NationStates.Net-A Great Site

I’ve been busy the past week and a half. Lots of homework, soccer, that type of thing. Either way, I’m back with NationStates.

NationStates is a great site I’ve been using for about a year now. In it, you create your very own country, struggle with issues concerning it, join the World Assembly (like the UN) to vote on resolutions, and join a region filled with politics. If you supply an email address, you can also visit the NationStates forums at Jolt. At the forums you can declare war, make embassies, and participate in sports events like the next World Cup 42, involving over 80 different nations. On another part of the forums, you can get your voice heard on the latest issues or burning political questions-or just stupid things-like when the Michigan government shut down for a weekend.

Here’s an example of what your nation can look like (because this is mine): Kenavt

Please check it out!

The Dollhouse Murders

Wow! I just came back from one of my favorite school hours of all time! Language Arts (6th), today. We watched a movie called The Dollhouse Murders (school version), from my school district’s account on United Streaming based on The Dollhouse Murders book by Betty Ren Wright. It’s just such a thrilling movie-and it scared me and my friend like crazy! It just got our adrenaline pumping, and it was just a great and awesome movie. The best part-we didn’t finish it! So we don’t have to do work tomorrow-and we actually do something we enjoy.

In the current school system under No Child Left Behind, that is a rarity. Especially when NCLB seems to me like ECLA (Every Child Left Ahead, which for our European friends is not a real law).

Speed Racer Review

Yes! I got to go to the movies with my friend. However, I couldn’t see the movie I wanted to-Disney’s new Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian-he had seen it! I had to settle with something I though mediocre. Speed Racer.

Let’s just say I was proved wrong two hours later.

Speed Racer (movie) presents Speed Racer (person), a guy who always wanted to race. After his younger brother, Rex, dies in the dangerous Cristo race, Speed gets over his head when he almost beats his brother’s lap record at their local track-Thunderhead-during a World Racing League event. Soon, sponsors are all over him-however, his family has their own company (Racer Motors), which Rex raced under until he left home three years before he died. A particularly big sponsor, Royalton Industries, offers an alliance-Royalton Racer Motors.

Speed is invited to Royalton’s big corporate HQ building-and finds out some things. If I were to tell you those things, it would tell you the problem-which seems kinda hush-hush at the beginning. So I won’t spoil it.

Have you seen it-and what do you think?

Google Earth 4.3 Beta Review

Google Earth has been released as 4.3-just in time for me to remind myself to update from version 3! The new Earth has many new features-like how they have automatically added 3D Warehouse-a flight simulator (back from v4.2) and the ability to almost “walk” around major cities with 3D Buildings!

Back like a year ago or so, you could create models of buildings and upload them to the Google Earth website. Then other people could download them and give you feedback. Now it’s a standard feature! Let me say, the CN Tower looks awesome.

As well, Google Earth has a flight simlulator-you can activate it by hitting ctrl+alt+a. Your plane choices are inbetween the F16 Fighting Falcon and the Cirrus SR22 (world’s best-selling single engine aircraft for the past couple of years). Then, choose an airport-or where you are at that moment. You can fly clear across the globe if you had the time-and crash land onto the front lawn of the White House. Anything you want! The controls are kinda hard, but it’s a learning thing.

Then, yes. You can zoom in so far, and look up, that it appears that you are on the STREETS. That’s right. Do you want to tour Times Square? The Space Needle? The Renassaince Buildings in Detroit? It looks crazy any way.

The best part of Google Earth is that it’s free! You can upgrade to $20 and $400 versions if you want-but you don’t get a lot of other features. The main one you can pay for is that you can then hook up your GPS device to GE, which sounds pretty cool.

The controls of the flight simulator are sort of hard though. I tried to crash land onto Bush’s doorstep (or into his house, both are good) but I landed about 3 miles (5km) away, across the Potomac River, in the middle of someone’s neighborhood.

I recommend this product to anyone with tons of time on their hands!

Mario Kart Wii Review

For those who don’t know, Mario Kart is a huge franchise by Nintendo. It started with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and has progressed through the Nintendo consoles to the Wii, including a couple of stops with Namco for two arcade versions (which are very popular at my local arcade!).

The game has 16 new courses and 16 old courses-8 cups in all. Beat the cups at the 50cc (easy), 100cc (medium), and 150cc (hard) to unlock stuff, like new characters and new vehicles. That’s right-vehicles. New for Mario Kart is the ability to use bikes-which you have to use at 100cc until you beat all 8 cups. You have the choice between a dirt bike, a regular motorcycle, and other bonus ones that you have unlocked.

The bikes are actually great-though I still prefer the nostalgia of a kart. It just doesn’t seem the same. A kart just seems more there, and with better turning. Bikes seem faster, but that they shouldn’t be able to turn!

The classic Mario gang is back, with a couple of new characters like Rosalina from Super Mario Galaxy, Baby Peach, and Baby Daisy. You have to wonder, with all the baby versions, if the guys in Japan are running out of ideas for characters. Why not open it up to all of the Nintendo franchises, like Super Smash Brothers?

The game is solid-and outstanding. Playing with the Wii Wheel is just plain old fun (Hey, Mom, I’m driving before I’m supposed to!) and with friends, it’s just dynamite. The Battle mode, involving popping other peoples’ “balloons” with shells, the new item POW blocks, and bananas, plus collecting coins, is severly underrated when playing with a friend. You just sit, see somthing dumb, and giggle like crazy.

 I haven’t tried out the Mario Kart Wii Channel, the online portion, but I should be able to soon. If anyone knows how to download it so it’s on your Wii Menu, please tell me!

GIMP

4:25 If you look above this post, you’ll see a logo. Before, this only said “My Blog!” -in a boring way. Now, with GIMP, I created a nice logo for the site. GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program, a free “Open Source” program online. You can find out more at gimp.org, and download it at GIMP’s Source Forge page. It’s free-and a great program. It’s sort-of like Microsoft Paint for those who have it. Oh, and Source Forge is secure-not a place where you will get hacked and then your computer will be screwed.

For a portable version (what I used) go to Portable Apps. A portable version is one that can go on a flash drive of some sort (it’s waaaayyy too big for a floppy disk).

It’s a great program-check it out and tell me what you think in your comments!

My Crazy Thoughts of the Day

4:14 Some countries are weird. Like Myanmar. Why is Myanmar refusing relief aid workers? Well, actually, everyone knows why. Because Myanmar is ruled by the military. They oppress the people. Hence the people look horrible. Or…. is that what the government wants us to think? Are conspiracy theorists right?

Just kidding.

By the way,Obama, yesterday in DC, got 4 superdelegates. If it was that easy, then Clinton would be in Washington. Or is it that easy? I dunno. Do you?

I just found out Blockbuster is interested in Circuit City. If the deal falls through, what if Blockbuster combined their stores with Circuit City? Would “Buster City” be a good store? Who knows.

I welcome your comments on how stupid/smart/i dunno, so please comment and tell your friends!