliquip sit excepteur ipsum consequat laborum pariatur excepteur. Veniam fugiat et amet ad elit anim laborum duis mollit occaecat et et ipsum et reprehenderit. Occaecat aliquip dolore adipisicing sint labore occaecat officia fugiat. Quis adipisicing exercitation exercitation eu amet est laboris sunt nostrud ipsum reprehenderit ullamco. Enim sint ut consectetur id anim aute voluptate exercitation mollit dolore magna magna est Lorem. Ut adipisicing adipisicing aliqua ullamco voluptate labore nisi tempor esse magna incididunt.\nHeading five Veniam enim esse amet veniam deserunt laboris amet enim consequat. Minim nostrud deserunt cillum consectetur commodo eu enim nostrud ullamco occaecat excepteur. Aliquip et ut est commodo enim dolor amet sint excepteur. Amet ad laboris laborum deserunt sint sunt aliqua commodo ex duis deserunt enim est ex labore ut. Duis incididunt velit adipisicing non incididunt adipisicing adipisicing. Ad irure duis nisi tempor eu dolor fugiat magna et consequat tempor eu ex dolore. Mollit esse nisi qui culpa ut nisi ex proident culpa cupidatat cillum culpa occaecat anim. Ut officia sit ea nisi ea excepteur nostrud ipsum et nulla.\nHeading six Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.\n🔝\nParagraphs Incididunt ex adipisicing ea ullamco consectetur in voluptate proident fugiat tempor deserunt reprehenderit ullamco id dolore laborum. Do laboris laboris minim incididunt qui consectetur exercitation adipisicing dolore et magna consequat magna anim sunt. Officia fugiat Lorem sunt pariatur incididunt Lorem reprehenderit proident irure. Dolore ipsum aliqua mollit ad officia fugiat sit eu aliquip cupidatat ipsum duis laborum laborum fugiat esse. Voluptate anim ex dolore deserunt ea ex eiusmod irure. Occaecat excepteur aliqua exercitation aliquip dolor esse eu eu.\nOfficia dolore laborum aute incididunt commodo nisi velit est est elit et dolore elit exercitation. Enim aliquip magna id ipsum aliquip consectetur ad nulla quis. Incididunt pariatur dolor consectetur cillum enim velit cupidatat laborum quis ex.\nOfficia irure in non voluptate adipisicing sit amet tempor duis dolore deserunt enim ut. Reprehenderit incididunt in ad anim et deserunt deserunt Lorem laborum quis. Enim aute anim labore proident laboris voluptate elit excepteur in. Ex labore nulla velit officia ullamco Lorem Lorem id do. Dolore ullamco ipsum magna dolor pariatur voluptate ipsum id occaecat ipsum. Dolore tempor quis duis commodo quis quis enim.\n🔝\nBlockquotes Ad nisi laborum aute cupidatat magna deserunt eu id laboris id. Aliquip nulla cupidatat sint ex Lorem mollit laborum dolor amet est ut esse aute. Nostrud ex consequat id incididunt proident ipsum minim duis aliqua ut ex et ad quis. Laborum sint esse cillum anim nulla cillum consectetur aliqua sit. Nisi excepteur cillum labore amet excepteur commodo enim occaecat consequat ipsum proident exercitation duis id in.\nIpsum et cupidatat mollit exercitation enim duis sunt irure aliqua reprehenderit mollit. Pariatur Lorem pariatur laboris do culpa do elit irure. Eiusmod amet nulla voluptate velit culpa et aliqua ad reprehenderit sit ut.\nLabore ea magna Lorem consequat aliquip consectetur cillum duis dolore. Et veniam dolor qui incididunt minim amet laboris sit. Dolore ad esse commodo et dolore amet est velit ut nisi ea. Excepteur ea nulla commodo dolore anim dolore adipisicing eiusmod labore id enim esse quis mollit deserunt est. Minim ea culpa voluptate nostrud commodo proident in duis aliquip minim.1\n[!IMPORTANT] Qui est sit et reprehenderit aute est esse enim aliqua id aliquip ea anim. Pariatur sint reprehenderit mollit velit voluptate enim consectetur sint enim. Quis exercitation proident elit non id qui culpa dolore esse aliquip consequat.\nIpsum excepteur cupidatat sunt minim ad eiusmod tempor sit.\nDeserunt excepteur adipisicing culpa pariatur cillum laboris ullamco nisi fugiat cillum officia. In cupidatat nulla aliquip tempor ad Lorem Lorem quis voluptate officia consectetur pariatur ex in est duis. Mollit id esse est elit exercitation voluptate nostrud nisi laborum magna dolore dolore tempor in est consectetur.\nAdipisicing voluptate ipsum culpa voluptate id aute laboris labore esse fugiat veniam ullamco occaecat do ut. Tempor et esse reprehenderit veniam proident ipsum irure sit ullamco et labore ea excepteur nulla labore ut. Ex aute minim quis tempor in eu id id irure ea nostrud dolor esse.\n🔝\nLists Ordered List Longan Lychee Excepteur ad cupidatat do elit laborum amet cillum reprehenderit consequat quis. Deserunt officia esse aliquip consectetur duis ut labore laborum commodo aliquip aliquip velit pariatur dolore. Marionberry Melon Cantaloupe Honeydew Watermelon Miracle fruit Mulberry Unordered List Olive Orange Blood orange Clementine Papaya Ut aute ipsum occaecat nisi culpa Lorem id occaecat cupidatat id id magna laboris ad duis. Fugiat cillum dolore veniam nostrud proident sint consectetur eiusmod irure adipisicing. Passionfruit Task List Olive Orange Blood orange Clementine Papaya Passionfruit Definitions List Apple Pomaceous fruit of plants of the genus Malus in the family Rosaceae. Orange The fruit of an evergreen tree of the genus Citrus. 🔝\nHorizontal rule In dolore velit aliquip labore mollit minim tempor veniam eu veniam ad in sint aliquip mollit mollit. Ex occaecat non deserunt elit laborum sunt tempor sint consequat culpa culpa qui sit. Irure ad commodo eu voluptate mollit cillum cupidatat veniam proident amet minim reprehenderit.\nIn laboris eiusmod reprehenderit aliquip sit proident occaecat. Non sit labore anim elit veniam Lorem minim commodo eiusmod irure do minim nisi. Dolor amet cillum excepteur consequat sint non sint.\n🔝\nTable Duis sunt ut pariatur reprehenderit mollit mollit magna dolore in pariatur nulla commodo sit dolor ad fugiat. Laboris amet ea occaecat duis eu enim exercitation deserunt ea laborum occaecat reprehenderit. Et incididunt dolor commodo consequat mollit nisi proident non pariatur in et incididunt id. Eu ut et Lorem ea ex magna minim ipsum ipsum do.\nHeading 1 Heading 2 Center align Right align Heading 5 Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Item 4 Item 5 Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Item 4 Item 5 Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Item 4 Item 5 Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Item 4 Item 5 Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Item 4 Item 5 Minim id consequat adipisicing cupidatat laborum culpa veniam non consectetur et duis pariatur reprehenderit eu ex consectetur. Sunt nisi qui eiusmod ut cillum laborum Lorem officia aliquip laboris ullamco nostrud laboris non irure laboris. Cillum dolore labore Lorem deserunt mollit voluptate esse incididunt ex dolor.\n🔝\nCode Inline code Ad amet irure est magna id mollit Lorem in do duis enim. Excepteur velit nisi magna ea pariatur pariatur ullamco fugiat deserunt sint non sint. Duis duis est code in text velit velit aute culpa ex quis pariatur pariatur laborum aute pariatur duis tempor sunt ad. Irure magna voluptate dolore consectetur consectetur irure esse. Anim magna \u0026lt;strong\u0026gt;in culpa qui officia\u0026lt;/strong\u0026gt; dolor eiusmod esse amet aute cupidatat aliqua do id voluptate cupidatat reprehenderit amet labore deserunt.\nHighlighted Et fugiat ad nisi amet magna labore do cillum fugiat occaecat cillum Lorem proident. In sint dolor ullamco ad do adipisicing amet id excepteur Lorem aliquip sit irure veniam laborum duis cillum. Aliqua occaecat minim cillum deserunt magna sunt laboris do do irure ea nostrud consequat ut voluptate ex.\n1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 package main import ( \u0026#34;fmt\u0026#34; \u0026#34;net/http\u0026#34; ) func handler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) { fmt.Fprintf(w, \u0026#34;Hi there, I love %s!\u0026#34;, r.URL.Path[1:]) } func main() { http.HandleFunc(\u0026#34;/\u0026#34;, handler) http.ListenAndServe(\u0026#34;:8080\u0026#34;, nil) } Ex amet id ex aliquip id do laborum excepteur exercitation elit sint commodo occaecat nostrud est. Nostrud pariatur esse veniam laborum non sint magna sit laboris minim in id. Aliqua pariatur pariatur excepteur adipisicing irure culpa consequat commodo et ex id ad. [my-first-link] might work. ∑n=1+∞1n2=π26 more words, and hopefully another paragraph before or line break before we get to the details so that I can see what happens when combat chuck go go, combat chuck pick it up pick it up.\nBelow parsing to MathML f(x)=∑n=−∞∞cne2πi(n/T)x=∑n=−∞∞f^(ξn)e2πiξnxΔξ What about the GoAT!?!? A B A B A B 🔝\nInline elements Sint ea anim ipsum ad commodo cupidatat do exercitation incididunt et minim ad labore sunt. Minim deserunt labore laboris velit nulla incididunt ipsum nulla. Ullamco ad laborum ea qui et anim in laboris exercitation tempor sit officia laborum reprehenderit culpa velit quis. Consequat commodo reprehenderit duis irure esse esse exercitation minim enim Lorem dolore duis irure. Nisi Lorem reprehenderit ea amet excepteur dolor excepteur magna labore proident voluptate ipsum. Reprehenderit ex esse deserunt aliqua ea officia mollit Lorem nulla magna enim. Et ad ipsum labore enim ipsum cupidatat consequat. Commodo non ea cupidatat magna deserunt dolore ipsum velit nulla elit veniam nulla eiusmod proident officia.2\nProident sit veniam in est proident officia adipisicing ea tempor cillum non cillum velit deserunt. ==Voluptate laborum incididunt== sit consectetur Lorem irure incididunt voluptate nostrud. Commodo ut eiusmod tempor^th^ H2O cupidatat esse enim minim ex \u0026#x1f603; anim consequat. Mollit sint culpa qui laboris quis consectetur ad sint esse. Amet anim anim minim ullamco et duis non irure. Sit tempor adipisicing ea laboris culpa ex duis sint anim aute ++reprehenderit id eu ea.++ Aute excepteur proident Lorem minim adipisicing nostrud mollit ad ut voluptate do nulla esse occaecat aliqua sint anim. 3\nIncididunt in culpa cupidatat mollit cillum qui proident sit. In cillum aliquip incididunt voluptate magna amet cupidatat cillum pariatur sint aliqua est enim anim voluptate. Magna aliquip proident incididunt id duis pariatur eiusmod incididunt commodo culpa dolore sit. Culpa do nostrud elit ad exercitation anim pariatur non minim nisi adipisicing sunt officia. Do deserunt magna mollit Lorem commodo ipsum do cupidatat mollit enim ut elit veniam ea voluptate.\nReprehenderit non eu quis in ad elit esse qui aute id incididunt dolore cillum. Esse laboris consequat dolor anim exercitation tempor aliqua deserunt velit magna laboris. Culpa culpa minim duis amet mollit do quis amet commodo nulla irure.\n1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 🔝\nAnd that\u0026rsquo;s the footnote.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nA second footnote\u0026hellip;maybe\u0026hellip;\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nDescriptive footnote\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/markdown-example/","date":"2023-01-10T14:04:13-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/v1673041131/notebook/writing-typewriter.jpg","tags":[],"title":"Markdown Example","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/markdown-example/"},{"content":"My son mentioned to me he wants a website. I\u0026rsquo;m all about that! I would love to offer him a place to call his own. But I don\u0026rsquo;t want to half-ass it. Growing up we had sites like GeoCities, Tripod, and others that allowed us complete freedom over the sites we made. And we had great tools to get us there. Where did all these tools go?\nAs I said, I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to skimp on him and get him something that extremely formulaic. Sure, I could fire up a WordPress bucket and give him the capability to build with that, but WordPress has become so bloated and so full of fluff it\u0026rsquo;s not that easy anymore to get things looking like you want them to. There are great HTML templates out there to start from to give him something amazing to work with, but he\u0026rsquo;s just starting out and understanding HTML, CSS, JS syntax in order to get the design he wants is a large uphill battle.\nThe perfect solution is to have a tool to WYSIWYG the design and still have access to the underlying HTML to tweak and hack so you learn what that is as you go. Maybe that\u0026rsquo;s not the best way to do it, but it\u0026rsquo;s how I learned and getting through that with ADHD seems like a good solution to start with. I cut my teeth with Macromedia\u0026rsquo;s Dreamweaver prior to the purchase by Adobe when you could buy licensed software without a subscription. It worked wonderful and had all the tools to understand the code behind the site so that when I moved on to other things and my copy no longer ran on my machine, I was able to do everything I wanted by hand with a standard text editor.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve done so much searching, and there\u0026rsquo;s nothing really comparable out there anymore\u0026hellip;not without subscribing to a monthly fee to give the site it\u0026rsquo;s most basic functions. WebFlow, Wix, Weebly all require a subscription to get away from their domain name (which again, I think should be complete basic functionality). Hell, even my Microsoft (Office) 365 subscription doesn\u0026rsquo;t come with anything comparable to Google Sites\u0026hellip;which I found really odd (so FrontPage is 100% off the table these days?). There\u0026rsquo;s an open-source product called Silex, which is good, but still needs a bit of work before it\u0026rsquo;s fully usable. So where did they all go?\nMy guess is that these tools are not around much anymore because we\u0026rsquo;ve become completely platformed over the past decade or more. Most people feel their \u0026ldquo;home\u0026rdquo; location is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. They don\u0026rsquo;t even think about having their own site unless they are a developer or super-popular where they can pay someone to build it for them.\nSo, what do I do then? We\u0026rsquo;ll see. Still researching but might just have to buy him a omg.lol site and we\u0026rsquo;ll work through the details of the HTML/CSS/JS together. I mean, $20/yr is pennies compared to every other subscription out there. Oh well\u0026hellip;\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/website-builders/","date":"2023-01-08T17:06:38-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_scale,q_auto,w_1920/v1673221963/notebook/photo-1522542550221-31fd19575a2d.jpg","tags":["site","tools","geek"],"title":"Website Builders","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/website-builders/"},{"content":"Not 100% sure what I wanted to do with this site. I\u0026rsquo;ve let it languish for a couple years and not sure why. Just had other things that have gotten in the way. So maybe this year will be different. Maybe not.\nWhat I want to try is just dumping some stuff on here. My original vision for the site was to spend a good amount of time writing something meaningful. Some serious thoughts about what I wanted to say. But I spent too much time editing those and therefore completely losing my drive to write. That\u0026rsquo;s what I\u0026rsquo;m hoping to change this year.\nFollowing the suggestion of 100DaysToOffload, the goal this year is to simply: Just. 👏 Write. 👏\nI may not specifially participate in the 100DaysToOffload, but think the attempt may be fun to do. The hope is that I\u0026rsquo;ll put some more stuff on here to help out. I\u0026rsquo;ll probably start with tomorrow and throw out some items of the past. These will be so lightly edited, that I may have to edit them more later. Cross your fingers. 🤞 I\u0026rsquo;m giving it a try.\nThere is no try Header Image from Patrick Fore\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/this-year-this-notebook/","date":"2023-01-06T15:39:42-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/v1673041131/notebook/writing-typewriter.jpg","tags":["site","thoughts"],"title":"This Year, This Notebook","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/this-year-this-notebook/"},{"content":"Digital platforms are struggling, meanwhile a 136-year-old book retailer is growing again. But why?\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/link/what-can-we-learn-from-b-n/","date":"2023-01-03T15:32:00-06:00","image":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/rGWfrp4tdzAkbtS9-FPxzjPlFmM0dx_z4Aug1ZAZVLUNSlI3fKahMj4wiUE-u199Y0kv0eOhGwP0uyeWZMACRalndjrUDtz9siOsN4o","tags":null,"title":"What Can We Learn from Barnes \u0026 Noble's Surprising Turnaround?","type":"link","url":"https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/what-can-we-learn-from-barnes-and"},{"content":"Luca Stricagnoli played a harmonic dual acoustic guitar cover of \u0026quot;Toss a Coin to Your Witcher\u0026quot; from the Netflix series \u0026quot;The Witcher\u0026quot;.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/link/acoustic-cover-of-toss-a-coin/","date":"2022-12-28T07:05:00-06:00","image":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/mweVv-825XVZFE4pCy4GVcvNob7nlJ7EPbxZiGZ4fbCe9QGZZ1Cf0qyvYrlzyrSJkaqYBmPVF-oyIRUdHdSzeqcQDOuLkIZeUpUxZHk","tags":null,"title":"An Acoustic Cover of ‘Toss a Coin to Your Witcher’ Played on Two Guitars by One Musician","type":"link","url":"https://laughingsquid.com/luca-stricagnoli-toss-coin-to-your-witcher/"},{"content":"The Slow Mo Guys cut off the right hand of a Stretch Armstrong and attached a garden hose to capture the explosion in slow motion.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/link/blowing-up-stretch-armstrong/","date":"2022-09-05T20:50:00-06:00","image":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Z-U58oEblBHMiEQjL0Em00wsYHJ7Yok4nMxFuPUg4OUXzDrBQsGuzWxpbV9zlu8S0rwxw9b8azPKRADLMAlgFcx11XnMeoIBrY5Tlg","tags":null,"title":"Blowing Up Strech Armstrong With a Garden Hose","type":"link","url":"https://laughingsquid.com/blowing-up-stretch-armstrong-garden-hose/"},{"content":"Brian Feldman goes deep into a \u0026rsquo;90s viral video and tracks down everyone involved\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/link/secret-history-internet-funniest-buzzer-beater/","date":"2022-07-23T18:28:00-06:00","image":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ovhHlEVu-p9DFkqabzXJAFY8Unj5vWkgw0ytAYhh-gZdBntg58q83ENccNFx7SE73X-Lo4aoC7mrtWz7TBzfo2b2EqMAiGv7JFRKwwg","tags":null,"title":"The Secret History Of The Internet’s Funniest Buzzer-Beater","type":"link","url":"https://defector.com/the-secret-history-of-the-internets-funniest-buzzer-beater/"},{"content":"Horizon Forbidden West is Guerrilla Games latest action role-playing game following the protagonist, Aloy, through a post-apocalyptic North America. If you haven\u0026rsquo;t played Horizon Zero Dawn, then you should really go out and play it. As one of my all-time favorite modern games, and is a must have game for the PlayStation 4 and 5. I have just completed Horizon Forbidden West (HFW) and achieved the Platinum Trophy. Here\u0026rsquo;s my thoughts on the game.\nNOTE: I will be spoiling much of Zero Dawn and Forbidden West. I\u0026rsquo;ll try to keep my HFW spoilers light, but no promises.\nStory HFW reconnects with Aloy just after the events of Zero Dawn. The defeat of Hades hasn\u0026rsquo;t corrected the world and there is still more to do. The climate and environment is still out-of-kilter and needs to be corrected. Aloy skips her celebration and dives into trying to figure out what\u0026rsquo;s going on. As she\u0026rsquo;s off trying to save the world, she is still reluctant to make friends and accept help. All she knows is that Sylens and the answers she\u0026rsquo;s looking for is out west, and therefore she heads west.\nTo keep from being too spoilery, HFW does lead Aloy further through self-discovery and preparing her to trust and develop her tribe. They do a great job in allowing you to reap the real life consequences of trust\u0026hellip;both good and bad.\nGameplay The jump from Zero Dawn to HFW, in terms of gameplay, is both significant-yet-familiar. Improved melee combat, more and new weapons, and loads of new machines help round out a fresh set of gameplay features that don\u0026rsquo;t feel too outrageous.\nMelee I\u0026rsquo;m not a huge melee brawler, but the improvements did allow me to feel more comfortable in the boss battles that essentially forced close combat. It definitely has its flaws, but was a step up from the previous game. A new \u0026ldquo;Warrior Bow\u0026rdquo; class also provides a short range weapon that can help you gain some distance if you still aren\u0026rsquo;t big on close quarters combat.\nEarly on you are given a simple tutorial to understand the play as well as easily provided some combos that will help you on your play. I\u0026rsquo;d recommend paying attention to these.\nHunting/Infiltration Along with the improved melee, multiple new weapon types and skill trees allow you to customize your game progression as you wish. Hunting and Stealth/Infiltration are my favorite game mechanics. HFW keeps the hunting bow, the sharpshot bow, the slingshot, and two casters (rope and trip). In addition to these, a spike thrower (javelin), boltblaster (fully-auto crossbow), and shredder gauntlet (Jai alai glove with a frisbee in it) have been added to your arsenal.\nThe spike thrower is amazing. It became my go-to weapon. Boltblasters were nice but take forever to reload once you are empty. The gauntlet has some nice digging and damage discs, but it is most useful when you throw your disc 3 times and compounding damage\u0026hellip;but it means being somewhat stationary so you can \u0026ldquo;catch\u0026rdquo; the returning disc.\nThe powerups (through the skill tree) for these weapons are a treat to unlock and begin using. For instance, my trap/tripcaster placement dropped significantly after getting a spike thrower. One of the buffs allows you to throw a spike and make it a trap\u0026hellip;ranged trapping was fantastic.\nTraversal Traversal has been rebalanced and updated. First, there is no longer a \u0026ldquo;Unlimited Travel Pack\u0026rdquo;, but you can free travel at any campfire. Campfires aren\u0026rsquo;t nearly as dense as Zero Dawn, but still well placed to keep from you feeling like you cannot save your game efficiently enough.\n(Note: Some spoilers ahead\u0026hellip;) The biggest upgrade is the machine traversal. First, you can ride the Charger, just like before, but a new mount is called a Bristleback. Bristlebacks are large and hard to maneuver but can take a ton of damage (which means less damage on you). Lastly, there is the raptor-like Clawstrider. The Clawstrider aren\u0026rsquo;t as strong or fast as the others, but the benefit they have is agility and an attack that deals a ton of damage to other machines. Lastly, the most fun is the Sunwing. Yep, Aloy can fly. After being able to fly, the campfires become less desired as taking in the world from the air is amazing!\nThe Rest With more weapons, more quests, more friends and more\u0026hellip;more..more. You may think you can be overwhelmed. And that may be true, but I felt that Guerrilla did a better job at reducing the stimuli than they did previously. Additionally, the extra characters build relationships that make you care more about them. Also the ancillary side mission characters often have a depth that you won\u0026rsquo;t find in other games.\nNot so great\u0026hellip; With all I love about this game, there are things that still need some work.\nForced Combat Modes Horizon\u0026#39;s Skill Tree The new system allows you to dump all your skills into a specific combat style. Hunting, Infiltration, Machine Control, and Melee are the key types that are specific to combat. Trapping and Survival are the other two with some combat skills in each. But many times you are either forced into boss battles that have to be played outside your chosen style. If you normally play stealth (infiltration), sometimes the enemies won\u0026rsquo;t spawn until they see you which makes it difficult to get back into stealth (even with the smoke bombs). The arena and other places have structures that will allow you to hunt from above, but many of the machines can collapse these structures. I am not a fan of the developers providing a huge options to the players, then force the player into a single way to proceed.\nShoehorned Carry-over Specifically the use of \u0026ldquo;Hunting Grounds\u0026rdquo;. The previous game had a story and reason the hunting grounds existed. I didn\u0026rsquo;t mind working through the grind in order to get to the fantastic Talanah story line. In the Frozen Wilds DLC, the hunting ground was a bit awkward but has some grouping with a character that was a small band-aid over that. But the Hunting Grounds in HFW were extremely out of place and honestly forced into the map. I say map because they have ZERO impact to the story. A brief forced comment \u0026ldquo;You think the Carja came up with this?\u0026rdquo; does nothing to make me feel like this was worth it.\nThey introduced the Arena and the Melee Pits that had story arcs tied to the rest of the game. They should have focused more on these and left the Hunting Grounds as a \u0026ldquo;Carja Thing\u0026rdquo; and left in Zero Dawn.\nMelee\u0026hellip;Pits I know I just praised the Melee Pits above, but stick with me. One of the biggest shortcomings of the game is the Melee. This is hard to say because it\u0026rsquo;s also one of the parts of the game that is so much better than the original game. Machine melee was much better. But when your weapons are stripped and you just have melee (and a practice warrior bow), the combat flaws are heavily enhanced.\nThe biggest problem is that the combat is not truly fluid like other great melee combat games. Games like Yakuza, Jedi: Fallen Order, and even Ghost of Tsushima have a fluidity to the motion that allows you to move, hit, parry, and block with quick button presses. It didn\u0026rsquo;t need to be Devil May Cry or even From Software level of melee, but you\u0026rsquo;d be in this frenzied fight and having to hit buttons every half second\u0026hellip;pausing for close to one or more seconds\u0026hellip;then going back to the light taps or holds to introduce combos.\nSo the issue was, they improved the melee\u0026hellip;but not enough to have something force your focus on it.\nFinal Thoughts All in all, I still loved Horizon. This was a great game\u0026hellip;seriously\u0026hellip;a great game. Even with its flaws, it was an extremely fun time. I think I spent over 120 hours in this game and other than a couple of the melee pits, had a smile on my face the whole time. I would encourage everyone to go play it! Seriously, a 10 out of 10.\n10 10 RATING url:https://traeblain.com/blog/horizon-forbidden-west/","date":"2022-05-21T11:48:26-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_scale,q_auto:good,w_2048/notebook/horizon-forbidden-west.jpg","tags":["games","geek","review"],"title":"Horizon Forbidden West","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/horizon-forbidden-west/"},{"content":"Last Christmas I \u0026ldquo;got my son\u0026rdquo; a PlayStation 5. He\u0026rsquo;s older and never had a console, so my wife and I felt it was time where it would be ok to have something he can play on. But that also meant that I got a PlayStation 5\u0026hellip;yup. Since then, I\u0026rsquo;ve been able to grab some of the best games of the past few years and begin to play through them. Between this, and a couple others, I should be able to give my opinion of various games.\nMarvel\u0026rsquo;s Spider-Man and Marvel\u0026rsquo;s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac) These games are the best! Insomniac Games nailed the feel of swinging through New York (not that I know by experience) by making a smooth and fluid experience. Of all the games I played, these were the games that I really enjoyed going and hunting for all the special finds throughout the city. Just messing around is supremely fun. Between the two, I like the original Spider-Man more due to the combat mechanism and breadth. The game allowed you to customize Spider-Man\u0026rsquo;s combat capabilities without forcing the player. There\u0026rsquo;s no: \u0026ldquo;You have to equip this and fight like this in order to beat this boss.\u0026rdquo; Then the game\u0026rsquo;s length and breath of the story was just a wonder to experience. It had enough mini-challenges and differences to make things fun all the way through.\nMiles Morales shared that same swinging and (to some extent) combat system, but had a much smaller and tighter story. The combat is similar to the original, but lacks the options. Here to keep from Miles being too overwhelmingly powerful, they eliminate some of the suit buffs and gadgets. This makes sense for this game, but found myself missing some of those keys that I loved. The story for Miles Morales is honestly much better than the original, but smaller and tighter in scope. I teared up in this story as I was much more invested in the main characters, where the original had so many that it was hard to really attach to anyone other than Peter.\nBoth of these are must plays in my opinion. Even if you aren\u0026rsquo;t big on superheroes, the gameplay is fantastic. Slight edge to the original! Giving this bad boy, a 9 out of 10.\n9 10 RATING Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla) This is probably favorite game I\u0026rsquo;ve played yet. The story is amazing, the gameplay is crazy fun, it allows you to play from a distance and up-close when necessary. It is open and allows self navigation of the ENORMOUS map, the side missions are fun, and the shear quantity of play makes this game one of the most satisfying plays to date. Oh, and it\u0026rsquo;s beautiful to look at.\nThis story is of Aloy, an outcast in a post-apocalyptic tribal group, and her search for her story that reveals the story of how the world came to be. I\u0026rsquo;m a stealth player. I love to sneak around and see how many people I can take out before they know they are being attacked. This made me love this game, because there was room for both. As this game came out in 2017, there\u0026rsquo;s so much content out there to see\u0026hellip;go see it. As you go farther into the story, there are loops and keys that grab you as well as things that make you wonder about how it\u0026rsquo;s all came to be.\nMap density was fantastic (if not a tad heavy, they addressed this in Frozen Wild), side characters were fun, and building up Aloy\u0026rsquo;s arsenal is fantastic. The only knock I can give it is that inventory management because really crazy. There was a point where you sit there wondering \u0026ldquo;Do I need this Sawtooth heart, or can I dump it?\u0026rdquo;\u0026hellip;and never getting a hint as to if it\u0026rsquo;s ok or if you\u0026rsquo;ll need it later. There\u0026rsquo;s also no \u0026ldquo;Storage\u0026rdquo; system where you could offload some but easily grab. This was a minor annoyance that lead to a few times of converting components for shards, but still fun.\nGo grab this game and play it now! Absolutely, superb\u0026hellip;10 out of 10.\n10 10 RATING Ghost of Tsushima: Directors Cut (Sucker Punch) Enter into feudal Japan with a fantastic story of Jin Sakai and his fight to rid his island of Tsushima of a Mongol Hoard. As far as character development, this is probably the best I\u0026rsquo;ve played. Jin\u0026rsquo;s progress from untested samurai to \u0026ldquo;The Ghost\u0026rdquo; is gripping. One of the other key elements of this fantastic game is a set of side characters with back stories and real relationships that appear to influence Jin and aren\u0026rsquo;t just extra junk. Even though I\u0026rsquo;m more of a distance player (stealth with bow and arrow), Sucker Punch structured the melee combat so well that I became very comfortable in it and felt no problem playing in that mode. I actually enjoyed the 1-on-1 fights so much.\nAgain, the story is great and as it progresses, it\u0026rsquo;s great to see Jin progress as well. Even the extra content on the DC (Iki Island) have it\u0026rsquo;s own set of elements moving Jin forward in his identity. Much like Spider-Man, there\u0026rsquo;s charms that you can equip that fit your fighting style. I did find that swapping out charms based on various task were necessary, but not problematic. One of the biggest fights I did have with this game was the limited reveal of the large map. It\u0026rsquo;s not as big as Horizon\u0026rsquo;s, but still large and the amount it revealed around you as you moved was miniscule. Map density was pretty low, which wasn\u0026rsquo;t a problem but when you couple that with the minimal reveal, it was painful to know if you went everywhere. Left me with a few times where I just rode through an unrevealed area just to find there was nothing there\u0026hellip;which sucks.\nWith these flaws, it\u0026rsquo;s still 100% worth playing. Rating an 8 out of 10.\n8 10 RATING Concrete Genie (Pixelopus) This game was a treat to play. The game style is pretty simple, you play Ash, a bullied kid, in the small port town of Denska. Ash discovers that with a magic paintbrush, his lost sketchbook, and a few helpful \u0026ldquo;genies\u0026rdquo;; he can bring life back to Denska.\nThis game was simple, but truly fun. The puzzling of how to unlock new areas and clear the blight that is covering the city, is great. The art style and uniqueness of creating your own genies endears you to the game even more.\nThe biggest issue is that later in the game a combat system comes up. And it honestly feels tacked on. It\u0026rsquo;s clunky and often frustrating, but overall an enjoyable play. 7 out of 10 rating.\n7 10 RATING STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn) Respawn has single handedly saved EA\u0026rsquo;s single player games. EA had been floundering in the single player game world and Respawn comes out and creates a fantastic game with a real story and fantastic gameplay. They say the game plays like a FromSoftware game, but I would admit that I had to play on Easy as it was crazy difficult to play. As far as the story goes, I was hooked from the get-go. I honestly think this games has some of the absolute best level designs I\u0026rsquo;ve ever played.\nDue to the difficulty and the really weak story payoff at the end (although immediately before it was amazing!), I can\u0026rsquo;t give it too high a review. Rating this one a 7 out of 10.\n7 10 RATING Death Stranding (Kojima Productions) This game requires a longer post. I cannot do this game justice in a few words. I\u0026rsquo;ll do my best and probably have to put this on the list of a wider review.\nDeath Stranding often gets pegged as a \u0026ldquo;walking simulator\u0026rdquo;, but that way oversimplifies the game. Yes, much of the game is a walking task that you have to strategically deal with. Yes, you primarily deliver things from spot to spot. But the crazy story, the wild gameplay and crazy BTs, and beautiful combination of graphics, audio, and music make this game something to behold.\nI spent HOURS walking and delivering things place to place, setting up zip-line networks, and prepping vehicles. This was one of the most zen-gaming experiences I\u0026rsquo;ve had. It\u0026rsquo;s really hard to explain how much fun you have with this, but I\u0026rsquo;d often find myself lost in the play for hours. I have a whole issue with the combat that I need to address, but I\u0026rsquo;ll save that for the full review. Giving this one a 8 out of 10.\n8 10 RATING Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal) I honestly wasn\u0026rsquo;t going to play this game until my son asked to get it and play. So I picked it up at a discount to give it a try, and I\u0026rsquo;m really glad I did. This game has some solid gameplay and a wonderful story. The tactics for the fighting is fun although can get button-mashy. The voice acting and characters are superb. Some of the levels were a bit more frustrating than entertaining and the crazy colors causes confusion with regard to knowing the proper path. But was still a fun ride. 8 out of 10 for this one.\n8 10 RATING url:https://traeblain.com/blog/video-games-2021/","date":"2021-12-14T11:48:26-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/q_auto:good/v1652118959/notebook/high-res-dualsense.jpg","tags":["games","geek","review"],"title":"Crushing Video Games","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/video-games-2021/"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s the COVID isolation theme\u0026hellip; A bit more svelte and easier to handle, but still in the vein of what I\u0026rsquo;ve established as my style. Right about now, is when I start talking about how I wish I would write more and that I will probably do it from now on\u0026hellip;then the site sits still for months and months. So I won\u0026rsquo;t be saying that.\nI would like to write more, but time is not on my side. So that\u0026rsquo;s why things stay stale. I have some ideas, but seems like I always do. Trying to work through the logistics of my plans and then go from there. But drink in the new look and love all the new fun stuff on the homepage.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/2021-new-look-and-feel/","date":"2021-11-14T11:48:26-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_scale,q_auto:good,w_2048/notebook/color-pencils.jpg","tags":["site","geek"],"title":"New Look and Feel","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/2021-new-look-and-feel/"},{"content":"This is fun. I love movies. I love watching movies and going to movies. It\u0026rsquo;s one of those things I enjoy a ton. I have been trying to watch movies with a sharper eye for what these movies say about some things I\u0026rsquo;m seeing as universal truths. Good movies poke at these truths and say something about them, and this is why we find these movies good. Yes, there are some that don\u0026rsquo;t seem to go anywhere, but a majority do\u0026hellip;otherwise you find they don\u0026rsquo;t get made. This is actually difficult for me, because if the movie is good, I\u0026rsquo;m fully immersed in the story and don\u0026rsquo;t tend to pull on these types of threads. Return viewing is helping this, so if I make this a regular thing\u0026hellip;the movies will most like be older.\nGame Night is a 2018 movie that blind-sided me with how much I enjoyed it and yet fell under the radar for many people. I knew my wife would like it so after we both watched it we laughed at how much fun we had. This is also one of a handful of a few movies that we\u0026rsquo;ve returned to multiple times. The basic premise is: \u0026ldquo;A group of friends who meet regularly for game nights find themselves entangled in a real-life mystery when the shady brother of one of them is seemingly kidnapped by dangerous gangsters.\u0026rdquo; [via IMDB]\nThe Truths Here\u0026rsquo;s what I think are the universal truths highlighted in Game Night:\nWe all long for life grander than ourselves, i.e. a sense of adventure. Comparing ourselves with others leads to problems. The choices we make always impact those around us, most commonly those we love. Adventure So without an adventure, most moves will probably be pretty bad. But this movie directly highlights this sense of greater things on a number of levels. John Eldredge calls this the desire for an \u0026ldquo;Adventure to Live\u0026rdquo;. The fact that the two lead characters went from Bar Trivia to hosting \u0026ldquo;Game Nights\u0026rdquo; is an act of trying to bring adventure into their daily life.\nThe brother, disillusioned with simply going to college and working in finance, finds he can satiate his sense of adventure by drug dealing. These unhealthy substitutes often begin to ripple into the need for more and more dangerous \u0026ldquo;adventures\u0026rdquo; leading to the situation at hand. It also has an affect on those around him, most notably his brother. (More on this later.)\nRyan (played by Billy Magnussen) seeks out a new sexual adventure with new girl he brings to Game Night. Ryan\u0026rsquo;s arc was one of my favorites, because (whether intentional or unintentional) he finds that there\u0026rsquo;s a bigger adventure to be had with someone that can challenge you and reorienting your focus on things greater than pure sexual desire.\nKevin and Michelle, together since middle school, have their desire for adventure played out in their period apart. Gary\u0026rsquo;s desire for adventure slaps you in the face as you find out what\u0026rsquo;s happening throughout the movie. Even Dr. Chin is looking for more adventure in believing there\u0026rsquo;s none left in her current marriage.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s everywhere if you know where to look. It\u0026rsquo;s even in the viewer as we look to escape in this story. When each of these characters see the adventure at hand, they immerse themselves in it and fight to go deeper and deeper. The desire fuels them into decisions both good and bad, and yes, propels the story forward.\nComparison This universal is something that was born out of experience, observation, and history. It appears comparing ourselves to others, only leads to problems. Now, these problems are often easily overcome and can lead to personal improvement, but more often than not, the comparisons compound on themselves and create situations that would have been better avoided.\nGame Night is a wealth of these. The starting point was that Max is having a fertility issues driven by his constant negative self-image. This self-image is rooted in his comparisons to his brother\u0026rsquo;s success, looks, etc. Max\u0026rsquo;s put his identity as \u0026ldquo;Brook\u0026rsquo;s younger, less successful brother\u0026rdquo; instead of something more grounded (for instance, value as an image bearer of God\u0026hellip; \u0026#x1f609; ) and was reaping the consequences of that comparison.\nKevin had two comparison problems. One shown as his jealousy in what happened to Michelle during their time apart, and one in his sense of superiority after finding Michelle was mistaken. Kevin fights to find out who he has to compare himself to, or live up to, in trying to discover her celebrity sexual encounter. This compounds his insecurities as he fears Michelle may see him as \u0026ldquo;less than\u0026rdquo; this experience. After finding out she did not sleep with Denzel Washington, he again shows his insecurities by belittling Michelle in her case of mistaken identity. In doing so, he pushes a comparison narrative onto Michelle that belittles her and creates resentment and sadness.\nYou could say Billy\u0026rsquo;s comparison to other dates led to a better choice in woman, but it\u0026rsquo;s his comparisons that lead to him criticize her while seated right next to her. Gary\u0026rsquo;s constant comparison of everything to Debbie was leading to a life of isolation.\nWhen we don\u0026rsquo;t look at ourselves as who we are, when we start asking questions like \u0026ldquo;Why aren\u0026rsquo;t I like X?\u0026rdquo;, when we feel we cannot live up to others, it is only a recipe for problems. Some came be more prominent than others, but all cause trouble. As a Christian, when we stop looking at others and start associating ourselves as children of God, as image bearers of God, we being to lose these negative comparison effects and orient ourselves correctly.\nChoices url:https://traeblain.com/blog/game-night-movie/","date":"2020-01-13T17:48:26-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/notebook/lighted-twenty-jontyson.jpg","tags":["review","movies"],"title":"Game Night Movie Review","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/game-night-movie/"},{"content":"So what tends to happen this time of year is that I rebuild my site for whatever reason I can come up with. It\u0026rsquo;s what keeps me engaged, finding cool things to do, solving problems, and playing around. This time, I kept most of the basic style of my previous site but amped it up a notch with more flash.\nThere are 5 main updates that I want to highlight:\nColor\u0026hellip;ooooohh, aaaaahh. Digital Garden Quite Interesting Links Netlify Functions Lack of Activity Color This is just for fun. I was playing around with CSS Variables and seeing how easy it would be to make a switch and have it propagate throughout the page. Turns out, it\u0026rsquo;s very easy. So now there\u0026rsquo;s a color switcher. I\u0026rsquo;ve loved the Nord Theme colors for a while, so I\u0026rsquo;ve adopted it to my site. So now you can view it in standard White Background, Dark Mode/Black Background, and Nord Background. You should see the small colors to the left or top of the page. Go ahead, have some fun.\nDigital Garden This is probably the most significant piece of the update. When I write, I write about things on my mind right now. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter the date, really. I realized that what I want to write about aren\u0026rsquo;t things the fit nicely in a chronological flow of ideas. Most of what I want to write about has sticking power, something to come back at and look at later, and maybe have the same or better influence on me a few years later as it has today.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s why I established this Digital Garden. This is based off of something I read Tom Critchlow, where he moved to create an area that may seem a bit scattered but is like walking through a garden as opposed to a museum type, curated timeline. One key aspect about this, is that the digital garden will also hold my \u0026ldquo;Drafts\u0026rdquo;. When I start a post it may be a few weeks/months before I finalize it. The garden metaphor allows these to be available even if they aren\u0026rsquo;t done, like something sprouting but not fully developed.\nI really dig this process, I always look at this point in the year and say: \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m going to write more this next year.\u0026rdquo; Then life takes over and it\u0026rsquo;s stays pretty empty. I think with the garden metaphor, maybe I can ignore the stress of finishing something and just write. It\u0026rsquo;s a plan, but who knows.\nQuite Interesting Links I like to share certain links I\u0026rsquo;ve discovered, good reads, etc. But never felt like Twitter was a great place for this to foster and grow. I started using Refind this past year and like how it works. I even setup a Newsletter to supply these out in the world. But I rather like the ephemeral nature of some of these with the Refind back-end as the record. So on this site, you should see a new link every once in a while for something that I find: \u0026ldquo;Quite Interesting\u0026rdquo;.\nNetlify Functions Restlet died \u0026#x1f480;. This made me really sad. It was the easiest way I have found to generate a simple API to data I wanted to store. It linked right back to Google Sheets and was fun to generate. And then they decided it wasn\u0026rsquo;t worth maintaining\u0026hellip;and I got dumped. So I was off to find something new.\nI moved then to something that I could backup and transition. I looked at RestDB and MeshyDB.com. I ended up with MeshyDB to store and get my data. I think RestDB has a better interface and more developed API, but Meshy has a nicer Free Tier and better support. Neither of these services, though, allow for a public GET response and require authentication. So I then needed an intermediary so that I wasn\u0026rsquo;t giving away API keys and authentication passwords, etc.\nI started out with Webtask from Auth0, which I also love, but they stopped taking new registrations and so I feared\u0026ndash;like Restlet\u0026ndash;they were going to dump it soon. Then I remembered Netlify who hosts this site, recently offered a Functions service. Functions (as well as Webtasks) are short pieces of code that get called up and executed based on a web address. Combined with a \u0026ldquo;pre-compile\u0026rdquo; set of code that gets the latest data from my MeshyDB, I can execute and rebuild the site with the latest data in near real time. I do this by IFTTT monitoring of data (i.e. Twitter, Refind, Goodreads, etc.) and executing these functions when something is found. Then these functions deploy a rebuild of my site giving the site a near dynamic/fresh feel all the while still being a static site.\nMy previous site shot 3-4 additional web requests to my old API to be able to render the site. This new version, is compiled with the new data ready to go so there\u0026rsquo;s less overhead on your end. It was quite fun to implement.\nLack of Activity Section As you may notice, I don\u0026rsquo;t have any Activity data on the homepage. Ever since Google bought Fitbit, I\u0026rsquo;m tired of turning over every aspect of my personal life to the Google. In fact, I\u0026rsquo;m constantly searching for ways to dump their services or at lease minimize my exposure to them. I use DuckDuckGo near exclusively, I stopped using Google Maps for Apple Maps or OpenStreetMap, and in the process of getting my email and calendar out of their services. (Can\u0026rsquo;t seem to dump Photos, though, that service is too good and can\u0026rsquo;t really find a good alternative.)\nSo with that I got a Garmin watch this Christmas and will look to integrate that in the future. Unfortunately, Garmin restricts their API to approved application developers\u0026hellip;which means my personal needs probably won\u0026rsquo;t qualify. This is sad, as the Garmin Connect service is really nice and it would be awesome to get the data out. I\u0026rsquo;ll be exploring that in the future to see if I can get that setup.\nAnd Finally All in all, I hope you like the new look. There\u0026rsquo;s a couple of thoughts that I am mulling over. For instance, re-introducing Disqus comments, Webmentions, or something similar (I\u0026rsquo;m really liking Hypothes.is). More things I can do with the Netlify Functions. And of course, writing more.\nFeel free to share this to your preferred social media outlet. Or just give me some cheers.\nPhoto courtesy of Jon Tyson.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/now-in-color/","date":"2020-01-05T17:48:26-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/notebook/lighted-twenty-jontyson.jpg","tags":["site"],"title":"Now in Color!","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/now-in-color/"},{"content":"By the very last few days of 2018, I was able to meet my reading challenge of 52 books for the year. That is crazy! I read more non-fiction this year than any other year, and I hope to read a more steady dose in the future. But it also meant that if it wasn\u0026rsquo;t for my early lead I had at the beginning of the year, I probably wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have made my goal. For 2019, I cut my goal in half. Because of this, I\u0026rsquo;m keeping my goal attainable. Per the usual, Goodreads does a much better job presenting my reading for the year, so check it out there.\nFavorite Read Rocket Men Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man\u0026rsquo;s First Journey to the Moon. This was really hard to decide upon. I read so many extremely good books this past year that I didn\u0026rsquo;t know if I could choose.\nI finally settled on this book by Robert Kurson, Rocket Men. It is the story of the Apollo 8 mission. I never realized the scope and importance of this particular Apollo mission. Basically, the Apollo 8 mission was moved up to launch sooner than intended, put on breakneck schedule to solve all issues necessary for successful mission, and increased the mission parameters of not just going to the moon and back\u0026hellip;but orbiting. All of this to ensure we beat the Russians to the moon. It is a fantastic read, Kurson paces the book much like a movie or documentary where the details don\u0026rsquo;t get too boring but you don\u0026rsquo;t feel like you are missing something. I would recommend this book to almost anyone. In a singularly beautiful story, it seemed only fitting that the first men to leave Earth considered home to be the most important place in the universe. from Rocket Men\nHonorable Mentions Skin Game by Jim Butcher Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis Skyward by Brandon Sanderson Favorite Series Hell Divers Hell Divers Series by Nicholas Sansbury Smith is a great series about a post-apocalyptical, nuclear radiation torn Earth. Airships are all that have survived this apocalypse and Hell Divers are people who dive from these airships to scavenge what they can from the surface. The first book is riveting and crazy, the second slows down a bit, but the third picks back up with force! I\u0026rsquo;m currently reading the fourth book and the fifth comes out mid-2019. Due to the radiation and time frame, there\u0026rsquo;s some fantastical creatures that emerge and gripping action. There\u0026rsquo;s some politics as well, but it doesn\u0026rsquo;t get overbearing. Good story and good read. Accept your past without regrets. Handle your present with confidence. Face your future without fear. From Hell Divers Series\nHonorable Mentions The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher The Bobiverse by Dennis E. Taylor Favorite Non-Fiction The Language of God The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief by Francis Collins is a fantastic book about how one of the leading scientists of our modern time still maintains that there is sufficient evidence for belief in God. It puts together a nice case and is very clear. I actually expected some significant science language in this that would be hard to get through, but was surprised as to how clear Collins is in presenting his case. He clears the air in showing that there should not be any tension between science and faith, and there is a state where these two discussion can co-exist in perfect harmony. Loved this book, it is a must read. At this point, godless materialists might be cheering. If humans evolved strictly by mutation and natural selection, who needs God to explain us? To this, I reply: I do. The comparison of chimp and human sequences, interesting as it is, does not tell us what it means to be human. In my views, DNA sequence alone, even if accompanied by a vast trove of data on biological function, will never explain certain special human attributes, such as the knowledge of the Moral Law and the universal search for God. Freeing God from the burden of special acts of creation does not remove Him as the source of the things that make humanity special, and of the universe itself. It merely shows us something of how He operates. By Francis Collins from The Language of God\nI do not believe that the God who created all the universe, and who communes with His people through prayer and spiritual insight, would expect us to deny the obvious truths of the natural world that science has revealed to us, in order to prove our love for Him. By Francis Collins from The Language of God\nHonorable Mentions The Skeletons in God\u0026rsquo;s Closet: The Mercy of Hell, the Surprise of Judgement, the Hope of Holy War by Joshua Ryan Butler Isaac\u0026rsquo;s Storm: : A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson How I Changed My Mind About Evolution: Evangelicals Reflect on Faith and Science edited by Kathryn Applegate and J. B. Stump Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (there may be better translations that this one\u0026hellip;) Biggest Surprise The Legacy of Dragons Most of the time, my \u0026ldquo;Biggest Surprise\u0026rdquo; category goes to a book that I wasn\u0026rsquo;t sure I was going to like or had never heard of and it blew me away. This year, it\u0026rsquo;s a little different. Jeff Campbell is an excellent writer and the Pillars of Reality was a great series. In Legacy of Dragons series, something broke\u0026hellip;the stories that should have been extremely compelling were extremely flat. With the introduction of some modernity to the world from a realization that they are Earthen exiles, and how this technology meshes with the magic sounded like a great recipe for world-building. But the story was full of teen angst and one-dimensional characters. It\u0026rsquo;s too bad\u0026hellip;I had high hopes. Bad Books Along with the \u0026ldquo;Surprise\u0026rdquo; above, there was one other book that I was not a fan of. Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We\u0026rsquo;ve Made Up by Francis Chan was not a good book. Primarily the book was a counter to Rob Bell\u0026rsquo;s Love Wins book where he lays a case for why Universalism has stronger biblical backing than hell as viewed as Eternal Conscious Torment (ETC). But Chan, firstly misses some of what Bell was trying to do, which is honestly forgivable because I\u0026rsquo;m pretty sure everyone missed that, including myself. Secondly, he lays out a case, but then categorically denies the evidence he provides and falls back on what I read as simply \u0026ldquo;maintaining traditions\u0026rdquo;. Bell\u0026rsquo;s problem is he lays out a case and doesn\u0026rsquo;t properly defend it nor show why it is greater or worse than the alternative views. Chan\u0026rsquo;s problem is that he does show these cases and appears to defend them\u0026hellip;but then does a 180 when he talks about \u0026ldquo;his beliefs\u0026rdquo;.\nSummary That\u0026rsquo;s a good list. It was honestly a really good year in reading, here\u0026rsquo;s looking toward 2019 for an even better one.\n2019 Reading url:https://traeblain.com/blog/2018-reading/","date":"2019-01-21T10:36:48-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_scale,q_auto:good/notebook/books-in-grass.jpg","tags":["reading"],"title":"Book-a-Week!","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/2018-reading/"},{"content":"Guilt versus Shame has been a specific issue I\u0026rsquo;ve been considering. For a long time, I considered them synonymous. Through discussions with other people, counselors, and my reading; I\u0026rsquo;ve come to realize they are different. Different not in just how they are defined, but different in their core.\nDefinitions Guilt is defined by Webster as:\n: the fact of having committed a breach of conduct especially violating law and involving a penalty\na. : the state of one who has committed an offense especially consciously\nb. : feelings of deserving blame especially for imagined offenses or from a sense of inadequacy\n: a feeling of deserving blame for offenses \u0026#x1f448;\nShame, though, is defined below (also from Webster):\na. : a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety\nb. : the susceptibility to such emotion\n: a condition of humiliating disgrace or disrepute \u0026#x1f448;\na. : something that bring censure or reproach ALSO : something to be regretted\nb. : a cause of feeling shame\nNone of these really speak directly to the differences. I\u0026rsquo;ve marked the items that contain the closest definition, but it still feels lacking. Since I personally approach this from a Judeo-Christian bent, I\u0026rsquo;ll be addressing the differences in the same manner.\nThe reason I flagged the two definitions that best work is because of two words in each of the lines.\nGuilt is a feeling, whereas Shame is a condition.\nThere is a difference.\nGuilt is understanding that you have done something wrong, maybe you need to rectify this. Guilt comes with a level healthy reproach. Your feelings of guilt, most of the time, is appropriate and leads to behavior that corrects and compensates. Shame, on the other hand, coincides with identity. Shame is a condition that is so pervasive that a person begins to consider that feeling as an integral part of them.\nWhy Is This Important? Apart from simply recognizing this difference and making sure that the guilt you feel does not transition to shame, why is the difference important? I think as a culture, there\u0026rsquo;s no more guilt\u0026hellip;but we constantly wrestle with shame.\nI do think there is a built-in human understanding of sin (regardless of if it is recognized as such). Sin, I am defining with Cornelius Plantiga\u0026rsquo;s definition: \u0026ldquo;Sin is culpable disturbance of shalom\u0026rdquo;. And shalom to be defined as: \u0026ldquo;the webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight\u0026rdquo;. This has a basis in the classic objective morality argument. But with widespread acceptance of the post-modernist philosophy, we\u0026rsquo;ve lost culpability to any objective morality.\nCurrently, people argue against accepting any guilt for most anything. If it does not hurt anyone but themselves, should they feel guilty for it? If my actions offend you, it is your fault for taking offence and I maintain zero guilt. Although I experience this last statement all the time, I also experience this one: I am offended by your actions and therefore demand you make restitution/reparation for it, regardless of your intent. Even though both thoughts are in contradiction to each other, they are both rooted in pointing guilt to someone/something other than the self.\nSo when we disturb shalom, guilt cannot be placed on us, it must be placed on others. I\u0026rsquo;ve noticed that when pastors speak about sin today, there\u0026rsquo;s a disconnect with regards to what they are saying and how people are relating to it. We used to be able to relate sin to guilt, that feeling of doing something wrong\u0026hellip;means you know what it is like to sin. Today, no one is guilty, others are at fault for their bad feelings.\nAlternatively, there has been an embrace of shame. Again this takes two forms. In those times that we do see fault in ourselves, it\u0026rsquo;s not guilt, we see that fault as a part of us. \u0026ldquo;I don\u0026rsquo;t get satisfaction from ______, because that\u0026rsquo;s how I am.\u0026rdquo; Or, our simple failures are magnified by ourselves and others by their reactions. This shame is accepted and internalized, even for the smallest infraction. \u0026ldquo;You disagree with me? You are a racist and a bigot! (Conversely, \u0026lsquo;Am I really this bigoted?\u0026rsquo;)\u0026rdquo; Others don\u0026rsquo;t attack our opinions anymore, they correlate opinions (which can change) with one\u0026rsquo;s identity, in this example. This leads to significant shame as feelings aren\u0026rsquo;t being attacked but who you are, which implies a condition you may not be able to correct.\nWe should care about this as it has far reaching implications. This affects both our attitudes, reactions, and responses. As well as, how we minister, related, and empathize with and to others.\nSo\u0026hellip; I don\u0026rsquo;t have any answers, other than recognition of this. I do know my posture to people both in life and in evangelical positions have been from a identity perspective as opposed to a guilt one. \u0026ldquo;We are all sinners\u0026rdquo; only works after you\u0026rsquo;ve shown someone that their worth and value is not based on their opinions, actions, or conditions. It is derived from the Creator of all things who is the very embodiment of love. After that is established, you can address the shortcomings that we all have.\nThis is also important when addressing any person with a difference of opinion. As I said before, in today\u0026rsquo;s culture, we tend to attack the person. You own a gun? You\u0026rsquo;re a criminal. You question Medicare-for-all? You hate poor people. You want Medicare-for-all? You are a communist.\nI do have a hard time transitioning out of a shame-based discussion. Shame is unhelpful in any way you look at it, and moving away is important. There is also too much cultural resistance to any conversation that doesn\u0026rsquo;t include identity posturing\u0026hellip;but that can be an entirely different conversation.\nWhat should we do as people, Christians, Americans, etc.? Just some food for thought.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/guilt-and-shame/","date":"2019-01-08T10:36:48-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_scale,q_auto:good/notebook/cry-crying-prayer-beads.jpg","tags":["faith","thoughts"],"title":"Guilt and Shame","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/guilt-and-shame/"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been thinking heavily on the Kalām Cosmological Argument. I\u0026rsquo;m finding it a fairly significant and well reasoned defense for the existence of God. I understand that there are fundamental arguments against this, but from a simple reasoned defense, it is very compelling. Most defenses against this argument for God tend to require a bit of mental gymnastics that go against Occam\u0026rsquo;s Razor.\nThe Argument First, let\u0026rsquo;s define the argument. The video above does a decent job of defining the argument and some of the rational behind them. Let\u0026rsquo;s show the simplicity here:\nEverything that begins to exist has a cause; The universe began to exist; Therefore, the universe has a cause. Proposition 1: Everything that begins to exist has a cause Without going into a deep analysis of this argument, we will use intuition to follow this proposition. Looking at everything that is temporal, it has a cause. A simple way of saying this is that a book was put together by the publisher/author/etc., water occurs by the arrangement of atoms in a particular way, or humans exist from star dust. Everything that begins to exist, has a cause.\nKai Neilson, an atheist philosopher from the University of Calgary, puts it this way: \u0026ldquo;\u0026hellip;suppose you hear a loud bang\u0026hellip;and you ask me, \u0026lsquo;What made that bang?\u0026rsquo; and I reply, \u0026lsquo;Nothing, it just happened.\u0026rsquo; You would not accept that\u0026ndash;in fact you would find my reply quite unintelligible.\u0026rdquo;\nWithout diving into quantum physics, solipsism, and ontology arguments, the path to causality is easily warranted.\nProposition 2: The universe began to exist This argument hinges on two premises. One, Big Bang Cosmology and two, absence of physical infinites. The Big Bang explains a large list of scientific observations including Hubble\u0026rsquo;s red-shift and the cosmic microwave background. This appears to give the universe a finite beginning. It sets the 0 point for all of space-time.\nAgnostic astronomer, Robert Jastrow came to the belief that with the advent of Big Bang cosmology, that science has proven the need for a Creator.\nAt this moment it seems as though science will never be able to raise the curtain on the mystery of creation. For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.\nRobert Jastrow, God and the Astronomers\nAdditionally, through findings quantum physics and others the need for the big bang to occur out of \u0026rsquo;nothing\u0026rsquo; has become probable (as all things in quantum physics are probable). In other words, the \u0026rsquo;t = 0\u0026rsquo; point that the Big Bang gave us is actually some \u0026rsquo;t = n\u0026rsquo; on an infinite time scale. But there is a question to the physical possibility of an infinite. Due to the understanding of the Second Law of Thermodynamics (entropy cannot decrease), if there was an infinite past, there\u0026rsquo;d be no asymmetry between the past and the future. The other argument is that even if these physical infinites existed, traversing them would be impossible. If time was infinite, and if we humans are a set of successive beings and evolution is a successive process of one after another, then we\u0026rsquo;d never actually hit any realizable point in time. It requires a beginning to ground these successive events.\nConcluding: The universe has a cause So this doesn\u0026rsquo;t prove, God. I want to be clear on that. But it does show that belief in the existence of an all powerful, timeless, spaceless, immaterial being is within the realm of rationality. Granted, there are very philosophical and scientific arguments around all these points and conclusions that the average person cannot get into. But over and over again, the arguments against this cosmological argument take significant mental gymnastics to overcome or are easily seen as a misunderstanding. I keep falling back to the simplest solution appears to make the most sense. The most interesting thing about this cosmological argument, I\u0026rsquo;ve found, is that the theologians are arguing that the implications of the Big Bang must be accepted and the scientists are arguing against their own conclusions of the universe\u0026rsquo;s beginnings. I know others will argue differently, but it\u0026rsquo;s a crazy world we live in.\nSo with that, I find it rational and congruent that the universe has a cause. And if there is a cause, there is no issue with my belief in God. Yes, it can be any god or gods, but a timeless, spaceless, immaterial, and all powerful being(s) makes sense. For other reasons not articulated here, I believe in the God personified in the person of Jesus Christ as the Cause of this universe.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/kalam-cosmological-argument/","date":"2018-11-21T10:36:48-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_scale,q_auto:good/notebook/cosmos.jpg","tags":["faith","science"],"title":"Kalām Cosmological Argument","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/kalam-cosmological-argument/"},{"content":"The other day, I listened to a podcast from Preston Sprinkle speaking to questions provided by some listeners. The first question asked, \u0026ldquo;Has relativity disproved predestination of the Calvinist tradition?\u0026rdquo; Preston\u0026rsquo;s answers were good within the realm of his expertise, but left me highly lacking. I\u0026rsquo;d like to offer my thoughts.\nNote: I am not a theologian, philosopher, nor a scientist. But I have given this quite a bit of thought and I think where I land is substantially reasonable.\nPoint One: Cultural Context Sprinkle states that we have to understand the Biblical references used in the predestination doctrine was done in a \u0026ldquo;pre-scientific\u0026rdquo; worldview. The advances of modern science were not in the minds of the writers, thus we cannot prescribe modern scientific findings to the context of the text.\nWhile I 100% agree with this, I feel this also denies the doctrine of \u0026ldquo;General Revelation\u0026rdquo; and belittles those of us that don\u0026rsquo;t use scriptural and textual study as the sole basis for worship. I believe scripture is very clear on general revelation. (Granted, I could have exegetical issues here.)\nThe Bible does state:\nThe natural world reveals God and His glory (Psalms 19:1-4) The natural world reveals God\u0026rsquo;s divinity and power (Romans 1:19-20) The natural world reveals God\u0026rsquo;s goodness (Genesis 1:31) Our intelligence and conscience (human nature) reveals God (Romans 2:14-16) These are statements that are accepted within the cultural context. So it is unfair to say the scientific revelation tells us nothing about the nature of God. Even Francis Collins calls the definition of the Human Genome: The Language of God. So although I agree with Sprinkle\u0026rsquo;s use of cultural context to the exegesis of the text, I disagree with its applicability to this particular question.\nPoint Two: Jesus is God Second, Sprinkle states that the full revelation of God is revealed in Jesus. And that we should not go beyond this revelation. As before, I find this lacking in regard to the question asked.\nI do agree that Jesus was \u0026ldquo;fully God and fully man\u0026rdquo;. So Preston\u0026rsquo;s point is true, Jesus is the full revelation of God. But all we know of Jesus is what was written down about Him and supplied by the Biblical authors. To claim that the Bible gives us a complete revelation of God, through Jesus, through the Biblical text is to claim that I can gain a complete revelation of who Abraham Lincoln was by reading a biography. Where the biography will greatly inform us, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t provide a complete picture.\nAdditionally, we must also consider that Jesus on earth was \u0026ldquo;fully man\u0026rdquo;. By making Himself fully man, incarnate Jesus intentionally gave Himself over to some limits of creation for a time, at the same time performing miracles that illustrate his transcendence of nature. Where Jesus is the default (that which supersedes all other images of God), questions like \u0026ldquo;How does God experience time?\u0026rdquo; are not clearly revealed in the incarnate Christ by the very nature of His becoming man (although I am fully open to being proven wrong here).\nBrief Note on Biblical Sufficiency After arguing against these two topics, you may think I don\u0026rsquo;t believe in the sufficiency of scripture. But that isn\u0026rsquo;t true. I believe the Bible is completely sufficient to form our Christian doctrines. That we should not need to look beyond the text to establish our principles, but there are things like general revelation and more that can expand our theology.\nPoint Three: False Dilemma Lastly, Sprinkle\u0026rsquo;s final argument\u0026ndash;and definitely his strongest\u0026ndash;is that the question provides a \u0026ldquo;false dilemma\u0026rdquo;. Preston\u0026rsquo;s point is that the question being proposed contains logic problems, therefore cannot provide the answer the questioner is looking for.\nAlthough it is more than just a false dilemma, Preston is correct. Simply because relativity has brought us a better understanding of time doesn\u0026rsquo;t imply God\u0026rsquo;s relationship to time denies predestination (one does not conclude an either/or position on the other).\nHere\u0026rsquo;s my best reconstruction of the questioner\u0026rsquo;s logic flow:\nGod exists outside of the natural world as He is the creator of it. Since relativity shows how the natural world can affect time, time is no longer a meta-physical construct but a physical one. God experiences time differently than us as it is His creation (view\u0026rsquo;s time like a map instead of how humans perceive it). Predestination cannot exist outside of this time construct Where I do see logic problems, the first problem is the Is/Ought fallacy in the logic flow. God exists outside of nature (descriptive), relativity defines time is a natural thing (descriptive), therefore God experiences time differently (prescriptive). This is a difficult logic problem to solve. An example that doesn\u0026rsquo;t have an Is/Ought fallacy is: God created the physical world (descriptive), relativity defines time as physical (descriptive), therefore God created time (descriptive).\nHow God experiences time is an evaluation of God that cannot be revealed simply by general revelation. So we look to special revelation (Scripture) to see what it says. The Bible doesn\u0026rsquo;t say anything about God\u0026rsquo;s experience of time outside of the fact that it is significantly different than our experience (2 Peter 3:8). Implications can be made by the fact that as Creator, God exists outside of his creation. And Isaiah 55:8 shows that he doesn\u0026rsquo;t think or act like we do. Yet none of this can determine the validity of predestination.\nFinal Note: Calvinistic Predestination I do want to make a brief point on Calvinistic Predestination. I think Calvinism has fallen into what I\u0026rsquo;ve started calling \u0026ldquo;Job\u0026rsquo;s Fallacy\u0026rdquo;. The entire book of Job is amazing and if you haven\u0026rsquo;t read it lately you should. Job is a narrative on how our simplistic models for God and His character are always insufficient. We really must be careful about placing models of God into a hard-line doctrinal category. What many Reformed/Calvinist do (from my experience) is apply the predestination of the elect into doctrine (the essence of a system of belief) instead of leaving this in theology (study of the nature of God). I hear statements all the time like, \u0026ldquo;Five point Calvinism is the only true understanding of the gospel.\u0026rdquo; This is dangerous as it alienates people and does not take a loving character.\nTo keep from finding myself in a semantics argument, I have taken pains to define what I mean when I use the terms doctrine and theology. I may be wrong in their exact definitions, but this is how I\u0026rsquo;m using them.\nPhoto by ahmadreza sajadi on Unsplash\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/einsteins-relativity-and-predestination/","date":"2018-06-26T08:11:00-05:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_scale,q_auto:good,w_2048/notebook/space-time.jpg","tags":["science","faith"],"title":"Einstein's Relativity and Predestination","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/einsteins-relativity-and-predestination/"},{"content":"I was listening to a podcast the other day that spoke about (as an aside) how video games effect daily activity. A number of points became seriously poignant to me when I really started thinking about what they were talking about. I hope to lay out some points of thought here.\nPreface I first need you to understand that I am not a video game sensationalist. I have seen the studies and seen other things shown, but I don\u0026rsquo;t believe that the violence in video games are destroying our youth. I also don\u0026rsquo;t believe that the games themselves are responsible for much of the decline in how well are boys interact with life. I do think that they are part of the conversation, but it\u0026rsquo;s more than that.\nI play video games (not nearly as much as I used to), I enjoy them. But the violence that is shown is only emphasizing that which is already inside that brain, and if it wasn\u0026rsquo;t video games they would be watching violent movies or books/comics/etc. Also, playing the games can be an enjoyable time and an outlet. It can teach strategy and teamwork, but the stuff needs to be approached with limits. Parents should parent, and not allow wholesale play.\nWith that out of the way, there are a couple of things that video games could easily enforce in a young person\u0026rsquo;s development that I think we should at least be aware of.\nLeveling Up This one is interesting because it can go both ways, but what I\u0026rsquo;ve seen is that we all to often take the easier of the two. Most games these days have some empirical ranking system where the capabilities and performance of your character is depended upon the Experience Points (XP) achieved.\nMany times, instead of seeing this as the benefit of hard work, we see this as the natural progression of the game play. So in life we think that, \u0026ldquo;When I turn 18 or 20, I\u0026rsquo;ll be an adult!\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;If I just stay in this job a few more years, I\u0026rsquo;ll get my dream job.\u0026rdquo;, or \u0026ldquo;If I can just stick it out, everything will be alright\u0026rdquo;. These are shadows of modern video game-play. Many XP systems just require living safely over time for leveling up, some require exercising mundane tasks, and others are the effect of taking risks.\nWhat\u0026rsquo;s often ignored is the active engagement of effort needed to hit those goals. Now modern system\u0026rsquo;s XP can be purchased\u0026hellip;allowing for the other adolescent thought of goals can be bought.\nThe fact is, you don\u0026rsquo;t become an adult without cultivating life experiences (LX) that lead to adulthood. Making decisions, failing at things, putting your sweat into something\u0026hellip;these are the tools that lead to adulthood. The funny thing is, the right video games can also help this. But without disengaging from the screen to put real risk and reward into life, you\u0026rsquo;ll never gain enough LX to be taken seriously as an adult.\nLack of Consequences You have an extra life! That is the sentiment of many game-mechanics scenarios of video games. This or the Saved Game are how we counteract consequences of the game play. Two things would happen if real consequences occurred in modern games:\nLack of Play. People would completely stop playing this game because it lacks the escapism attributes that video games provide. (Note: I\u0026rsquo;m not knocking the need for escape from time to time.) Character Building. It would greatly improve the character of the person playing because every move would need to be carefully thought out and executed. What video games can then lead us to have is a reinforcement of \u0026ldquo;self\u0026rdquo;. Ignoring the consequences of your actions or finding ways to eliminate the consequences of your actions is a self-centered drive that has led our culture to some of the many problems we see today. More money, the effects on people and nature be damned! All the sex I want, the effects/affects on my life, my wife, women in general, or my family are ignored, or I can just hit the reset button when I get home.\nAgain, video games don\u0026rsquo;t cause these things, but they do reinforce them. We can always then take a lesson in observing these traits, finding them in our lives, and taking steps to counter them.\nLoss of Focus Some may disagree that most people they say play these games are inhumanly focused on playing. But the problem is that modern games are a smorgasbord of light, action, events, and the constant push to keep moving.\nThe attention span needed for these is pretty quick and that\u0026rsquo;s why people with ADD/ADHD can play these games and perform well at them. It\u0026rsquo;s not an attention builder. Where are the games where you just have to sit there in the dark for hours waiting for that one moment to jump? They don\u0026rsquo;t exist because people would find them boring.\nI\u0026rsquo;m not advocating for a change in the system, just again understanding that being able to focus on something (like reading a book, typing this post, studying, preparing something) are important character traits to be build, and they don\u0026rsquo;t come to everyone easily. Many of us (like myself!) have to work hard to be able to sit down and read a book for hours\u0026hellip;I\u0026rsquo;ve had to train myself. So maybe we should shift some of our time for a better us, right?\nEmphasis on the Artificial Video games are far from the major player in this, but they do emphasize artificial things like relationships. We no longer can spend time in company with other people and feel comfortable, but we can text/email/Facebook/Slack it out with people all the time. Relationships have changed from in-person reality to a filtered persona we can manufacture online.\nReal life doesn\u0026rsquo;t allow for this. At some point you will have to present yourself face-to-face with someone and building those skills now needs to happen.\nConclusion Remember, I\u0026rsquo;m not knocking video games as a whole. But we should be aware of the character traits that video games emphasize. We should always be aware of these and be intentional about combating these with counter traits.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s gain some Life eXperience by going hiking, learning to pilot a plane (instead of video game simulations), taking archery lessons, painting, or photography. Do things that build you up.\nIn those LX activities, take risks. Start conversations with people you normally wouldn\u0026rsquo;t\u0026hellip;be willing to get rejected. Learn from these so when real, truly painful consequences arise, you are ready for them. And try thinking about the other person before doing something for a change\u0026hellip;you\u0026rsquo;ll be surprised on the outcome.\nSlow things down with prayer or meditation. Reading a book (and doing it over and over again) to cultivate focus.\nTalk to someone. Go to physical group events and put yourself out there. Know you aren\u0026rsquo;t the only person in the place you are at, find a crew and have some fun. You will be so much the better for it.\nPhoto by Rohit Choudhari on Unsplash\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/what-are-video-games-teaching-us-/","date":"2018-06-10T12:56:34-05:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_scale,q_auto:eco,w_2048/notebook/xbox-controller.jpg","tags":["commentary","thoughts"],"title":"What Are Video Games Teaching Us?","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/what-are-video-games-teaching-us-/"},{"content":"The lack of standardized rating systems sucks. There\u0026rsquo;s so many ways to rate something that you begin to lose all understanding what what something means. Even systems designed to simplify things muddy the waters, because they often lack the granularity that allows for meaning to be derived. I\u0026rsquo;ll offer a guide\u0026hellip;\nTL/DR - After distilling all other rating systems, this is where I sit when I rate things.\nCurrent Systems There\u0026rsquo;s a ton of rating systems out there but, in most cases, they follow a simple numerical ranking to the need. Ten point scales, 5 star rating, two thumbs up/down, or something similar. Looking at my homepage you\u0026rsquo;ll find that I like tracking and rating the things in my life. It is a little bit of data collection that I may use for later.\nPoints Model Goodreads, Amazon, Uber, Lyft, etc. all have 5 star rating systems. Trakt, IMDB, and Pain use a 10 point scale. This is the the type that can have the most granularity.\nBinary Model Some sites, i.e. Netflix, YouTube and Rotten Tomatoes, use a variation on quantity good vs quantity bad. Count the good, count the bad, and derive a level of \u0026ldquo;goodness\u0026rdquo; as the defined rating. It lacks the question of a middle ground, where you don\u0026rsquo;t want to give it a negative rating, but neither a good rating.\nLike Model Others ignore the bad, i.e. Facebook and Medium, in that you can \u0026ldquo;Like\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;Clap\u0026rdquo; or do nothing. So popularity is only derived by happiness with the post, ignoring bad and indifference\u0026hellip;almost penalizing the post when indifference occurs.\nIssues with the Systems Like Model Reinforces Bubbles Let\u0026rsquo;s start with the Like-model. The only option is for a positive review or nothing at all. This has a huge issue with ignoring the negative side. This type of rating system tends to reinforce filter bubbles as it is then increasingly difficult to decifer if something was bad (or contrary) or simply ignored. This seems like the most user friendly style because you either act \u0026ldquo;Like/Clap\u0026rdquo; or don\u0026rsquo;t, but it simply echoes your preferences back to you and does not allow for understanding of things truly contary. There is something very enticing about this form though. As Medium has found out, there\u0026rsquo;s a large amount of gratification for the author in a simple pat on the back. Ignoring the negative, even a small amount of positive reinforcement goes a long ways in continuing to provide content.\nBinary Model Ignores the Ignored Expanding that limited aproach is the Binary-model. This is most commonly realized in the Thumbs-Up and Thumbs-Down appraoch. Where this fixes the issue with identifying bad material, it also has difficult functional problem. The Binary-model isn\u0026rsquo;t actually binary at all\u0026hellip;what do you do with all the ignored ratings? Rotten Tomatoes doesn\u0026rsquo;t have this issue because it is truly binary, as there is no \u0026ldquo;I reviewed it, but didn\u0026rsquo;t supply an opinion\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo;. YouTube has relegated Thumbs Up/Down to second class citizens to Views counting. Ignoring any value proposition, simply showing the popularity.\nNetflix is interesting because I don\u0026rsquo;t know what they do with their model. I assume it\u0026rsquo;s not binary as they are definitely harvesting view with the ratings, so they know how many people ignore the rating. But my personal experience (and one echoed with people I\u0026rsquo;ve discussed this with) is that since the moved away from the 5-star model, I\u0026rsquo;ve stopped rating shows all together.\nPoints Model Needs Context The Points-model is what the 5-star, X-to-10, and others fall into. When rating content, this is my favorite model. It allows the granularity to understand the level of goodness/badness of a item.\nFive star systems have good granularity, allowing the bad, but is often not enough to fully understand the issue. I like when systems overcome this with allowing half stars, this essentially puts it on a 10 point scale. And that\u0026rsquo;s the best one.\nI\u0026rsquo;m a big fan of the 10 point scale. It allows me to put meaning into a rating, if anyone wants my opinion on something it is then well understood. Trakt and IMDB both use this and it works for them. I\u0026rsquo;ve found that the average ratings on these services tend to be excellent in telling me if I\u0026rsquo;ll like something. There is a range of uncertanty, but normally I can go into that understanding that it could teter the other way.\nApplying Meaning to The Points Model The problem with all these systems is: \u0026ldquo;What does it mean!?!?\u0026rdquo; Let\u0026rsquo;s take the 10 point system. 10 is awesome, 1 is awful\u0026hellip;that\u0026rsquo;s known. But where\u0026rsquo;s the middle? Some may say 5, but that\u0026rsquo;s not always the case. Think about a decision on whether to play a certain video game. If the game gets a 1 you are definitely going to avoid, but does a 2 mean you\u0026rsquo;ll give it a shot? What about 3 and 4 for that matter? Normally, only if it gets a 5 will you think\u0026hellip;well maybe. So now you have 7-8 point scale\u0026hellip;and that will explode brains.\nSo an average game is probably sitting in the 6-7 point range instead of the 5. But that\u0026rsquo;s where context is missing. What does 5 mean? Does it mean Average? How do you know this? How can we help?\nTrakt\u0026rsquo;s Rating Definitions My favorite rating system is from Trakt. They apply context to each number. Here\u0026rsquo;s Trakt\u0026rsquo;s current explanation:\nWeak Sauce :( Terrible Bad Poor Meh Fair Good Great Superb Totally Ninja! Now there\u0026rsquo;s context. As you can see, they place average at 6-to-7 with the Fair/Good distinction\u0026hellip;but also allows for some new interpretations.\nI like the list. I take off \u0026ldquo;Weak Sauce :(\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;Totally Ninja!\u0026rdquo; and replace them with something like \u0026ldquo;Turned it off\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;Would pay to watch each time over and over again.\u0026rdquo;, respectively. I think those explanations are a bit more descriptive. But there\u0026rsquo;s something interesting here\u0026hellip;a show/movie that gets a rating of 2 or 3 may still be compelling\u0026hellip; In this context there could be a \u0026ldquo;I know it\u0026rsquo;s bad, but was fun to watch in that bad movie/show context\u0026rdquo;, approach taken to the show.\nReducing to 5 Star Confuses Context Compressing this down into a 5 star system is hard\u0026hellip;You lose that 2-4 granularity. I find it hard to give a 2 star rating to something. If it\u0026rsquo;s bad, it\u0026rsquo;s bad (1) if it\u0026rsquo;s average it gets the three (3), four (4) is good, and five (5) is fantastic. Additionally, because I consume things with a known quality rating based on others reviews, I find myself hitting that 4 over and over. Suddenly my rating is difficult to understand. Was it above average or fantastic except for a couple issues?\nA bit more granularity allows for that to be derived. And placing a context to each rating like Trakt does only puts everyone on even terms.\nMy Default Rating Context For posterity sake, here\u0026rsquo;s my rating system when you see my reviews for anything. For the most part you can reference this and know where I stand on anything. Additionally, the \u0026ldquo;Thumbs Up\u0026rdquo; also indicates how I handle the \u0026ldquo;Like/Clap\u0026rdquo; feature that some sites have.\nHow to Understand My Ratings That\u0026rsquo;s it, what do you think?\nTitle Photo by Mark Tegethoff\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/rating-systems/","date":"2018-04-16T12:01:00-05:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_scale,q_auto:eco,w_2048/notebook/moon-phases.jpg","tags":["geek","thoughts","review"],"title":"Rating Systems: What does it mean?","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/rating-systems/"},{"content":"Wow! Sixty (60) books! 2017 was another good year with regards to reading for me. I was able to once again power through a ton a of books. It was a year of series; only roughly 18 books out of the 60 were stand alone books. Many of what I read were serial in nature and, towards the end of the year, I was beginning to get a little burned out on these stories. Hopefully 2018 brings a refreshed view, or better feelings at least. As always, Goodreads does a better job of presenting all the books, so check it out there.\nFavorite Read Girl with All the Gifts The Girl with All the Gifts is an amazing read. It\u0026rsquo;s is at its heart a zombie tale, but Carey was able to infuse it with so much heart that it feels different than anything else I\u0026rsquo;ve read from the genre. Yes, there are mindless zombies, but The Girl is capable of generating empathy towards some of these that I have never experienced in book of the type. It was not just the specific characters I liked that kept me coming back for more, but even with the characters I severely disliked, I was enthralled by their story and experiences. It was a book that Carey was able to pull me into and one that, as I read it, I felt like I lived through. Great read.\n\u0026ldquo;And then like Pandora, opening the great big box of the world and not being afraid, not even caring whether what’s inside is good or bad. Because it’s both. Everything is always both. But you have to open it to find that out.\u0026rdquo; - The Girl with All the Gifts\nHonorable Mentions The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon Paradox Bound by Peter Clines Thrawn by Timothy Zahn Favorite Series The Kingfountain Series The Kingfountain Series was one I picked up on a whim. I think Audible had The Queen\u0026rsquo;s Poisoner as the Daily Deal at one point. At one point I was looking for great fantasy that didn\u0026rsquo;t include heavy violence or other gratuitous situations\u0026hellip;kind of an anti-Song of Ice and Fire read. The series follows a story about a boy from childhood to adulthood, highlighting his ability to understand and work himself through run after run of bad situations. Regardless of his age, it kept me interested and deeply hooked. There are more books in this series now, and they should be queued up to read at some point in 2018.\n\u0026ldquo;Never trust another person to do your thinking for you.\u0026rdquo; - The Queen\u0026rsquo;s Poisoner (The Kingfountain Series)\nHonorable Mentions Frontlines by Marco Kloos Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia Favorite Non-Fiction Lost World of Gen. 1 The Lost World of Genesis One was a fantastic read. I have been exploring more into why science and scripture have this so-called friction with each other. Why we have to live with irreconcilable differences between science and faith has never quite sat well with me. The biggest sticking point has to do with creation and Genesis. In justifying certain passages of scripture, we always look at the context in which it was written. This is always true for those verses that non-believers bring up about slaves and adulterers. But with Genesis 1, exploring context is often abandoned with expectations of literal interpretation. Does the Bible explicitly say six 24-hour periods? If light and dark were separated on Day 1, why were the sun and moon selected on Day 4? Why does Genesis 2 imply something completely different from Genesis 1:11? This was a great read, going to grab the books on Adam and Eve, as well as, the Flood.\n\u0026ldquo;It seems to many that they have to make a choice: either believe the Bible and hold to a young earth, or abandon the Bible because of the persuasiveness of the case for an old earth. The good news is that we do not have to make such a choice. The Bible does not call for a young earth. Biblical faith need not be abandoned if one concludes from the scientific evidence that the earth is old.\u0026rdquo; - The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate\nHonorable Mention Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard Biggest Surprise The Curious Incident... The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time caught me by surprise. It was a random suggestion from a video podcast I was watching, and I felt I should give it a go. I read it almost completely through in one sitting while driving through Connecticut and Vermont. The main character has a social disorder that most people would stereotypically assign to autism. So he has social issues but is very smart in math. It has some fun things like Chapter numbers that are only prime numbers, thoughts on the number of red cars on the road, and literal interpretations of anything that is said. The story is\u0026ndash;in essence\u0026ndash;one of how Christopher reacts and grows in learning that the world is a much broader and darker place than he\u0026rsquo;s been led to believe.\n\u0026ldquo;Prime numbers are what is left when you have taken all the patterns away. I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.\u0026rdquo; - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time\nHonorable Mentions Dark Matter by Blake Crouch We are Legion (We are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor Bad Books Nothing just jumped out at me as totally awful. Most books that I found disappointing were mainly because one major reason threw off anything that was good about the book as a whole. Liu Cixin\u0026rsquo;s Death\u0026rsquo;s End was probably the worst read of the year. It was full information and garbage that lead you nowhere and just ultimately fell flat. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders was filled with bad humor and plodding development. Not Alone by Craig A Falconer was an enormous read that was a really good story but, man, did it need massive editing\u0026hellip;entire sections could have been removed and the length cut by a third and it would have been wonderful.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/2017-reading/","date":"2018-02-21T18:00:27-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/q_auto:eco/notebook/big-library.jpg","tags":["reading"],"title":"That's a-lot-a Books!","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/2017-reading/"},{"content":" Funny Idioms (Crazy things we say) Things we do in life with lasting effects url:https://traeblain.com/blog/post-ideas/","date":"2018-02-12T11:43:42Z","image":"","tags":[],"title":"Post Ideas","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/post-ideas/"},{"content":"Ever heard the saying, \u0026ldquo;You can\u0026rsquo;t have your cake and eat it too.\u0026rdquo;? What does that mean. Think about it, if I have cake\u0026hellip; I\u0026rsquo;m going to eat it. Seriously, why can\u0026rsquo;t I have cake and eat it as well? I know I can\u0026hellip;\nLately I\u0026rsquo;ve been thinking about the things we say. Words have meaning. And although I\u0026rsquo;m a mess of incorrect word usage, things like this make me think a bit. It turns out that the order was probably reversed at one point. John Heywood (1546), John Davies (1611), and Jonathan Swift (1738) all used this phrase, but in essence used it like this:\nYou cannot eat your cake and have it too. Everybody back in the day\nThis makes sense. Of course, you cannot eat your cake, and have it as well. Once you eat it\u0026hellip;it\u0026rsquo;s gone! This fits in its usage. Wikipedia says that the meaning (even though it\u0026rsquo;s usage doesn\u0026rsquo;t really mean it) is that you \u0026ldquo;cannot simultaneously retain your cake and eat it\u0026rdquo;. But going back to the original usage would make so much more sense. If you look at Google Ngram, sometime in 1938 usage changed from starting with \u0026ldquo;eat\u0026rdquo; to starting with \u0026ldquo;have\u0026rdquo;.\nAnd let\u0026rsquo;s be honest, nothing good came out of the 30s. Depression, Hitler, King Edward VIII\u0026hellip;so let\u0026rsquo;s change it back. Seriously\u0026hellip; I mean let\u0026rsquo;s all eat cake!\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/lets-all-eat-cake/","date":"2018-01-25T14:56:28-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_scale,q_auto:eco,w_2048/v1513568977/notebook/pretty-cake.jpg","tags":["commentary","thoughts"],"title":"Let's All Eat Cake","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/lets-all-eat-cake/"},{"content":"So I\u0026rsquo;ve been tossing around the idea of starting a newsletter but didn\u0026rsquo;t really like any of the options out there in circulating one. Yes, Mailchimp and other services aren\u0026rsquo;t difficult, yes things like TinyLetter make it even more simple\u0026hellip;but what I really wanted to do is basically share links. I never really wanted to create content for a newsletter. Digging up all that content for a quality letter is a pain and what I really wanted is a simple way of curating links I find across the net for the week and sharing those.\nWhat I found, is that doing that kind of sharing is actually pretty difficult. Goodbits has a pretty slick way of doing it, but it is still a level of work to get it included into the newsletter. What I would like is a simple way to grab the links, store them, then share them. Clean, no fuss\u0026hellip;no mess\u0026hellip;no special tools\u0026hellip;minimal steps\u0026hellip;etc.\nWhy a Newsletter Where many people make link-posts on their blogs, I feel that clutters up the posts. I changed the name of my blog to \u0026ldquo;Notebook\u0026rdquo; because that\u0026rsquo;s what I want it to be. A collection of writings put down for posterity and public consumption\u0026hellip;not anything necessarily for others, but more for me. So adding link posts, which is inherently for others, is kind of the opposite of what I\u0026rsquo;m shooting for.\nEnter Refind If you haven\u0026rsquo;t found Refind, you\u0026rsquo;re missing out. Refind is similar to other bookmarking services but adds what many lack. Powerful search and a great Discovery section. I used to like delicious, but always felt the related links or discovery aspect was lacking. I do use Pocket, but found it\u0026rsquo;s long term storage isn\u0026rsquo;t what it\u0026rsquo;s for. Refind does all this. The great thing about Refind is also that I get a newsletter baked right in. Every Sunday (or daily if you like), the collection of my saved links goes out to my followers. Currently, Refind is very tech related, but I keep posting things that I hope will help shift that to a broader audience.\nGet the Newsletter Follow this link:\nLink Not Available\nAnd you\u0026rsquo;ll get the links in your inbox. You can also sign up for Refind (if you\u0026rsquo;d like), but clicking the \u0026ldquo;Get Newsletter\u0026rdquo; link just uses your email\u0026hellip;no signup required. Sometimes I may share 1 link, sometimes it may be 10 links. Either way, I think it will be good content to read. I will also save my own Notebook posts so you\u0026rsquo;ll catch those as well.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/i-got-a-newsletter/","date":"2018-01-01T19:26:00-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_scale,q_auto:eco,w_2048/notebook/newspaper-stack.jpg","tags":["site"],"title":"I Got A Newsletter!","type":"","url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/i-got-a-newsletter/"},{"content":"Just watched Netflix\u0026rsquo;s latest entry into the blockbuster movie scene, Bright. I have to say, I\u0026rsquo;m conflicted. The movie is not good, but neither is it bad. As I consider it, over and over in my head, I get more and more conflicted in my reactions. Because of that, I am going to say you should watch it\u0026hellip;but go into the viewing with an open mind. I\u0026rsquo;ll barely touch on the good to avoid spoilers, but it\u0026rsquo;s worth watching.\nThe World Bright is set in a world where Humans, Elves, Orcs, and other mythical creatures live together in modern day Los Angeles. It is a bit like today\u0026rsquo;s racial tension but at a fantasy type level. Something happened 2000 years ago with a \u0026ldquo;Dark Lord\u0026rdquo; character which was bad\u0026hellip;but we don\u0026rsquo;t really know what this is. This is the biggest problem with the movie. It puts you in the fantasy world that isn\u0026rsquo;t anything like most of this type, then neglects to build the world for the viewer. You are thrown into the middle of the world and have no idea how we got there\u0026hellip;sure there\u0026rsquo;s some mention of it at one point in the movie (simply to characterize the \u0026ldquo;class\u0026rdquo; system that exists), but I watched the film in its entirety and am still lost in how and why we got there. Is there magic? Is there no magic? Only certain people can do it, but everyone thinks they are capable? Since there was no back story on any of this, many of the situations are difficult to understand.\nThe Situation The next issue is that you are also thrown into the middle of an apparent conflict between Will Smith\u0026rsquo;s character, Daryl Ward, and Joel Edgerton\u0026rsquo;s character, Nick Jakoby. Honestly, at the level these characters take this supposed rift, you are seriously confused about why and what happened. Because you are given ZERO context for it, you think you are simply watching some 1950s Cop Drama about the first black police officer. I do think that this was part of the intent, but without anything to empathize with either character, you just sit there confused. Later you gain the context of the situation, but there was implied ostracizing of Ward as well that occurred that this context never explained. Edgerton\u0026rsquo;s portrayal of Jakoby as an orc is fantastic, by the way.\nGreat Direction of Bad Writing Bright boils down to one thing: Great Direction of Bad Writing. David Ayers does a fantastic job on this movie. For someone who is a huge fantasy nerd, I thought the world that Ayers brought to life was amazing. The setup of the scenes, the action, and approach was fantastic for the genre and provided little left to be desired. But, he could only do so much with the horrible script. Max Landis\u0026rsquo;s script had so many holes. There is bad dialogue, campy characters (Internal Affairs, anyone?!?!?), and a world without structure. This movie felt like a second part of a trilogy. The first movie setup the world and situation we are in, maybe ended with the conflict between Daryl and Nick. This one does its thing and setups magic and it\u0026rsquo;s danger. Then the third act is when all this comes together and Nick and Daryl become humanity\u0026rsquo;s (and orcs and elves) saviors. This is what this movie feels like, but without the first act\u0026hellip;the viewer is just stuck asking: \u0026ldquo;What the hell is going on here? But it\u0026rsquo;s so pretty\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo; Oh yeah, and the soundtrack is pretty good\u0026hellip;\nBright | Official Trailer [HD] | NetflixHumans, Orcs, Elves... everybody is just trying to get along. Get ready for the world of Bright, a new Netflix Original Film, starring Will Smith and Joel Edgerton. Now streaming on Netflix. Bright The Album Now Available Download/Stream Now - https://Atlantic.lnk.to/Bright About Bright: Set in an alternate present-day where humans, orcs, elves, and fairies have been co-existing since the beginning of time.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/bright/","date":"2017-12-26T22:34:31Z","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/q_auto:eco/notebook/bright-movie.jpg","tags":["review","movies"],"title":"Bright","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/bright/"},{"content":"For posterity sake, I figured I\u0026rsquo;d make the definitive list of the best sports teams and people ever. The best in the mind of me, Trae. If I did keep up with all these sports/leagues/people, then this would be who I\u0026rsquo;d follow. Yes, that\u0026rsquo;s right, I don\u0026rsquo;t follow all these. But I don\u0026rsquo;t really care about your opinion on the matter. This is driven by this particular data that I can easily update from time to time. So you\u0026rsquo;ll see my latest preferences in this post as I update it. Modification date is located at the bottom.\nFootball Dallas Cowboys National Football League Of course I pull for the Cowboys. Always have always will\u0026hellip;even in the really crappy times.\nBaseball Texas Ranger Major League Baseball I wasn\u0026rsquo;t always a Ranger fan. I had family in Houston and saw my first MLB game at the Astrodome. But in High School and more in College my fandom went to the true Texas team. And haven\u0026rsquo;t looked back. Also got my Mom enjoying the games!\nBasketball Dallas Mavericks National Basketball Association Another team I didn\u0026rsquo;t always support. I didn\u0026rsquo;t have a true team for a long time, and since the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets were both better teams than the Mavericks throughout the 90\u0026rsquo;s, I waffled between the three. Around 2002, I finally committed to the Mavericks\u0026hellip; don\u0026rsquo;t know why (they still weren\u0026rsquo;t all that great at that time), but have enjoyed watching them ever since.\nHockey Dallas Stars National Hockey League I was a Boston Bruins fan for no reason for a long time. Texas didn\u0026rsquo;t have a real hockey team and when the North Stars moved south, I didn\u0026rsquo;t join in. I didn\u0026rsquo;t even move over when they won the Stanley Cup! I\u0026rsquo;ve only been a Stars fan for around 5 years (at the time of this writing), and can\u0026rsquo;t say I miss the Bruins. Even when they weren\u0026rsquo;t doing well, watching the young team find there identity and deal with some of the veteran leadership they supposedly brought in was entertaining.\nSoccer FC Dallas Major League Soccer I held no soccer allegiance before moving to Dallas and as such never really followed the Hoops. But around 2010-2011-ish, I started following because of Brek Shea was doing some crazy awesome stuff prior to his English and Klinsmann meltdown. Since then I\u0026rsquo;ve kept up with their progress.\nLiverpool FC English Premier League Because I can unite in a group of people that maintain an extreme dislike for Tom Hicks. I figure that commonality would allow me to overlook any cultural differences if I were to attend a match\u0026hellip;ever.\nMotorsports Joey Logano NASCAR Sliced Bread my friends.\nDaniel Ricciardo Formula One Great driver, rough team.\nCycling Trek-Segafredo International Cycling Organization Don\u0026rsquo;t have super tight allegience to any team anymore as the American representation has dropped significantly.\nMagnus Sheffield Individual Looking good as an All-Round cyclist.\nLacrosse Atlas Lacrosse Club Premiere Lacrosse League So didn\u0026rsquo;t pay much attention to Lacrosse until my son started playing. Didn\u0026rsquo;t like Atlas originally because I felt they were getting all the coverage due to Paul Rabil. But recently I love the players, the play style, and the logo.\nGolf Jordan Spieth Professional Golfers Association Local boy, but who has time to keep up with golf.\nRugby Munster Pro14 The Red Army, and by extension the Irish National Team\u0026hellip;although I really should be pulling for the US.\nCricket Kolkata Knight Riders Indian Premier League Dodo-dodo-dodo-dodo\u0026hellip;dodo-dodo-dodo-dodo\u0026hellip;\nTennis N/A World Tour Need to look into this some more\u0026hellip;taking suggestions.\nFighting Errol Spence Jr. All the Boxing Leagues He just beats everyone.\nIslam Ramazanovich Makhachev Ultimate Fighting Championship Guys a beast in lightweight.\nUpdated: Monday - January 9, 2023 url:https://traeblain.com/blog/favorite-sports-teams/","date":"2017-12-13T17:00:00-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_auto:eco,w_2048/notebook/seats-159524.png","tags":["sports","list"],"title":"My Favorite Sports Teams","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/favorite-sports-teams/"},{"content":"Star Wars: The Last Jedi is about to be released and since they announced the title, I\u0026rsquo;ve had a theory that I\u0026rsquo;ve really wanted to hope come true. A brief analysis of the previous films and a few comments from the previews for the new file\u0026ndash;taken completely out of context\u0026ndash;leads me to what I hope happens for The Last Jedi. We\u0026rsquo;ll see though, won\u0026rsquo;t we.\nBalance to The Force What does it mean to bring balance to The Force? Qui-gon Jinn believes he found \u0026ldquo;The Chosen One\u0026rdquo; in Anakin Skywalker. \u0026ldquo;The Chosen One\u0026rdquo; was supposed to rid the world of the Sith and bring balance to the force. Obi-won comes to believe this as well. Mace Windu and Yoda speak to him about the prophesy of who is to restore balance to the force.\nBut what is balance? There is an argument that light and dark cannot live in harmony, but restoring balance is instead treating the dark side as a cancer to the force. The balance that needs to be restored is the eradication of the dark side so The Force can be rid of this corruption. Then the Force can live in it\u0026rsquo;s natural balance. This view seems to be reinforced by George Lucas in various older interviews.\nBut this interpretation never sat well with me. I also don\u0026rsquo;t think that it sat well with many fans either. Lucas believed that the prophecy was misread (Ref. Episode III) and that Luke was the actual \u0026ldquo;Chosen One\u0026rdquo; that restored balance. Fans for a long time didn\u0026rsquo;t agree. If you remember in Return of the Jedi, it wasn\u0026rsquo;t Luke that killed Darth Sidious\u0026hellip;Vader, after having a crisis of character, throws Sidious over the rail and killing him. I believe the most fan held interpretation is that Anakin was always the perceived Chosen One, not Luke.\nAbrams Take I believe that Abrams has this same opinion. With the rise of the First Order and appearance of Snoke, this seems to be reinforced. Kylo was also born from Luke\u0026rsquo;s Jedi training work, and if Luke was creating balance\u0026hellip;then why would such a great power be so easily seduced to the dark side?\nIt is where you are from. What you are made of. The dark side—and the light. The finest sculptor cannot fashion a masterpiece from poor materials. He must have something pure, something strong, something unbreakable, with which to work. Snoke\nSo this comes back to \u0026ldquo;What is balance in the Force?\u0026rdquo; and how would one restore this?\nAbrams in writing The Force Awakens in the manner he did, showed us that great evil was still emerging. But how? Why?\nMy Theory My theory is that balance provided by Anakin was only temporary because the Jedi Order had no idea what balance meant. Balance isn\u0026rsquo;t the eradication of things normally related to the Dark Side. Every discussion of succumbing to the Dark Side involved \u0026ldquo;feeling the hate, embracing your anger\u0026rdquo;. Even Luke in Return of the Jedi feeds on his anger when fighting Vader. Watch it again, and don\u0026rsquo;t tell me when he\u0026rsquo;s hacking away at him, swinging as hard as he can, he\u0026rsquo;s doing it out of pure/fully good motives. Luke becomes powerful, when he becomes himself, his whole self. Later when he suppresses his passion, the Emperor is able to make quick work of him. Balance doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean eradication of hate and anger, but it\u0026rsquo;s the application of these emotions in the proper way.\nIn the previews for The Last Jedi, there are two moments that leave me hopeful that this is the direction we are going.\nLuke Skywalker In the teaser trailer, you hear Luke say: \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s time for the Jedi, to end.\u0026rdquo; I believe (and hope) that Luke finally sees the error of the Jedi tradition. In their fight to be \u0026ldquo;Fully Good\u0026rdquo;, all they did was allow the Force to balance itself by manifesting \u0026ldquo;Fully Evil\u0026rdquo; counterparts. The Jedi were taught to repress their anger, ignore things they hate, and restrict these emotions because they felt that was the only way to be good. Remember, Yoda, Obi-wan, and Maz Kanata, spoke about how the Force being all around them, and permeates every living thing. It should be safe to say that the Force is in all things, love and hate, good and evil\u0026hellip;light and dark.\nLuke wants to end the Jedi, because the Jedi\u0026rsquo;s \u0026ldquo;Fully Good\u0026rdquo; belief continues to develop \u0026ldquo;Fully Evil\u0026rdquo;, and the pain and destruction that this action brings is too great. Since you cannot destroy the Force, the key is to let the Force be all things in you. My hope for The Last Jedi, is that Luke begins to train Rey to embrace her good, understand her emotions and accept them, be okay with the hate she has for Kylo, and harness that anger for justice.\nThere is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force. The Jedi Code\nThe Jedi Code is wrong and what a great turn of the story would it be to place the Jedi themselves as the bad guys. I liken the Jedi to the Crusaders. Great intentions but massively and dangerously mislead. In their actions to do what they felt was the great good, they left behind a wake of pain, misery, and problems that took centuries to change\u0026hellip;and even now there is not a full recovery. The Jedi Code pushes the Force to fill the void with evil in the areas the Code rejects.\nThere IS emotion. Emotions must be recognized. Only emotions like empathy and anger will allow there to be peace where peace is not found. There IS ignorance. No one group can know all things. The Jedi\u0026rsquo;s pursuit of knowledge is admirable, but it\u0026rsquo;s the acceptance that they don\u0026rsquo;t know all which could will keep Force wielders from making mistakes of the past, both in the dark and light sides. There IS passion. Our passions are what leads us to make and correct mistakes. Serenity also means there\u0026rsquo;s no empathy\u0026hellip;and only with empathy can you fully be agents for peace. There IS chaos. Sometimes things happen with no explanation. Embracing the wildness of the cosmos allows you to not be blind-sided when things happen, and justification does not exist. There IS death. People die. Those with strong sensitivity to the Force appear to have spirits that live on, but not everyone has this sensitivity. The Force doesn\u0026rsquo;t eliminate death\u0026hellip;it happens. It cannot be ignored. The universe doesn\u0026rsquo;t need Jedi. It needs real beings. Beings who understand who they are and can handle emotional, intellectual, passionate, chaotic, and deathly issues in life. Beings who know that you cannot let your hate and anger fully control you (fully Dark), but neither can you ignore the emotional characteristics like passion and empathy that lead you to do good (fully Light). It needs beings that live in the dusk or dawn. Does it mean that there will be no evil in the universe? No\u0026hellip;it exists\u0026hellip;evil is part of the Force which permeates all things. Yet it can be redirected, to some extent harnessed. No longer do we need to have massively powerful evil beings raining destruction to the cosmos. When all the Force wielders embrace both sides, it will no longer need to balance the scales with such diametrically opposed forces.\nThis powerful dichotomy is confirmed in the more recent trailer released by Disney. The latest trailer shows Luke telling Rey that he\u0026rsquo;s only seen this much raw strength once before\u0026ndash;Kylo Ren\u0026ndash;and it didn\u0026rsquo;t scare him, but it does now. Once again, this leads me to what the Force is actually doing when it\u0026rsquo;s fighting for balance. Too much light breads terrible darkness and too much dark breads powerful light. Balance isn\u0026rsquo;t eradication, it\u0026rsquo;s healthy intermingling of dark and light. To eliminate one is to deny the essence of the whole.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s my hope. And I\u0026rsquo;m assuming we\u0026rsquo;ll find out in short order. I really think this take on the Star Wars fantasy to new levels within the boundary established in the previous seven films\u0026hellip;but maybe I\u0026rsquo;m wrong\u0026hellip;and there\u0026rsquo;s something better. I have the opportunity to be pleasantly surprised or happily confirmed.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/a-new-hope-for-the-last-jedi/","date":"2017-12-02T16:00:17-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/q_jpegmini/notebook/star-wars-last-jedi-main.jpg","tags":["movies","thoughts"],"title":"A New Hope for the Last Jedi","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/a-new-hope-for-the-last-jedi/"},{"content":"You may have noticed that I haven\u0026rsquo;t posted much since getting the site up and running. That\u0026rsquo;s common. It happens on most people\u0026rsquo;s sites as they run out of time. I haven\u0026rsquo;t completely abandoned writing\u0026hellip;but typing things out on the site has had its hurdles.\nSo What\u0026rsquo;s Up? Time has gotten away from me. Yes, it\u0026rsquo;s an obvious excuse, but it\u0026rsquo;s true. But writing and time aren\u0026rsquo;t 100% what is going on. I have had time to write other things. I have a notebook filling up full of religious thoughts, emails full of political ramblings, and other things just lacking any completeness. I do have time to put thing down\u0026hellip;.just not much time to put it here.\nWhereas, I like the process I have setup for updating this blog\u0026hellip;I realized it\u0026rsquo;s not easily portable. I may or may not be able to write something up at work, I cannot work on my Chromebook, or I don\u0026rsquo;t own the computer in front of me. That leaves a bit to be desired in activity, so it\u0026rsquo;s something I\u0026rsquo;m looking at correcting.\nAdditionally, I\u0026rsquo;ve often shyed away from posting political or religious based posts on the site because of the polarizing nature of that type of content. Yet that\u0026rsquo;s a big part of life these days for me, so I\u0026rsquo;m reconsidering that stance. I\u0026rsquo;ve got some really good thoughts about things that are worth sharing and would love to share, but again, I need to consider the ramifications and make a decision from there.\nSo What\u0026rsquo;s Next? Besides what I\u0026rsquo;ve already said, there may be a few other things to motivate me. Simply putting things down and out of my mind will hopefully help clear up my thoughts on this and that\u0026rsquo;s always a good thing. I\u0026rsquo;ve also been playing around with Vue.js and when I get more confident, I might refresh the site a bit. I tend to want to write following a site refresh. And I think I can open up the aperture a bit on the content I post and find some fresh things.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s the plan\u0026hellip;but plans are made to be broken.\nWait, I don\u0026rsquo;t think I\u0026rsquo;m doing this right!\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/why-dont-i-post/","date":"2017-11-16T13:54:00Z","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/q_jpegmini/notebook/typewriter.jpg","tags":["site","commentary"],"title":"Why Don't I Post","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/why-dont-i-post/"},{"content":"It was another great year in book reading. I didn\u0026rsquo;t travel as much I did the previous year, but my commutes to work and various other reasons allowed me to keep the words flowing. I bumped up my goal from 40 to 42 last year, assuming that since I wasn\u0026rsquo;t traveling as much it wasn\u0026rsquo;t worth moving up to 50+ books. But even with the modest change, I still read 54 book by year\u0026rsquo;s end, and a number of good ones in fact. Again, GoodReads does such a better job at presenting my books list than I could do, so hop over there are review my year. Then quickly come back and checkout my hits\u0026mdash;and missed\u0026mdash;of 2016.\nFavorite Read Morning Star Morning Star, along with Pierce Brown\u0026rsquo;s first two of the series: Golden Son and Red Rising, is the best post-Apocalyptic story I\u0026rsquo;ve ever read. In fact, Golden Son was my favorite read of last year. Morning Star may be the best of the three. The pace is blistering for a book of its size, but Brown continues to deliver page after page, very few times did I ever feel like I was simply waiting for the next point. Watching as all the events come to ahead, how each character gets further fleshed out, and how you are never sure if the good guys are going to prevail (do they prevail?). I cannot think of a better series for Science-Fiction/Fantasy lovers to digest. Brown really gets it right with this final installment, as he knows what characters we, the readers, loved and really makes them shine. Now it\u0026rsquo;s just time for me to sit back and wait for the movie to come out and utterly destroy the series for me\u0026hellip;\n\u0026ldquo;I will give Eo your love. I will make a house for you in the Vale of your fathers. It will be beside my own. Join me there when you die\u0026hellip;But I am no builder. So take your time.\u0026rdquo; - Morning Star\nHonorable Mentions Age of Myth by Michael J Sullivan The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks Favorite Series The Fear Saga The Fear Saga is a great story arc by writer Stephen Moss. I actually read the first book Fear the Sky in 2015, but read the second two quickly last year starting with Fear the Survivors. Although I was super bummed by the direction some of the characters went in the final book, Fear the Future, I still enjoyed the reading overall. Moss is an excellent writer that can keep you interested even during the technical detail. One of the greatest parts of the series is how realistic the science aspects are. Many Sci-Fi books take you right into science-fantasy, but these books (although definitely fiction\u0026hellip;) are grounded so well in scientific fact that the stretches he makes never feel like fantasy. The logic leaps are so natural that you believe that what he is saying is really true and not fiction.\nGet all three and binge on them, I\u0026rsquo;d bet you\u0026rsquo;d enjoy it.\nHonorable Mentions The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher The Chronicles of St. Mary\u0026rsquo;s by Jodi Taylor Biggest Surprise The Lock Artist Normally, I\u0026rsquo;d lay out my favorite Non-Fiction story\u0026hellip;.but it turns out I read zero non-fiction books last year\u0026hellip;none\u0026hellip;I blame Erik Larson. I plan to rectify that for this year.\nBut in lieu of a non-fiction, I will jump right to biggest surprise of last year.\nThe Lock Artist was a book that randomly showed up in some recommendation list, and the description sounded interesting enough to try it. Boy, am I glad I did. A tragic kid\u0026rsquo;s life and his dive into safe cracking pulls on you in two different fronts. One is the tragic story of where he is at, and the second the emotional tension due to the criminal world he\u0026rsquo;s found himself tied to\u0026hellip;and it keeps pulling you in. I really didn\u0026rsquo;t know what to expect, especially since GoodReads users tend to have a love/hate opinion of the book. But I thoroughly enjoyed it. Worth giving a try.\n“I didn\u0026rsquo;t know that once you\u0026rsquo;ve proven yourself useful to the wrong people, you\u0026rsquo;ll never be free again.” - The Lock Artist\nHonorable Mention Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor Bad Books This year was much better than last year with regards to bad books. I will not link to it and will not say much. The Unnoticeables by Robert Brockway was recommended to me after reading Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong (which is not a bad book, by the way, and you should definitely read it). But The Unnoticables was a complete waste of time. The thought behind it was nice, but I kept feeling like the attempts to be funny were just stupid\u0026hellip;like a comedian pausing after his joke only to hear crickets. Apparently his publisher wanted more so it is now a series, but I\u0026rsquo;d just avoid this book and probably the series.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/2016-reading/","date":"2017-01-23T00:00:00-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_scale,q_jpegmini,w_1000/v1483678973/notebook/open-book.jpg","tags":["reading"],"title":"Books, Books, and More Books","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/2016-reading/"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve really be into home automation lately. \u0026ldquo;Hey Alexa, turn on my living room lights!\u0026rdquo; It\u0026rsquo;s been interesting diving into the world of home automation. But the one thing I could not fine (at least reasonably priced), was something that would open and close my blinds. Since I\u0026rsquo;m currently on parental leave from work and needed something to exercise my mind, I decided to tackle it myself.\nTwo Step Process The whole approach was going to be two fold, find out if it is possible\u0026hellip;then automate it. The first step was to see if I could get it done with a push of a button. What parts would I need? Do I have things on hand? Etc\u0026hellip;. From there, I did some digging and came up with this result.\nPush Button Capability DIY z-wave blinds projectDIY z-wave blinds project with momentary button for testing All answers can be found in the first 3 pages of this thread. Read it first. http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/topic,17118.0.html Thanks to Realifeonhold, pm him to get on the list for a kit. You need micasaverde vera etc for it to work on zwave.\nAfter watching the above video, I essentially knew what I needed. An Arduino, a High Torque servo motor, something to grab the tilt rod, servo mount, and momentary switch. So off to Amazon and Lowes to find the parts I needed. (Keep in mind, there\u0026rsquo;s no way my wife was going to be \u0026ldquo;Okay\u0026rdquo; with wires and circuit cards hanging around\u0026hellip;so I had to make it discreet.)\nParts List Adafruit Trinket Pro 5V - $10.93 TowerPro MG946R Servo - $6.00 to $12.00 (AliExpress ~$5.00) Door Bell Switch - $6.00 to $19.00 1.25in Dowel Rod - $4.50 90 Degree Header Pins - $0.02 Wire (paired) - $0.35 10k Ohm Resistors (3x) - $0.69 Heat Shrink - $0.04 Header Connector - $0.08 Total Cost: $28.61\nStartup Cost: $51.72 + Wire Cost\nSo the cost is excellent. Other systems like the Somfy systems require $150-$300 investment initially to get the powered tilt. The difference in the Total and Startup costs is that the Total is the actual cost, where some of the products are purchased in a kit/multiples so the investment in the parts is a little higher. Even with that, $52\u0026ndash;before wire\u0026ndash;is great. If you don\u0026rsquo;t mind the shipping delays and got almost everything from AliExpress, you can get everything (in bigger quantities) for around $38.56\u0026hellip;that\u0026rsquo;s awesome.\nPrototype Now I needed to breadboard the process. Getting a push button input is pretty easy. Following this example you are pretty much done. This is how I setup the breadboard for the Trinket:\nI started with that exact code for the Trinket (swapping the button code to 16: const int buttonPin = 16;) and it worked the first time! YEAH!\nNext, I hooked up the Servo. The Trinket has FTDI headers and the \u0026ldquo;GND/5V/RX\u0026rdquo; pins at the end are perfectly oriented for the connector that comes with the servo. I plugged it in with the Yellow wire going into RX, like below:\nSo this is a sufficient setup for a push button activated servo. The code needed to run this setup isn\u0026rsquo;t difficult, but had to work out a number of kinks. There\u0026rsquo;s a couple things to note in the following code\u0026hellip;\nYou\u0026rsquo;d think the changing the blinds from vertical to horizontal would be a simple 0 to 90 degree change, but it wasn\u0026rsquo;t. To fully open, I needed a 125 degree angle. I had to learn about a thing called Debouncing\u0026hellip;so sometimes when you press the button it will register as hit twice instead of once. I also had issues when power fluctuated it would mess with things. I\u0026rsquo;d be sitting there watching Timeless and the AC would kick in and the blinds would close/open on me. The tutorial code seems a bit messy, I simply required the button to be pressed for more than 250 milliseconds by re-checking it after a delay. But it\u0026rsquo;s super important to Debounce the input\u0026hellip;really important. I use the Servo state (the angle) to let the code know the current state of the blinds. If it\u0026rsquo;s at 0, then Open the Blinds, if it\u0026rsquo;s already at 125 (Open) then close the blinds. Lastly, to keep the servo from moving back and forth, I put a half-second delay when the servo starts moving. The expectation is the operator will release the button upon the event occuring, and it definitely helps. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 #include \u0026lt;Servo.h\u0026gt; //Need the Servo module Servo servo_obj; //Define the Servo Object const int buttonPin = 16; //Using Pin A1, so it\u0026#39;s numerically pin 16 const int ledPin = 13; //On-board LED const int setAngle = 125; //The angle required to fully open your blinds // VARIABLES int buttonState; int angle = 0; void setup() { //SETUP Requirements servo_obj.attach(0); //Attaching the Servo signal line to Pin 0 servo_obj.write(angle); //On startup close the blinds (This is important due to possible power outages.) //Setup the pinModes for each contact/logic gate. pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT); pinMode(buttonPin, INPUT); } void loop() { //Read the state of the push button buttonState = digitalRead(buttonPin); //Check if button is pushed (using pull-down resistor so looking for HIGH voltage). if (buttonState == HIGH) { delay(250); //Button needs to be held 1/4 second before proceeding. //This is just basic debouncing, keeps from blinds moving unexpectedly. if (digitalRead(buttonPin) == HIGH \u0026amp;\u0026amp; angle == 0) { //This section is when the button was properly pushed and held, and the blinds are closed. digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH); //Turn on the LED angle = setAngle; //Make angle variable the open amount (used later). servo_obj.write(angle); //Tell the servo to move that amount. delay(500); //Half second delay allows the servo to move to fully open before anything else can be done. } else if (digitalRead(buttonPin) == HIGH \u0026amp;\u0026amp; angle == setAngle) { //This section is when the button was properly pushed and held, and the blinds are open. digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); //Turn off the LED angle = 0; //Make angle variable the closed position servo_obj.write(angle); //Tell the servo to move that amount. delay(500); //Half second delay allows the servo to move to fully closed before anything else can be done. } } //End of Loop } We\u0026rsquo;ve now got a working prototype. Push the button, the servo moves\u0026hellip;push it again, it moves back.\nPackaging Now to install it into the blinds. I have to take this mess\u0026hellip;\nAnd get it into a set of 2in blinds. Additionally, I need to make sure the servo does not spin, but spin the tilt rod, as well as find some way to grab the tilt rod. So essentially I need at least 2 custom parts.\nSo it was time to model it up. I used OnShape (they used to allow 10 private files, don\u0026rsquo;t know why they stopped, this honestly\u0026ndash;combined with the online structure\u0026ndash;was the differentiating factor for using them over something like FreeCAD or SketchUp, it\u0026rsquo;s sad they eliminated it) to model the blinds and tilt rod, then put all the parts in. Made sure I could fit in some wires (measurements and assumptions), then built a part to hold everything.\nThe screws generally come packaged with the Servo, so nothing more there (I used some basic McMaster-Carr models to simulate what I had). I had to cut off one of the mounting ears of the Servo to get it to fit, but was also surprised at how well it fit after I Dremeled them off. It made for the custom part to be build relatively simple.\nNext was getting the Tilt Rod to move with the servo. I used 1.25in Dowel rod because it was cheap and I had a 6mm chisel, and the rod was a 6mm square. I was able to use this to make a nice square hole in the dowel rod that accepted the tilt rod nice and tightly. This way I don\u0026rsquo;t lose motion while it waits to grab to rod, nor do I need to worry about any backlash either. Wood also worked in my favor for fastening, easy to handle and the right combination of softness and strength.\nFinally, I filled the rest of the space with a block that holds all the parts. I did not want to drill holes in the blinds or anything, so just filling the space allows it to hold firmly in place during motion and does not need screws. This again is huge for troubleshooting and aesthetics.\nIf you have your own 3D printer, then feel free to build the parts yourself. If you don\u0026rsquo;t, then I\u0026rsquo;d highly suggest 3D Hubs. I had 2 of the base parts made for $15.00 total. That\u0026rsquo;s cheap\u0026hellip; So tack on $7.50 more (or less if you have your own printer) to the overall cost, and you\u0026rsquo;re still getting out cheap.\nAnother design choice I really wanted to address was power to the Trinket. I wanted to use USB (the trinket can get power elsewhere up to 16V) because I wanted to be able to change the code without ripping the whole thing out of the blinds all the time. This worked out with a 10ft USB cord I had lying around so it became really easy to troubleshoot (remember to debounce\u0026hellip;). All the wire was run towards the window down the wall and fairly hidden away.\nTo get everything to fit, I had to cut about 2 inches off the tilt rod. It\u0026rsquo;s not a problem, even if things go horribly bad you\u0026rsquo;re blinds can still work with the shortened rod. But this off, gives you the needed space to get all the parts in the blinds. Finally, the button is wired and mounted on the wall. I bought a nice brushed nickel door bell switch to\u0026ndash;again\u0026ndash;keep my wife from seeing a \u0026ldquo;hobby home\u0026rdquo; instead of our \u0026ldquo;living home\u0026rdquo;. If you do use a door bell switch, keep in mind that most have a light in them, so technically it\u0026rsquo;s like the button is constantly pushed. But it is easy to remedy by just snipping out the light and you\u0026rsquo;ll have a true momentary switch.\nEverything looks really nice and instead of a twist pole, I have a button\u0026hellip;.but that\u0026rsquo;s not automated. That\u0026rsquo;s simply a convenience you don\u0026rsquo;t need\u0026hellip;\nZ-Wave Now we need to automate it. In the original video, (if you watched it) the guy mentioned a Z-Wave button. That device was a Remotec ZFM-80US, and although good and working it\u0026rsquo;s bulky (remember my wife does not want ugly fixturing) and if you can find it, it\u0026rsquo;s expensive ($40-$50). So I decided to avoid that. Additionally, I use the Wink system and if I was to install that switch, the system will think it\u0026rsquo;s a Light/Power switch. I don\u0026rsquo;t want a power switch to control my blinds, I want blind controllers!\nEnter the Monoprice Z-Wave Curtain Module! This little device is designed to control motorized curtain rolls, like Metech\u0026rsquo;s or a Projector Screen. For $14, it handles all the Z-Wave functions, provides some features we can use in the Trinket, and shows up as blinds in my Wink app\u0026hellip;pretty awesome!\nAdding it to the Push Button So we don\u0026rsquo;t want to abandon the button (it\u0026rsquo;s automated but need manual control\u0026hellip;), so we need to add this to the system. This was a pretty big hurdle. The datasheet says it needs 12V, so I began to reconsider everything I built regarding how I would powered the push button portion. USB is 5V, not 12V\u0026hellip; I\u0026rsquo;d need a 12V-to-5V converter, a 12V Power supply instead of a standard phone charger type supply, and more wire\u0026hellip;.\nAfter some experimentation with a 12V battery and knowing how I wanted to wire things, I said\u0026hellip;\u0026ldquo;Screw it, let\u0026rsquo;s see if it will run on 5V from the Arduino Bus.\u0026rdquo; Sure enough, it runs fine on 5V. So that was a life saver, I don\u0026rsquo;t need any special 12V power sources and more wires. I can keep things clean. And since I\u0026rsquo;m using the 5V Bus on the FTDI header, I have a wide open 5V bus pin available (power to the push button can be move to the 5V 150mA MAX pin right next to the Bus line).\nWiring Since I have no details to how this little thing works, I had to do some experimenting with the device. Additionally some Google-fu helped me understand that the 3 Signal lines are connected to the collector end of a NPN Transistor. Looking at this schematic (I\u0026rsquo;ll admit, this took me a second to fully grasp), I realized instead of a pull-down (like the push button), I can use the Transistor as a switch for a pull-up style circuit.\nThe box is emitted to ground already (same 5V ground now that it\u0026rsquo;s being powered by the same Bus), so when the signal for the OPEN (V-IN) is energized, the Trinket (V-OUT) will see a low voltage instead of the high voltage seen when not energized. Using 2 more 10k Ohm resistors, I loaded them into that diagram (equivalent) and proceeded to have my Wink Hub command to Open the blinds, then Close the Blinds.\nThings worked great, but I notice one really odd thing. The Open signal (WHITE from the datasheet) would only read LOW when commanded to Close. The Close (GRAY from the datasheet) would only read LOW when commanded to Open. No big deal, just need to swap my Pin assignments in the Arduino code and I\u0026rsquo;m ready to rock.\nSince the new Z Wave code only compliments the push button code, there\u0026rsquo;s nothing I had to change on the button code. I simply added the additional Z-Wave information. Like I said, check your pin assignment (just guess, then just fix it if you guessed wrong) for the OPEN and CLOSE signals are correct. Then it\u0026rsquo;s ready to load.\n1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 /*=================================================================== * Automated Blinds for Trinket Pro 5V *=================================================================== * * Created 2016-12-16 by Trae Blain * Licensed under CC-BY-4.0 (See LICENSE file) * http://traeblain.com/ * * Build details found: https://traeblain.com/blog/automated-blinds/ * */ #include \u0026lt;Servo.h\u0026gt; //Need the Servo module Servo servo_obj; //Define the Servo Object const int buttonPin = 16; //Using Pin A1, so it\u0026#39;s numerically pin 16 const int ledPin = 13; //On-board LED const int setAngle = 125; //The angle required to fully open your blinds //Using the Monoprice Curtain Module http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=11992 //The OPEN \u0026amp; CLOSED Signal outputs are wired into these pins. //Pins are logically reversed. const int ZWaveClosedPin = 11; const int ZWaveOpenPin = 12; // VARIABLES int buttonState; int angle = 0; int ZWaveClosed = 0; int ZWaveOpen = 0; void setup() { //SETUP Requirements servo_obj.attach(0); //Attaching the Servo signal line to Pin 0 servo_obj.write(angle); //On startup close the blinds (This is important due to possible power outages.) //Setup the pinModes for each contact/logic gate. pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT); pinMode(buttonPin, INPUT); //Z-Wave Pins pinMode(ZWaveClosedPin, INPUT); pinMode(ZWaveOpenPin, INPUT); } void loop() { //Read the state of the push button buttonState = digitalRead(buttonPin); //Check if button is pushed (using pull-down resistor so looking for HIGH voltage). if (buttonState == HIGH) { delay(250); //Button needs to be held 1/4 second before proceeding. //This is just basic debouncing, keeps from blinds moving unexpectedly. if (digitalRead(buttonPin) == HIGH \u0026amp;\u0026amp; angle == 0) { //This section is when the button was properly pushed and held, and the blinds are closed. digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH); //Turn on the LED angle = setAngle; //Make angle variable the open amount (used later). servo_obj.write(angle); //Tell the servo to move that amount. delay(500); //Half second delay allows the servo to move to fully open before anything else can be done. } else if (digitalRead(buttonPin) == HIGH \u0026amp;\u0026amp; angle == setAngle) { //This section is when the button was properly pushed and held, and the blinds are open. digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); //Turn off the LED angle = 0; //Make angle variable the closed position servo_obj.write(angle); //Tell the servo to move that amount. delay(500); //Half second delay allows the servo to move to fully closed before anything else can be done. } } //Z-Wave section //Monoprice module is a basic NPN Transistor, simply look for a low (runs for ~500-1000milliseconds) ZWaveClosed = digitalRead(ZWaveClosedPin); //Read the \u0026#34;OPEN Signal Output\u0026#34; from module ZWaveOpen = digitalRead(ZWaveOpenPin); //Read the \u0026#34;CLOSED Signal Output\u0026#34; from module if (ZWaveClosed == LOW) { //When asked to be closed, do the same as defined above digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); angle = 0; servo_obj.write(angle); delay(500); } if (ZWaveOpen == LOW) { //When asked to be opened, do the same as defined above digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH); angle = setAngle; servo_obj.write(angle); delay(500); } //End of Loop } I haven\u0026rsquo;t had to debounce any of the Z-Wave signals yet\u0026hellip;mainly because even if it registers 2, 3, 40 times during the 500-1000millisecond pulse, it\u0026rsquo;s just telling it the same information over and over again. Since open and close are separate discrete signals, debouncing may not be necessary. That\u0026rsquo;s the difference in the button (one button does 2 things: open and close) and the module. I don\u0026rsquo;t know if I get a power surge or something and the Trinket will think the module sent an OPEN signal. If it happens and it\u0026rsquo;s a problem, I can add the same debouncing code as the button to each of the signal blocks. \u0026ldquo;Wait 250milliseconds, if it\u0026rsquo;s still low, operate the blinds.\u0026rdquo;\nThe Retrofit So I grabbed the ol\u0026rsquo; soldering iron and went to work attaching the new resistors and soldering in the wires from the Curtain module\u0026rsquo;s connector into the Trinket. I simply soldered the two resistors across the board from pins 11 and 12 to the Bus pin on the other side. This allows the Trinket to maintain a pretty low profile. The White Wire and Gray Wire into pins 11 and 12, then Red Wire in the Bus pin, and finally the Black wire into the GND pin. The Brown (STOP Signal) is left alone, just along for the ride.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s it. It was slid back into the blinds, then mounted the discreet little white box up at the top of the blinds, plugged it in, and done!\nThe final result is what you see here.\nThe Source You can do this too. It\u0026rsquo;s not that hard. All the data you need is right here, you can skip through my pains of working out the problems\u0026hellip;just grab and go. I\u0026rsquo;ve decided to run things though a CC-BY-4.0 license. If you want to use it, just attribute the source. Also, let me know if you improve on the build\u0026hellip;you probably can do massively better than my soldering for starters.\nAssembly Model Source Data - OnShape Mount Block FDM Model (.stl) Tilt Rod Block FDM Model (.stl) Assembly Drawing (Block Drawings also) (.pdf) Assembly Schematic Diagram (.pdf) Arduino Code (.ino) - Github Graphics (.fzz) - Github (Using Fritzing) Custom Board Gerbers - Github (Not used, but could be useful.) In general you can get all the latest parts/code from this Github repository and\u0026ndash;like I said\u0026ndash;offer better ways of doing things.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/automated-blinds/","date":"2017-01-05T00:00:00-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/notebook/a-house.jpg","tags":["hardware","geek"],"title":"Automated Blinds","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/automated-blinds/"},{"content":"The question of Major League Baseball\u0026rsquo;s (MLB) use of the Designated Hitter (DH) is once again up for debate. ESPN spoke to all club managers and general mangers last winter meeting on the topic. Commissioner Rob Manfred threw out the option\u0026hellip;then quickly took it back. This argument is probably as old as the 1973 rule change itself. It\u0026rsquo;s AL\u0026rsquo;ers vs. NL\u0026rsquo;ers, Progressives vs. Purists, Shift vs. No Shift, Republicans vs. Democrats, Cats vs. Dogs\u0026hellip;er\u0026hellip;\nPersonally, I wish those that oppose the DH would understand that it is inevitable and stop pushing back. Maybe they continue to push to simply hold on to what they feel is classic baseball, and I completely understand that. But it\u0026rsquo;s also a petty thing that I\u0026rsquo;m a bit tired of hearing about each spring training and all through the offseason.\nFacts As fans we like to throw around numbers. We like to think we have such a strong opinion that the \u0026ldquo;Baseball Gods\u0026rdquo; are going to listen to us. But I don\u0026rsquo;t think I\u0026rsquo;m out of bounds to say that this isn\u0026rsquo;t true\u0026hellip;at least not completely. There are 3 stakeholders that have an impact on whether or not the DH will be universally accepted in MLB.\nThe League itself The MLB Players Association (MLBPA) The ticket/merchandise/viewing public The League The League is driven by one thing: Financial gains. When doping was flooding the league like crazy, they turned a blind eye because the product of the doping was renewing baseball\u0026rsquo;s dominance. Had they known the fall it would cause when it became public, maybe they would have changed their tune\u0026hellip;but that\u0026rsquo;s hind-sight. And at some point they will go the way of all entities trying to maximize those gains.\nFact: DH position raises team BA and therefore improves offensive output.\nIt has been this way since the 1973 implementation. Does this mean AL teams are better? No, but it does mean there is a higher probability of seeing a home run, catching a home run, getting a foul ball (reduction in bunts), and in general more in play balls. This is what fans want, in which I\u0026rsquo;ll explain later. What does this have to do with Financial Gains? Higher attendance (ticket sales), higher viewership (more lucrative TV deals), and more merchandise.\nThe MLBPA It is absurd to think that the MLBPA is unwilling to limit or not push for longer and more lucrative player contracts. The Angels and Mariners didn\u0026rsquo;t sign over $0.5 million on two players to have them remain at 1st and 2nd base well into their careers. Pujols essentially played DH all last year, and Cano still has some defensive chops, but it won\u0026rsquo;t last forever. And there\u0026rsquo;s the rub.\nFact: If there were 15 more DH positions open, that means 15 other players would have the opportunity to have more lucrative contracts.\nSo yes, the MLBPA wants the universal DH because it wants more money to move into the players pockets. This may seem counter to the above until you factor in the topic below. Carlos Beltran got a 1-yr, $16 million deal, just think of the number of teams that would have been willing to throw 2-3 years at him if 15 more teams were in the mix.\nBut the MLBPA is not only looking out simply for player salaries\u0026hellip;they are also concerned with player health. And with pitchers getting injured during their at bats (Scherzer, Wainwright, Vogelsong, etc.), it only strengthens the argument that these guys should not be batting.\nTicket/Merchandise Buying and Viewing Public I make a distinct effort not to say \u0026ldquo;fan\u0026rdquo; here. Because the group of \u0026ldquo;Purists\u0026rdquo; that claim they are the true baseball fan is only a small sample of the indicated group.\nFact: A majority of this group are people who could care less about the DH and \u0026ldquo;purity of the game\u0026rdquo;, but want to get there money\u0026rsquo;s worth when they buy a ticket/jersey/MLB@Bat/absurdly large hot dog.\nAnd when offense goes up, when their favorite player has 2-4 more years in their team\u0026rsquo;s jersey, and when they can tell their kids about when they watched him play 2nd base\u0026hellip;that is when more tickets will be sold and more revenue to pay for these large contracts. The real people whose impact is being considered in this debate are the people that go from casual-to-fans or from nonfan-to-consumer. The diehard \u0026ldquo;Purists\u0026rdquo; barely factor into this equation. This is why you are seeing time limits on pauses. These time limits will effect even more aspects of the game if this current experiment shows increased viewer engagement (which it apparently is being that it was expanded already).\nUniversal DH is Coming It is coming. If you are outside one of those three groups, your opinion doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter. My opinion doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter as I will be a baseball consumer regardless of the rule. The guy that claims he\u0026rsquo;d stop watching baseball if they put the DH in the National League\u0026hellip;his opinion doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter because you know he\u0026rsquo;s either lying or a few years away from meeting Jesus.\nThe League wants to maximize profit for themselves, the MLBPA wants to maximize profits for its players, the consumers want a better product. These are the driving components and arguing over merit, purity of the game, and style are moot in the face of these aspects. So let\u0026rsquo;s settle down and play some ball.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/to-dh-or-not-to-dh/","date":"2016-12-09T00:00:00-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/notebook/baseball.jpg","tags":["commentary","sports"],"title":"To DH, or Not To DH","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/to-dh-or-not-to-dh/"},{"content":"The new album from Ft. Worth\u0026rsquo;s own Green River Ordinance (GRO) was released a few weeks ago. I\u0026rsquo;ve been able to listen to the entire album a couple times and I\u0026rsquo;m impressed at how good a release this is. I initially found GRO by a random \u0026ldquo;give-away\u0026rdquo; by NoiseTrade (\u0026lt;- Gone\u0026hellip;). My son and I constantly blurt out \u0026ldquo;She beats right through to the heart of me, to the part of me, that I can\u0026rsquo;t explain!\u0026rdquo; Their new album, Fifteen, dives much deeper into their country roots, which might alienate a few listeners, but the album is still very strong.\nThe album starts off with probably their weakest song of the album, Keep Your Cool is choppy and light. I\u0026rsquo;m surprised it was ordered so early, but once you get past this one you are good. Red Fire Night is a great song. It\u0026rsquo;s currently charting high on the Folk charts (GRO has been snubbed from the Country charts regardless of the fact that many artists that make Billboard\u0026rsquo;s country charts aren\u0026rsquo;t country at all\u0026hellip;), and for good reason. It is a classic feel-good, Texas bonfire song.\nGreen River Ordinance - Red Fire Night (Official Music Video)Official Music Video for Green River Ordinance's 'Red Fire Night' Director: Sam Ryan Pre-Order the New Album 'Fifteen' now!\nMaybe It\u0026rsquo;s Time (Gravity) reminds me of some classic 60s-70s tunes, although grounded in modern pop. The next two songs are actually quite similar. While Simple Life is a classic ballad, Tallahassee is classic country. The next song is, honestly, probably the the best ballad I\u0026rsquo;ve heard in years. You, Me \u0026amp; the Sea curls beautiful prose into a melody that sticks with you\u0026hellip;love this song.\nYou, Me \u0026 The SeaProvided to YouTube by Universal Music Group International You, Me \u0026 The Sea · Green River Ordinance Fifteen ℗ 2015 Residence Music Released on: 2016-01-22 Producer: Jordan Critz Author, Composer: Green River Ordinance Auto-generated by YouTube.\nThe pop tune Always Love Her transitions well into Endlessly. A song that already has a strong following from GRO\u0026rsquo;s previous released EP. An overtly Christian and testimonial song, Only God Knows, is punchy and strong, that it\u0026rsquo;s place so late in the album is a bit of a surprise. Rounding out the album is the blues-esque Life in the Wind and another solid ballad Keep My Heart Open.\nEnjoy the entire album, courtesy of YouTube, and then head over to Amazon, iTunes, YouTube Music, or Spotify to purchase the album for yourself.\nFifteen by Green River OrdinanceProvided to YouTube by Universal Music Group International · Green River Ordinance - Fifteen ℗ 2015 Residence Music Released on: 2016-01-22 Producer: Paul Moak Author, Composer: Green River Ordinance Auto-generated by YouTube.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/fifteen-by-green-river-ordinance/","date":"2016-02-03T00:00:00-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/q_auto:eco/v1480480425/gro-fifteen_otcyn1.jpg","tags":["music","review"],"title":"Fifteen by Green River Ordinance","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/fifteen-by-green-river-ordinance/"},{"content":"I read a ton of books last year. I spent so much time on planes and in travel last year that I was able to read quite a few stories. I set a goal\u0026hellip;then blew it out of the water! My goal last year was to read 40 books. Somehow I was able to read 48 books the year before and thought that 40 would still be a good goal without being too easy. Only I read 55 books last year demolishing that goal. Goodreads presents my book reads better than I ever could, so checkout that page first and see what I did. Then come back as I highlight of few things here.\nFavorite Read Golden Son Golden Son and Pierce Brown\u0026rsquo;s previous book, Red Rising is in my opinion the best post-Apocalyptic young adult series I\u0026rsquo;ve read. This includes beating out Hunger Games and Maze Runner (I\u0026rsquo;ve decided to stay away from the Divergent series\u0026hellip;). I was really worried that Brown would suffer \u0026ldquo;The Sophomore Slump\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;Book Two Syndrome\u0026rdquo;. This is the part where the author slumps because he either writes for the publisher now instead of what captured people from the first book, or is so excited about the climactic ending to the full story arc that book two is a dull prep book for the next in the series. But Brown falls for neither of these issues. It\u0026rsquo;s a great read and I\u0026rsquo;d really recommend it!\nFavorite Series Frontlines Series Marco Kloos puts together a spectacular Sci-Fi Military series with waring humans, a dynamic alien, and all the commentary from grunts to special forces. Once I started this series, I couldn\u0026rsquo;t stop. Like above, Kloos doesn\u0026rsquo;t stop or slump when he issues his next novel. Lines of Departure is a strong book on it\u0026rsquo;s own. I\u0026rsquo;m worried that the series will over stay it\u0026rsquo;s welcome, but if Kloos keeps going like he is, I doubt it will. I\u0026rsquo;m still desperately waiting for the next book to hit shelves, but I guess I\u0026rsquo;ll have to wait until April.\nIf you like Science-Fiction or Military-Fiction, you\u0026rsquo;ll probably really enjoy this series.\nFavorite Non-Fiction Dead Wake Dead Wake is the story of the Lusitania\u0026rsquo;s last voyage across the Atlantic ocean before being attacked by a German U-boat. Larson takes his research and not only tells the story, but creates a narrative that is addicting and engrossing. This book is probably Larson\u0026rsquo;s best book since writing Devil in the White City, a book of which is probably my top 2 or 3 favorite non-fiction books of all time.\nLarson approaches the events from both sides. Don\u0026rsquo;t think you\u0026rsquo;ll just be overwhelmed with the affluent passenger\u0026rsquo;s depictions of the voyage. Much of the story involves the German U-boat captain that gave the order\u0026hellip;how the German Navy\u0026rsquo;s current state of power struggles gave way to the order\u0026hellip;and how British Intelligence could have stopped the attack.\nBiggest Surprise This was a toss-up between David Shafer\u0026rsquo;s Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and David Wong\u0026rsquo;s Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits. I had little to no expectations for these stories, just ran across them on some recommendation page and read them. WTF was entertaining, a good read, and well written. I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Fancy Suits was funny\u0026hellip;it was in bed trying not to shake my wife awake from my laughing funny. It was very refreshing to have a good story wrapped around such funny situations.\n\u0026ldquo;Carlton made me an Elvis. [Deep fried PB\u0026amp;Banana sandwich]\u0026rdquo; Andre squinted at Carlton and said, \u0026ldquo;You gave her a bunch of Quaaludes and made her eat them on the toilet? That’s a new low, Carlton.\u0026rdquo; - Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits\nBad Books I almost don\u0026rsquo;t want to write about these. I\u0026rsquo;m not linking to any of them. But two books that came highly recommended from various lists were absolutely awful. Welcome to Night Vale is a novel based on a popular podcast. But the novel was horribly weird\u0026hellip;and not in a good way. It just wasn\u0026rsquo;t any good. Additionally, Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer was another just bad book. There was nothing good about the story. Events happened\u0026hellip;no one know why\u0026hellip;characters have no depth\u0026hellip;lazy author\u0026hellip; I\u0026rsquo;d avoid these two books if at all possible.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/so-many-books/","date":"2016-01-30T00:00:00-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/q_auto:eco/v1480480424/many-books_mm4e6j.jpg","tags":["reading"],"title":"So Many Books!!","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/so-many-books/"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m quite proud of my homepage. As I said before, I used to use services like Flavors.me and About.me for my main page because they did something particular\u0026hellip;that gathered my info in one place. From social sites to image sites, these tools did that easily. But I started to realize I wasn\u0026rsquo;t showing what I really wanted\u0026hellip;additionally I was having a hard time keeping those connections up as well. So it was time to make my own.\nRequirements I had some initial requirements. There\u0026rsquo;s weren\u0026rsquo;t hard requirements, but based on my previous experiences, I found that I should listed to a number of these.\nEasy Inclusion into My Tool-Chain First question is: \u0026ldquo;What\u0026rsquo;s your tool-chain?\u0026rdquo; In simplest terms, I switched from Pelican\u0026rsquo;s excellent static site generator, to Hugo. If I couldn\u0026rsquo;t get the system to work in Hugo, it would mean looking at a new system. Functionally, we are good.\nNo or Minimal Back-end Work Where I can setup any back-end tool I want on my VPS, I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to maintain it. There is a possibility I could use Firebase, but I wasn\u0026rsquo;t sure on the details and restrictions on the free-tier. So I needed a tool that provides my back-end. This site does this through some creative wrangling (more on this later).\nComplete Integration with My Notebook I didn\u0026rsquo;t want Hugo to handle my notebook (blog) and then some other system for my main page. But separating the two wasn\u0026rsquo;t out of the question. This would be like I did before, but my goal was to keep everything in order.\nThe Site Ok, so let\u0026rsquo;s move down the page and talk about what/how/why/etc.\nNew Monogram Old Monogram\nNew Monogram\nInteractive Title Banner I decided I\u0026rsquo;d theme the site with low-polygonal images, with the new sharper monogram I felt excited. The title had to reflect this. I found the awesome Javascript library called: Pt. I randomly found this through a Hacker News post and the demo, Points, was perfect. I basically used that demo code and implemented my monogram, size, and color scheme. If you haven\u0026rsquo;t tried it yet, you should\u0026hellip;move your mouse around the title and watch the tet\u0026rsquo;s follow you around. Fun! There\u0026rsquo;s a little demo here:\nFitbit and Dash This was hard. I was determined to get more detailed Fitbit and driving data (using Dash) on the page. But getting to it without exposing a personal API key seemed impossible. This is where some nice tools came in. I didn\u0026rsquo;t need 100% of the data, just last month or so. So I am using IFTTT to send updates to a Google Spreadsheet. From there I was just going to ping the sheet, but Google restricts getting data cleanly due to CORS restrictions, so I hit my first hurdle.\nPersonal API I actually was able to make a personal API. Using APISpark from Restlet, I\u0026rsquo;m able to use Google Spreadsheets as my data store and make them accessible from an API call.\nhttps://traeblain.apispark.net/v1/fitbit/\nCheck it out. There\u0026rsquo;s nothing on that I don\u0026rsquo;t care being out in the open, but it\u0026rsquo;s pretty need to see what\u0026rsquo;s happening. I have one for Fitbit, Dash, my Book reading, my Music (more on that later), and Twitter statuses. If I want more, it only requires me to see what IFTTT can offer and push it to a Spreadsheet.\n(Later on, I may dump the spreadsheet entirely and have IFTTT post directly to the API\u0026hellip;but my Google Sheet is doing some calculation legwork for me at times and I\u0026rsquo;d have to be able to replicate that. I think I\u0026rsquo;ll work on an additional post for this later\u0026hellip;)\nGraphs I always wanted graphs on my site. I\u0026rsquo;m a bit nerdy like that. But never could figure out the best way. The Fitbit and Driving data created the best tool to add graphs. So I did. I fought with finding the proper graphing library. I started with c3.js, but didn\u0026rsquo;t like working with the library for specific needs, went back to the ole faithful Chart.js, but again found working the graphs problematic. Again on a random Hacker News read, I remembered Plot.ly open-sourced there javascript charting engine. So I plugged it in and\u0026hellip;Wow, it worked exactly like I wanted right out of the box. It\u0026rsquo;s not perfect (can\u0026rsquo;t show details of two data points on the same x-axis), but works really well. Unfortunately, it\u0026rsquo;s the largest item on the site so it\u0026rsquo;s the heaviest part to download. But I think it\u0026rsquo;s worth it.\n\u0026ldquo;Tabs\u0026rdquo; Another hurdle was figuring out how to present the data. After looking through some options, I like my CSS only slider style \u0026ldquo;Tabs\u0026rdquo;. It hides other information but brings it forward when you want. It\u0026rsquo;s a little bit of flair that I like to see.\nSocial Again, grabbing my latest tweet from Twitter\u0026rsquo;s API required me creating some back-end pass-through or exposing my API token. So I use IFTTT to dump my latest tweet into a Spreadsheet and get the data from my Personal API. Same for Goodreads, although I have to use Goodread\u0026rsquo;s RSS feed and do some wicked work on the formatting because of this\u0026hellip;but it looks good. Github was a letdown. The details I wanted aren\u0026rsquo;t easily available. So I\u0026rsquo;m using the contributions graph third-party service which gets me an image. Also, I\u0026rsquo;m hosting this site\u0026rsquo;s source code on GitLab for now, I\u0026rsquo;m trying it out as an alternative but will probably move it to Github soon.\nSensory Utilizing my Personal API, I gather my listening data from Last.fm. Last.fm!?! Still? Yes, I pretty much listen to all my music exclusively through Amazon Music. And there\u0026rsquo;s really no way to get it out, except for scrobblers on my phone and on the web. Being a Prime customer, Amazon Music is an amazing system. I wish they had an easy way to get user stats out\u0026hellip;oh well. Scrobbling is why Last.fm still gets my data. From there it\u0026rsquo;s to a spreadsheet! Movies and Television data come from Trakt. I\u0026rsquo;ve been using Trakt for a long time and recently realized it has really help me keep track of what season I\u0026rsquo;m on in various shows. And I\u0026rsquo;ve just started recording my movie watching with it. So I might as well use the data!\nMisc Lastly, I have some random bits I wanted to include. I\u0026rsquo;ve always shown my PGP data in one form or fashion, but this allowed me full control. So I\u0026rsquo;ve got my data right there to see and available for anyone to use. If there are questions about identity, I really like Keybase\u0026rsquo;s (I have invites\u0026hellip;) form of identity management. Although recent news claims that BitCoin is having a rocky time, I figure it\u0026rsquo;s not completely dead and feel free to send me money.\nBack-end So this doesn\u0026rsquo;t disappear\u0026hellip;still need to host the site. I still serve everything on a VPS, so I still need a webserver. Why I bring this up is that I found Caddy. Caddy is a single executable that works comparably to Nginx, but is so much simpler to use. It also has some integrated features for Hugo and more. Additionally, it automatically integrates HTTPS with Let\u0026rsquo;s Encrypt so I have fully encrypted site (save some of the images from above) without the hassle of dealing with a CA and server setup. It was the fastest I got from, clean VPS install to up and running I have ever had\u0026hellip;I\u0026rsquo;m still amazed.\nSummary That\u0026rsquo;s the gist. It\u0026rsquo;s pretty neat to have a semi-dynamic site that is built with a static site generator. I plan on playing more with Restlet\u0026rsquo;s APISpark to see what else I can make it do, but for now the Google Sheets is doing fine. I might also explore Firebase or Stamplay in the future, but happy with what Restlet is providing. Stamplay may allow me to embed of the code that Google\u0026rsquo;s Spreadsheet is handling and I can have a fully integrated API.\nSince I cannot really beta test a personal site, if you run into any bugs, ping me. I\u0026rsquo;m still learning and hope to have some better idea as things go\u0026hellip;might even add more info\u0026hellip;more data!!\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/data-driven-site/","date":"2016-01-19T00:00:00-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/q_auto:good/v1480480425/graph-on-screen_nqm0et.jpg","tags":["geek","site"],"title":"Data Driven Site","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/data-driven-site/"},{"content":"So if you look at my old site you\u0026rsquo;ll see I made one post in 2015. One solitary post in January of that year, then nothing. There was a reason for that. If you read that post, you\u0026rsquo;ll see it was about simplifying my life. One of those things I did, was remove myself from blogging for a time. I don\u0026rsquo;t know if it helped or hurt, but it was one of the things I did.\nSo what about this year? So for 2016, do I continue in the simplicity? Maybe, maybe not. I don\u0026rsquo;t think I will. I do have things to say from time to time, commentary on stuff that I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t mind writing down and keeping. So that\u0026rsquo;s what this is.\nThe new site calls the blog something different. Even though the link still says \u0026ldquo;blog\u0026rdquo;, I will be referring to it as my \u0026ldquo;Notebook\u0026rdquo;. You\u0026rsquo;ll see this in the menu and homepage, where it will still function like a blog and have comments available, it will really be my notebook. I\u0026rsquo;ll say a few things, write some thoughts down. Maybe ask readers a few things, but really it will be a public collection of what\u0026rsquo;s in my head.\nLong form writing hasn\u0026rsquo;t seen much traction lately in everyone\u0026rsquo;s Facebook and Twitter-ized brain, but sometimes it\u0026rsquo;s worth the time to take in more depth. And where I cannot guarantee that this place will be full of things worth that time, I bet I\u0026rsquo;ll have a few things to keep your interest.\nThanks for joining me. Hope you\u0026rsquo;ll stay awhile\u0026hellip;\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/2015-where-do-we-go-next/","date":"2016-01-14T00:00:00-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/q_auto:eco/v1480480425/notebook-and-pen_hmuvwi.jpg","tags":["commentary","geek"],"title":"2015 - Where do we go next?","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/2015-where-do-we-go-next/"},{"content":"I did it! I once again threw off the shackles of the old skin and slapped a new one on. This one is bigger, bolder, better, beautifuler, boomier, ballsier, boisterous, blistering, boilermaking, and bombastic. At least I like to think so. What do you think?\nNotebook The notebook is my new blog. I have cover images, large titles, and embeds. The \u0026ldquo;hamburger\u0026rdquo; icon [ ], yes\u0026hellip;that\u0026rsquo;s really what it is called and I\u0026rsquo;m not a fan either but it\u0026rsquo;s a convention, will get you to all my personal links.\nCheck out what I\u0026rsquo;d expect for the Notebook in my other post.\nHomepage This is one of my favorite parts of the site. Previously I offloaded my homepage to sites like Flavors.me and About.me, that was not ideal. I wanted specific information to be posted on the site. So I decided to make my own homepage. I dig it.\nGo check it out! It\u0026rsquo;s seriously awesome. I have data, charts, an interactive header (if you aren\u0026rsquo;t reading on mobile), and ever evolving details! Scroll around and browse the data. See where I\u0026rsquo;ve failed, succeeded, and whatever else you can glean from the information.\nI am really proud of the way it turned out. I had some fun creating it. I\u0026rsquo;ve been playing around with minimizing my server needs and the homepage does that. It makes dynamic content on a static page\u0026hellip;I\u0026rsquo;m geeking out here, but I do like what I\u0026rsquo;ve done.\nSecurity I\u0026rsquo;m now secure. Because I re-factored my VPS and Let\u0026rsquo;s Encrypt is off and running, my site is now protected by SSL/TLS. I will be doing this to every site I run in the coming months, but I like how it\u0026rsquo;s now easy to run an encrypted site without a ton of overhead with CAs, etc. This is how it should be.\nEngine So\u0026hellip;it\u0026rsquo;s again another engine. First it was Wordpress, then Hyde, then Pelican. Now it\u0026rsquo;s Hugo. I was looking at Node tools initially, with Metalsmith and Hexo, but all of them get lost when a large portion of functionality is maintained in plugins that may or may not be updated. What I like about Hugo is that it\u0026rsquo;s a compiled binary that has everything baked in. It might no do everything you want, but it did for me and was fun to dig in and find the tricks to make it do what I\u0026rsquo;d hope. And it\u0026rsquo;s fast! Very fast. And since it\u0026rsquo;s all bundled, I don\u0026rsquo;t have to deal with crazy updates, virtual environments, npm package recursion, etc., etc.\nMind the Bumps There\u0026rsquo;s bound to be some hiccups. One for instance is that the search doesn\u0026rsquo;t work like I\u0026rsquo;d wish. Right now it probably will show nothing at all. Once I get that figured out, I\u0026rsquo;ll update it and move forward. Not too much need for a Search at this point\u0026hellip;not much here. If something looks funny, let me know too. I\u0026rsquo;d like to investigate and check to see if something went wrong.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s it What do you think? Like or not? I\u0026rsquo;m kind of proud of it.\nurl:https://traeblain.com/blog/2016-new-site/","date":"2016-01-14T00:00:00-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/q_auto:eco/v1480480425/brooklyn-bridge_nakdn2.jpg","tags":["site","geek"],"title":"New Site!","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/2016-new-site/"},{"content":"So if I have a new site, new style, new domain\u0026hellip;you\u0026rsquo;d think I\u0026rsquo;d scrub all my old content. But that\u0026rsquo;s not exactly true.\nWhere\u0026rsquo;s all my old content? No worries, it is safely tucked away. Due to the site refactoring, the old content remains in it\u0026rsquo;s old domain: http://blog.traeblain.com/. All your old links will work, and it shouldn\u0026rsquo;t be that big of a deal.\nBelow I am including all the links for posterity\u0026rsquo;s sake.\n2015 2014 and Looking Ahead 2014 Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle The Martian by Andy Weir Out of the Furnace 2013 Reading List Part V Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues Steelheart (2013 Reading List Part IV) 2013 Reading List (Part III) The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Devil in the White City (2013 Reading List Part II) 2013 Reading List (Part I) 2013 Encryption for Everyone Automation is King Lost the Blog Money in the Bank Can I Quit Google? Really Fast Book Reviews The Safety of Our Eggs Why Can\u0026rsquo;t They Maintain Scale? 2012 - The Year of No Escape Reading in 2012 2012 Dropbox Toolchest Favorite Christmas Songs If You\u0026rsquo;re Reading This\u0026hellip;You\u0026rsquo;re Already Dead Commit for Christmas Python for Windows Lance Armstrong Stripped Texas Rangers, What we Have Learned Micro by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston The New Tank Julie-O by Kevin Olusola On Paterno, People, and the Death Penalty Small Site Redesign Prometheus Giving Ubuntu More Love Wallpaper I\u0026rsquo;m Into Right Now\u0026hellip; [Part IV] Tools I\u0026rsquo;ve Been Enjoying The DFW Fan Experience Pretzel Fun Portable Nginx Bracket Time Back Yard Burgers [G.D. Burgers] Designated Hitter is here, for all\u0026hellip; Equal Pay, Let\u0026rsquo;s Talk Portable Apps Underrated Music: The Beginning Windows Text Editors All-Star Games Somebody That I Used to Know And One Email Turned the Tides The Gridiron League Smashburger [G.D. Burger] Best Android Apps [Updated] The Bowl Championship Series Can\u0026rsquo;t Win My Site\u0026rsquo;s New Need for Speed Is it Time to Drop the Penny? An Open Letter to Environmentalist 2011 Fun Internet Finds [Part I] Tim Tebow, Tebowing, and Us Universities and Mathematical Computation Batman Equation Revisited A New Engine Corolla! That\u0026rsquo;s a lot of glue\u0026hellip; Famous Objects from Classic Movies Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré The Pirate Store Zombie Cartoons Yahoo! Sportacular Corner Plug Neon Movie Posters by Mr Whaite RoboCop Poster Poor, Tampa Imperial March Using Floppy Drives Griff\u0026rsquo;s Hamburgers [G.D. Burgers] RD Old Fashion Burger [G.D. Burgers] sin(b)/tan(b) = Jello Pudding! RISK: Metal Gear Solid Limited Edition J.C. Burger House [G.D. Burgers] Webcams for Seniors 101 Famous Sweaters Wall Street Journal Celebrity Hedcuts Gear Ring from Kinekt Design Jumping in Fantasy Football Coffee Drinkers Used to be Jerks\u0026hellip; James Zwerg Inflatable Defender Fuddruckers [G.D. Burgers] It\u0026rsquo;s Almost My Sports Teams Mooyah Burgers [G.D. Burgers] Google and Motorola Sitting in a Tree\u0026hellip; Johnathan\u0026rsquo;s Card Shut Down Vegetarians\u0026hellip;.From Another Point of View ShiftEdit Jake\u0026rsquo;s Burgers [G.D. Burgers] Wallpaper I\u0026rsquo;m Into Right Now\u0026hellip; [Part III] Eminem\u0026hellip;The Ragtime Star! Batman Equation David has a new Weapon against Goliath Official Rules of White Elephant Five Guys Burgers and Fries [G.D. Burgers] Remove the WPMU DEV Notification Scotty P\u0026rsquo;s [G.D. Burgers] Best Wordpress Plugin Ever Hunting Arrows Bearded Man, Can You Trust Him? \u0026lsquo;Kenny Powers: The MFCEO [Explicit]\u0026rsquo; Wallpaper I\u0026rsquo;m Into Right Now\u0026hellip; [Part II] Snuffer\u0026rsquo;s [G.D. Burgers] RoboHash Readernaut \u0026raquo; GoodReads BigBox The Great Dallas Burger Search Game of Thrones (Acoustic Version) Great Collection of Animated gifs The Best Android Apps Mark Cuban says \u0026ldquo;Scoreboard!\u0026rdquo; in Dallas Co. District Court \u0026lsquo;Moneyball: The Movie\u0026rsquo; Wallpaper I\u0026rsquo;m Into Rigth Now\u0026hellip; [Part I] Brand Reversions Autodesk 123D Dallas Mavericks Your NBA Champions All your other balloon animals are now insignificant\u0026hellip; NBA Logo Redesigns Magic Eye Animated Shark TuneIn: Listen to Online Radio, Music and Talk Stations RoboBro: I have to go. Somewhere there\u0026rsquo;s a kegger happening\u0026hellip; Dallas, Texas\u0026hellip;The Sports Epicenter BallDroppings The OKC\u0026rsquo;s Meltdown MacRecipes | Fathom Javascript PC Emulator 10 Statistical Distribution Plushies Whose Line is it Anyway? Every Episode! url:https://traeblain.com/blog/wheres-the-old-content/","date":"2016-01-14T00:00:00-06:00","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/q_auto:eco/v1480480426/space-horizon_sb61gl.jpg","tags":["site"],"title":"Wheres the Old Content?","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/blog/wheres-the-old-content/"},{"content":"Oh No! Looks like you hit a snag! That particular page isn\u0026rsquo;t found. Maybe you should give the search below a try to find what you need.\nOr try one of these favorites: Einstein\u0026#39;s Relativity and Predestination 2018.06.26 My Favorite Sports Teams 2017.12.13 Automated Blinds 2017.01.05 «\tOr Try Home! url:https://traeblain.com/404.html","date":"1900-01-01T00:00:01Z","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_scale,q_auto:eco,w_1920/v1674019689/tbcom/broken-plate.jpg","tags":null,"title":"Four-Oh-Four! Page Not Found...","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/404.html"},{"content":"Welcome! I\u0026rsquo;m glad you are here. I am a Mechanical Engineer in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Area (DFW) working to make some brilliant new designs capable and manufacturable. My expertise is in Geometric Dimensioning \u0026amp; Tolerancing (GDT) and mechanical producibility. But enough about that, here\u0026rsquo;s some fun things about me and what I do around the net.\nFun Facts Mechanical Engineer w/15+ years experience Husband to a beautiful wife Father to 4 great children1 Has a dog named Magic Head/Ovaltine Jenkins/Lavender Gooms/Hummingbird Saltalamacchia/Ghee Buttersnaps/Jazz Hands2 I play guitar I have a patent for a toilet..seriously. I love Cap\u0026rsquo;n Crunch, Berries or no Berries! Toots Reading 55% Done Trae has currently read 11 books this year, with a goal of reading 20 books in 2026. That puts him 8 book ahead schedule.\nThe Recital (Orphan X, #8.5) by Gregg Hurwitz\n⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐\nShort and sweet. Great little read. — See my review here\nCoding 0 commit on Sunday, March 9, 2025 0 commit on Monday, March 10, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, March 12, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, March 13, 2025 0 commit on Friday, March 14, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, March 15, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, March 16, 2025 0 commit on Monday, March 17, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, March 18, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, March 20, 2025 0 commit on Friday, March 21, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, March 22, 2025 1 commit on Sunday, March 23, 2025 0 commit on Monday, March 24, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, March 25, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 2 commits on Thursday, March 27, 2025 0 commit on Friday, March 28, 2025 1 commit on Saturday, March 29, 2025 2 commits on Sunday, March 30, 2025 0 commit on Monday, March 31, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, April 1, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, April 3, 2025 0 commit on Friday, April 4, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, April 5, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, April 6, 2025 0 commit on Monday, April 7, 2025 1 commit on Tuesday, April 8, 2025 1 commit on Wednesday, April 9, 2025 2 commits on Thursday, April 10, 2025 0 commit on Friday, April 11, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, April 12, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, April 13, 2025 1 commit on Monday, April 14, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, April 15, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, April 17, 2025 0 commit on Friday, April 18, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, April 19, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, April 20, 2025 0 commit on Monday, April 21, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, April 24, 2025 0 commit on Friday, April 25, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, April 26, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, April 27, 2025 0 commit on Monday, April 28, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, April 29, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, May 1, 2025 0 commit on Friday, May 2, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, May 3, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, May 4, 2025 0 commit on Monday, May 5, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, May 6, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, May 8, 2025 0 commit on Friday, May 9, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, May 10, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, May 11, 2025 0 commit on Monday, May 12, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, May 15, 2025 0 commit on Friday, May 16, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, May 17, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, May 18, 2025 0 commit on Monday, May 19, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, May 20, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, May 21, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, May 22, 2025 0 commit on Friday, May 23, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, May 24, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, May 25, 2025 0 commit on Monday, May 26, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, May 27, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, May 29, 2025 0 commit on Friday, May 30, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, May 31, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, June 1, 2025 0 commit on Monday, June 2, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, June 3, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, June 5, 2025 0 commit on Friday, June 6, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, June 7, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, June 8, 2025 0 commit on Monday, June 9, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, June 10, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, June 11, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, June 12, 2025 0 commit on Friday, June 13, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, June 14, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, June 15, 2025 0 commit on Monday, June 16, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, June 17, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, June 18, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, June 19, 2025 0 commit on Friday, June 20, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, June 21, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, June 22, 2025 0 commit on Monday, June 23, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, June 24, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, June 25, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, June 26, 2025 0 commit on Friday, June 27, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, June 28, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, June 29, 2025 0 commit on Monday, June 30, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, July 1, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, July 2, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, July 3, 2025 0 commit on Friday, July 4, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, July 5, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, July 6, 2025 0 commit on Monday, July 7, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, July 8, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, July 9, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, July 10, 2025 0 commit on Friday, July 11, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, July 12, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, July 13, 2025 0 commit on Monday, July 14, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, July 15, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, July 16, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, July 17, 2025 0 commit on Friday, July 18, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, July 19, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, July 20, 2025 0 commit on Monday, July 21, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, July 22, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, July 23, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, July 24, 2025 0 commit on Friday, July 25, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, July 26, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, July 27, 2025 0 commit on Monday, July 28, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, July 29, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, July 30, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, July 31, 2025 0 commit on Friday, August 1, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, August 2, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, August 3, 2025 0 commit on Monday, August 4, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, August 5, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, August 6, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, August 7, 2025 0 commit on Friday, August 8, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, August 9, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, August 10, 2025 0 commit on Monday, August 11, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, August 12, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, August 13, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, August 14, 2025 0 commit on Friday, August 15, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, August 16, 2025 1 commit on Sunday, August 17, 2025 0 commit on Monday, August 18, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, August 19, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, August 20, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, August 21, 2025 0 commit on Friday, August 22, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, August 23, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, August 24, 2025 0 commit on Monday, August 25, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, August 26, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, August 27, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, August 28, 2025 0 commit on Friday, August 29, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, August 30, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, August 31, 2025 0 commit on Monday, September 1, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, September 2, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, September 3, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, September 4, 2025 0 commit on Friday, September 5, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, September 6, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, September 7, 2025 0 commit on Monday, September 8, 2025 2 commits on Tuesday, September 9, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, September 10, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, September 11, 2025 0 commit on Friday, September 12, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, September 13, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, September 14, 2025 0 commit on Monday, September 15, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, September 16, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, September 17, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, September 18, 2025 0 commit on Friday, September 19, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, September 20, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, September 21, 2025 0 commit on Monday, September 22, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, September 23, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, September 24, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, September 25, 2025 0 commit on Friday, September 26, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, September 27, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, September 28, 2025 0 commit on Monday, September 29, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, September 30, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, October 1, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, October 2, 2025 0 commit on Friday, October 3, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, October 4, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, October 5, 2025 0 commit on Monday, October 6, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, October 7, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, October 8, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, October 9, 2025 0 commit on Friday, October 10, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, October 11, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, October 12, 2025 0 commit on Monday, October 13, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, October 15, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, October 16, 2025 0 commit on Friday, October 17, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, October 18, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, October 19, 2025 0 commit on Monday, October 20, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, October 21, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, October 22, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, October 23, 2025 0 commit on Friday, October 24, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, October 25, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, October 26, 2025 0 commit on Monday, October 27, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, October 28, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, October 29, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, October 30, 2025 0 commit on Friday, October 31, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, November 1, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, November 2, 2025 0 commit on Monday, November 3, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, November 4, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, November 5, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, November 6, 2025 0 commit on Friday, November 7, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, November 8, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, November 9, 2025 0 commit on Monday, November 10, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, November 11, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, November 12, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, November 13, 2025 0 commit on Friday, November 14, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, November 15, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, November 16, 2025 0 commit on Monday, November 17, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, November 19, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, November 20, 2025 0 commit on Friday, November 21, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, November 22, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, November 23, 2025 0 commit on Monday, November 24, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, November 25, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, November 26, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, November 27, 2025 0 commit on Friday, November 28, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, November 29, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, November 30, 2025 0 commit on Monday, December 1, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, December 2, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, December 3, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, December 4, 2025 0 commit on Friday, December 5, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, December 6, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, December 7, 2025 0 commit on Monday, December 8, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, December 9, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, December 10, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, December 11, 2025 0 commit on Friday, December 12, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, December 13, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, December 14, 2025 0 commit on Monday, December 15, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, December 16, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, December 17, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, December 18, 2025 0 commit on Friday, December 19, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, December 20, 2025 0 commit on Sunday, December 21, 2025 0 commit on Monday, December 22, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, December 23, 2025 5 commits on Wednesday, December 24, 2025 1 commit on Thursday, December 25, 2025 0 commit on Friday, December 26, 2025 0 commit on Saturday, December 27, 2025 7 commits on Sunday, December 28, 2025 3 commits on Monday, December 29, 2025 0 commit on Tuesday, December 30, 2025 0 commit on Wednesday, December 31, 2025 0 commit on Thursday, January 1, 2026 1 commit on Friday, January 2, 2026 0 commit on Saturday, January 3, 2026 0 commit on Sunday, January 4, 2026 0 commit on Monday, January 5, 2026 0 commit on Tuesday, January 6, 2026 0 commit on Wednesday, January 7, 2026 0 commit on Thursday, January 8, 2026 1 commit on Friday, January 9, 2026 0 commit on Saturday, January 10, 2026 0 commit on Sunday, January 11, 2026 0 commit on Monday, January 12, 2026 1 commit on Tuesday, January 13, 2026 0 commit on Wednesday, January 14, 2026 0 commit on Thursday, January 15, 2026 0 commit on Friday, January 16, 2026 0 commit on Saturday, January 17, 2026 0 commit on Sunday, January 18, 2026 0 commit on Monday, January 19, 2026 0 commit on Tuesday, January 20, 2026 0 commit on Wednesday, January 21, 2026 0 commit on Thursday, January 22, 2026 0 commit on Friday, January 23, 2026 0 commit on Saturday, January 24, 2026 0 commit on Sunday, January 25, 2026 0 commit on Monday, January 26, 2026 0 commit on Tuesday, January 27, 2026 0 commit on Wednesday, January 28, 2026 0 commit on Thursday, January 29, 2026 0 commit on Friday, January 30, 2026 0 commit on Saturday, January 31, 2026 0 commit on Sunday, February 1, 2026 0 commit on Monday, February 2, 2026 0 commit on Tuesday, February 3, 2026 0 commit on Wednesday, February 4, 2026 0 commit on Thursday, February 5, 2026 0 commit on Friday, February 6, 2026 0 commit on Saturday, February 7, 2026 0 commit on Sunday, February 8, 2026 0 commit on Monday, February 9, 2026 0 commit on Tuesday, February 10, 2026 0 commit on Wednesday, February 11, 2026 0 commit on Thursday, February 12, 2026 0 commit on Friday, February 13, 2026 0 commit on Saturday, February 14, 2026 0 commit on Sunday, February 15, 2026 0 commit on Monday, February 16, 2026 0 commit on Tuesday, February 17, 2026 0 commit on Wednesday, February 18, 2026 0 commit on Thursday, February 19, 2026 0 commit on Friday, February 20, 2026 0 commit on Saturday, February 21, 2026 0 commit on Sunday, February 22, 2026 0 commit on Monday, February 23, 2026 0 commit on Tuesday, February 24, 2026 0 commit on Wednesday, February 25, 2026 0 commit on Thursday, February 26, 2026 0 commit on Friday, February 27, 2026 0 commit on Saturday, February 28, 2026 0 commit on Sunday, March 1, 2026 0 commit on Monday, March 2, 2026 0 commit on Tuesday, March 3, 2026 0 commit on Wednesday, March 4, 2026 0 commit on Thursday, March 5, 2026 0 commit on Friday, March 6, 2026 0 commit on Saturday, March 7, 2026 0 commit on Sunday, March 8, 2026 0 commit on Monday, March 9, 2026 0 commit on Tuesday, March 10, 2026 0 commit on Wednesday, March 11, 2026 0 commit on Thursday, March 12, 2026 Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Less More Commits Total33 Cur. Streak0 Long Streak3 Best Day7 Trae Joined 14 Years Ago Other Repos Entertainment Gothar_Destroyer Last Played Assassin\u0026#39;s Creed Mirage \u0026amp; Assassin\u0026#39;s Creed Valhalla Bundle The Decemberists 85 plays NF 47 plays The Band CAMINO 46 plays Henrik 45 plays Angels \u0026amp; Airwaves 44 plays Find Me R And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nHis name is Burton Guster (\u0026lsquo;Gus\u0026rsquo; for short) named after the Psych character played by the amazing Dulé Hill, those are just a few of his nicknames in the show.\u0026#160;\u0026#x21a9;\u0026#xfe0e;\nurl:https://traeblain.com/about/","date":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_auto:eco,w_1920/v1673923905/tbcom/46851249031_18e65a91c1_o.jpg","tags":["page","me"],"title":"About Me","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/about/"},{"content":"What is this? This is my digital garden, it’s like a notebook but curated more like a garden is built. Unlike the standard chronological order that is a blog norm, this is organized by complimentary objects. Things are near each other that compliment each other. Also, this shows my drafts that I’m currently working on. By displaying the drafts, you can see the post as it grows. Check out some of the top posts, or browse the various topics…Enjoy.\nFavorites Einstein\u0026#39;s Relativity and Predestination 2018.06.26 My Favorite Sports Teams 2017.12.13 Automated Blinds 2017.01.05 Commentary 6Faith 3Fun 1Games 2Geek 9Hardware 1List 1Me 1Movies 3Music 2Page 2Reading 6Review 8Science 3Site 13Sports 2Thoughts 7Tools 2 COMMENTARY What am I doing?2025.12 What Are Video Games Teaching Us?2018.06 Let\u0026#39;s All Eat Cake2018.01 Why Don\u0026#39;t I Post2017.11 To DH, or Not To DH2016.12 2015 - Where do we go next?2016.01 FAITH Guilt and Shame2019.01 Kalām Cosmological Argument2018.11 Einstein\u0026#39;s Relativity and Predestination2018.06 FUN Space Elevator2023.04 GAMES Horizon Forbidden West2022.05 Crushing Video Games Draft2021.12 GEEK Website Builders2023.01 Horizon Forbidden West2022.05 Crushing Video Games Draft2021.12 New Look and Feel2021.11 Rating Systems: What does it mean?2018.04 Automated Blinds2017.01 Data Driven Site2016.01 2015 - Where do we go next?2016.01 New Site!2016.01 HARDWARE Automated Blinds2017.01 LIST My Favorite Sports Teams2017.12 ME About Me0001.01 MOVIES Game Night Movie Review Draft2020.01 Bright2017.12 A New Hope for the Last Jedi2017.12 MUSIC Good Music2023.01 Fifteen by Green River Ordinance2016.02 PAGE About Me0001.01 Digital Garden0001.01 READING Descent by Marko Kloos2025.01 System Collapse2025.01 Book-a-Week!2019.01 That\u0026#39;s a-lot-a Books!2018.02 Books, Books, and More Books2017.01 So Many Books!!2016.01 REVIEW Descent by Marko Kloos2025.01 System Collapse2025.01 Horizon Forbidden West2022.05 Crushing Video Games Draft2021.12 Game Night Movie Review Draft2020.01 Rating Systems: What does it mean?2018.04 Bright2017.12 Fifteen by Green River Ordinance2016.02 SCIENCE Space Elevator2023.04 Kalām Cosmological Argument2018.11 Einstein\u0026#39;s Relativity and Predestination2018.06 SITE What am I doing?2025.12 Static Site CMS2023.01 Personal Websites2023.01 Website Builders2023.01 This Year, This Notebook2023.01 New Look and Feel2021.11 Now in Color!2020.01 I Got A Newsletter!2018.01 Why Don\u0026#39;t I Post2017.11 Data Driven Site2016.01 New Site!2016.01 Wheres the Old Content?2016.01 Digital Garden0001.01 SPORTS My Favorite Sports Teams2017.12 To DH, or Not To DH2016.12 THOUGHTS Personal Websites2023.01 This Year, This Notebook2023.01 Guilt and Shame2019.01 What Are Video Games Teaching Us?2018.06 Rating Systems: What does it mean?2018.04 Let\u0026#39;s All Eat Cake2018.01 A New Hope for the Last Jedi2017.12 TOOLS Static Site CMS2023.01 Website Builders2023.01 url:https://traeblain.com/notebook/","date":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/s--3LDngnRy--/q_jpegmini/bluebonnets.jpg","tags":["page","site"],"title":"Digital Garden","type":null,"url":"https://traeblain.com/notebook/"},{"content":" url:https://traeblain.com/search/","date":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dixwznarl/image/upload/c_scale,q_auto:eco,w_1920/tbcom/math-search.jpg","tags":null,"title":"Search","type":"search","url":"https://traeblain.com/search/"}]}