Let's Talk Hangouts for a Second

We've covered a lot of phone stuff in this blog, and that seems to make sense considering that communication is at the forefront of many successful series. This year, the logistics of telephony have changed dramatically. Both Apple and Google have pushed for Data-based calling as an alternative to your traditional dedicated cellular service. In fact, when Hangouts Dialer showed up in the Google Play store, I jumped on it right away. I went as far as to get a Data-Only tether and forward all of my calls to my existing Google Voice number. Here's how that went.

First things first, I want to make it very clear that CDMA-cellular calling is far more reliable than GSM in terms of network coverage area, but the quality is absolutely terrible. So while I could get service in the middle of nowhere, my calls were always jittery and poor sounding due to the limitations of that type of audio transfer.

Having Google Voice/Hangouts changed all of that. On my home Wi-Fi network, every call has been crystal clear due to high data speeds. And even on 3G CDMA/EvDO (at a mere 2Mbit/sec), calls are still much clearer than traditional voice network ever was.

The downside? Considerable lag. Calls take roughly ten seconds to connect on either Wi-Fi or 3G, regardless of the device I'm using. There is also a delay of up to two seconds between send and receive. This is something that will need to be fixed in order for Data-based calling to really take off.

The deciding factor? I'm going to have to give it to the ability to use any device without being tied to a carrier. Because I have a mobile hotspot/tether, I can pair any phone, tablet or computer to it. My iPod Touch? It's a phone. My Nook Tablet? Phone. My LG Optimus Fuel? Haven't activated it, but I can still make calls thanks to Hangouts. I can literally swap devices depending on the day of the week, which is something that cannot be said of those who must hold onto the same phone for eighteen months at a time. 

So, where do we go from here? The next step obviously is to make the service work more efficiently on minimal bandwidth (128kbit or less for those in the backwoods). After that, we absolutely must make devices cheaper so that more people pay in full for them from the get-go. The days of subsidizing a $700 phone and paying it back over a year and a half need to end. 

Testing the LG Optimus Fuel - Rooted

Well guys, it's that time again! Recently I ended up getting an StraightTalk LG 34C (known as the Optimus Fuel) as a hopeful replacement for my Huwaei Glory. However, my plans changed when I discovered some rather interesting things about the phone. I would like to share those things with you here. However, there is a little twist. If you use Towelroot, you can root this phone, meaning that my review will be taking root privileges into account.

First, all the things I hate about this phone:

1) False Advertising - The sellers claim the phone has 512 MB RAM. In all honesty, you get 424MB, which is still very low for a phone running Android KitKat (4.4). Another thing they fail to mention is that the internal storage is only 1.85GB (though the ROM space adds another 1.7GB to that).

2) The System Settings Menu/APK - The manufacturer of the phone (LG Electronics) decided that they would load the phone with as much bloatware as possible (more on that in a second. This included a custom launcher, a custom keyboard, and a custom lock screen. All of these have dedicated strings in the settings menu. If you remove the default launcher, keyboard or lock screen, you will have references which no longer work and crash the settings app when you click on them. If you want to fix this, you have to edit the Settings APK directly using ADB, which is a LOT of work. It would have been so much better for those strings to have not been in there in the first place.

3) The Bloatware Itself - This phone came with over 130 APKs built in, making it rather sluggish before root. (To give you some perspective, CyanogenMod comes with maybe 70 APKs). You'll find yourself deleting a LOT of stuff, (Be careful though, as deleting certain APKs will break the phone completely).

4) Terrible Camera App - The default camera app has a lot of cool settings, but the problem is that when you send your pictures to your computer, they will not autorotate. As this is LG's version of the Camera, this is very much something they are at fault for.

5) THE TOUCH SCREEN - On one hand, the touch screen registers input flawlessly (something the Huawei Glory failed miserably at). On the other, the screen is so prone to blemishes it hurts. I got two scratches on my phone in two days. The Glory lasted two months before the touch screen started to show wear and tear.

6) THE MUSIC PLAYER - Why the hell doesn't the music player come with lock screen controls? I don't fucking know. So I pulled the APK from the phone as soon as I rooted.

X) Guys... It's KitKat... - This is a personal thing, but I absolutely despise the aesthetics of KitKat. I hate the font defaults, and I hate that the icons are white. I feel that Jelly Bean was the most aesthetically pleasing interface and Android L looks even worse to me.

Alright, with that out of the way, let's talk about all the things I LOVE about this phone:

1) 1.2 Ghz Dual Core - That added core really does make all the difference. This phone is so much faster than the Glory, and under normal circumstances, apps should almost never crash.

2) Better Clock - LG's version of the Clock is wonderful. So many alarm settings, a built in Timer, a built in Stop Watch, and a built in World Time feature.

3) An actual compass! - LG included a gyroscope in this phone like they did with the 38c. The one thing I hated most about the Glory is no longer a problem.

So where do I stand with this phone? It has its fair share of problems, but those can be fixed thanks to rooting. I would say it's as good as the Glory is - better in some aspects, worse in others.

What I Did With It

First thing I did once rooted was I uninstalled the Google Play apps I was never going to use (Newsstand, Music, Books, TV, etc.). The stock Email app went bye-bye but I opted to keep Gmail. Youtube was pointless since you can use the Browser, so I uninstalled that too. The office software which came with the phone is something I pulled without hesitation.

I uninstalled the LG Home Launcher and wrote NOVA Launcher + NOVA Prime into the ROM using Titanium Backup PRO. I pulled LG's keyboard and wrote Google Keyboard into the ROM. I installed Xposed Framework, and installed the "Disable Fullscreen Keyboard" module. I overwrote the ROM versions of Maps and Calendar with their most recent updates. I froze/disabled Unified EULA since it was being annoying.

As a precaution, I wrote the Pro Key of Titanium Backup into the ROM. I recommend this if you ever do something stupid like get rid of Google Play Store. Titanium Backup can be installed with a direct link, but the Pro key can only be redownloaded from the Play Store once purchased and you ABSOLUTELY NEED IT to make changes to the ROM.

More Phone Talk (Partial Discussion)

If there's one thing we love to discuss here at WLIA, it's mobile phones. In the past, we have discussed the microeconomics of telecom for the end-user (a sort of want versus need when paying for service). We've also taken the time to review two phones in particular: the LG38c and the Huawei Glory. There is a lot more that we could cover as the technology changes, but there are also things we can cover as older technologies fall out of favor. Our goal in bringing forth this discussion is to answer two questions:

• How will new technologies in mobile allow individuals to further change the world around them?
• How can old technologies be repurposed to allow less wealthy individuals to change their world?

To answer these questions, we have to take a look at how people are using their phones in the first place. 

Talk and Text - A Legacy System

There is something of a dispute in aesthetics when it comes to discussing the very basics which have been around since the very first phones. Some people almost exclusively use their phones as intended: to make phone calls. Others prefer the silence and speed of the Short Message Service (SMS). Most fall into a spectrum where the phone is reserved for business, while the text message is reserved for fun.

Telephone usage can be one-to-one or multiple-access (conference calling), but it is very difficult to successfully carry on more than one conversation at a time. Text messaging gets the upper hand by being one-to-one, multiple-access (group texts) or one-to-many (having multiple one-on-one conversations simultaneously, and very effectively at that).

That said, the Short Message Service is rather limited. Messages are confined to 160 characters, sending internationally is either very expensive or absolutely forbidden, and it plays a major role in an individual's monthly bill. Thus, the emergence of internet-based texting clients (WhatsApp, Viber, Google Voice) has predicted the eventual death of SMS.

So what will happen to the service when it's fallen out of favor? After all, the numbers surrounding it are quite staggering to comprehend. To simplify it, let's consider that a text message has a maximum size of 140 bytes. With 22 billion texts being sent a day, that's roughly 2.8 Terabytes of data being transferred per day on the service. Now, it may seem like the data from SMS will simply be converted to 3G/4G data, but when we take into consideration the high volume of Wi-Fi usage, there will indeed be a significant drop in the amount of actual cellular data being consumed. That's important. Freeing up this traffic for calling purposes may not do too much to improve quality of the legacy networks, but it is indeed something.

...Especially when we take into consideration the loss of over half of the legacy spectrum. Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) are still relying heavily on those legacy networks; their niche is providing these services at a low cost. As the resource pool of legacy signals decreases, purporters of older tech will need to offload a significant amount of usage, most preferably to WiFi-based home and business networks.

Lastly, how is the end user affected? For one, abandoning the archaic Short Message Service for an internet-based one should lead to increases in the size of each text (hopefully to 320 or even 480 characters). More texting will be allowed between nationalities. Services which rely on texting (such as the ever-popular Twitter) may see increases in their own capabilities thanks to changes like these. Finally, those who rely heavily on the legacy networks would see major increases in phone capability, without the requirement of being a smartphone.

Videogame Cause and Effect: The Pursuit

Once upon a time in a far off galaxy, there lived a child not unlike you and me. Unfortunately, tragedy struck when the child's parents were murdered horribly by a criminal group. The child was then raised by foster parents, entered a law enforcement academy and graduated top of the class, to join the galactic law enforcement agency. (Even if you know what I'm referring to, I ask you keep reading).

This individual had two goals. The first was to seek vengeance for the murders from years prior. The second was to ensure that justice and order were maintained, an oath most officers of the law are accustomed to taking. Where things get complicated is when the individual discovered that law enforcement had begun to use the same techniques as the criminals being fought. This presented a moral battle for the individual: "Do I condone the hypocritical means of those I serve? Or do I seek to bring down both corrupt entities?"

Oh, and one last thing: this officer is a woman. Her name is Samus Aran, perhaps you've heard of her?

It has come to my attention that the image of the character one portrays is very important to certain people. In the case of the Metroid franchise, the reveal that Samus was a girl all along came as something of a shock to the audience. Since then, female protagonists in videogames have become far more prevalent, to the point where the absence of one can be a PR disaster. But why?

The Fog of Education

(Note: The views expressed in this article are not representative of any particular group or institution.)

"Anyone from the president on down will tell you that a focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education is not just good for kids but for the nation." - Cliff Ransom

September's issue of Popular Science opened with emphasis on changing how we educate today's youth. Additionally, the publisher is partnering with a DIY electronics company to make Arduino boards more fiscally friendly to the nation's educational infrastructure. Other initiatives highlighted in this issue include using games as a teaching tool (SimCity EDU and LEGO EV3 robotics being the primary examples), and a contract between Red Bluff High School and NASA to run geological simulations at Lassen Volcanic National Park (which, for those of you who know me, is only an hour and a half to the west of where I'm from).

Speaking of, Lassen High School in Susanville, CA has some rather unique technological programs of its own. For those who are unaware, this is the high school I went to for four years, eventually to return to as a part-time faculty member for the past eight months and counting. That is to say that I have not only seen great changes in that time frame, but that I have also had the opportunity to help cultivate those changes. Though that last part is neither here nor there.

The Nature of Goals and Dreams

About a decade ago, some curious net entrepreneur developed a website where you could create what many refer to as a "bucket list." That website, 43things.com, has reached its end-of-life as of this month, and at the end of the year, will likely be removed from the internet entirely. Websites where the purpose is to create a list of life goals will certainly live on, however.

I used to spend a bit of time thinking of goals, but I was never all that creative in coming up with of things to do. Even now, I'm not really sure what appeals to me in terms of "things to do before I tap out twenty to forty years from now." Nevertheless, it is a trope present in many acclaimed films, anime, literature and even games.

For example, Angel Beats! played this trope by making dream-fulfillment a requisite to pass on to the afterlife. Madoka Magica deconstructed this by allowing dreams to be achieved on a whim, albeit at a deadly price. Evangelion moved into this direction through its breakdown of Shinji Ikari as a child fighting to understand the possibilities of the world beyond the EVA (though that will not be discussed fully until a later article).

The problem is, all of these series either have characters who already know what it is they want, or discover it in ways which aren't quite explained to the viewer. So when the viewer goes to ask these questions of their self, there really isn't a model to seek reference from. It's aggravating, but if you look at what relates all of the characters of these series, however, their goals always appear to be based upon things they are or things they lack.

Videogame Cause and Effect: Concentration

So in this post, I would like to discuss Halo 3: ODST.

It was a unique entry into the Halo franchise, one which introduced an open world alongside its linear storyline. The open world takes place six hours after the opening cutscene, while the levels take place between one and five hours after the initial drop.

Everything about the open world fascinated me to no end. As the player, you were given two weapons and a goal: get to each point of interest while simultaneously dispatching any enemy combatants. You also had to find thirty terminals which would help you piece together the events of those six hours. You could find ammunition stockpiles, other weapons, vehicles, and all sorts of different things along the way.

There was, of course, a catch. If you wasted all of your resources at the start of the game, you'd have less and less toward the end of the game, where it really mattered. This led to a huge need for strategy and meticulousness which made the game more addicting. One could literally spend hours traversing the battered urban landscape, sneaking up behind enemies and dispatching them one by one while trying not to waste ammunition.

There was something rather liberating about it. A simple clearing of the mind, and then a slow, relaxed aim-and-fire. Again, and again, and again. It's incredible.

If you've ever played Laser Tag, you might have also felt this feeling. Usually, in the first few rounds, a player has to get used to the feel of their weapon, the pace of the other combatants and the general lay of the land. After a couple of rounds, however, time seems to slow down a bit and one's shots begin to become more accurate. Soon it becomes a stress-reliever rather than a stress-inducer.

Both of these things (technically they are the same thing) are examples of exercising concentration, of becoming the mechanism and letting go of all other things. Becoming the mechanism is a very important skill to have and apply, because it allows you to become more productive at any particular task you set your mind to.

It just saddens me that, in the real world, we don't have enough of these kinds of exercises.

Videogame Cause and Effect: Violence

Videogames which are violent cause people to accept violence into their lives.

Now, I know what you're thinking when you see a statement like that, so allow me to explain. If you've been a longtime reader of the WLIA Blog, you know that our mindset here is to derive value from both good and evil. In many of the articles, we've discussed how evil sets a precedent for good to constantly improve itself, which forces evil to continually step up its actions. All of this goes on to fuel progress.

So, why should gaming be any exception to this rule? What is the point of a game? It's to put you in a scenario and ask how you personally would act to resolve whatever conflict is present. It reveals that no matter how much of a good person you think you are, how much of a mediator you think you are, when there is no other option you will take an action that is counter to your code of ethics. Let's take a look at an example.

Trying Out the Tracfone Hauwei Glory

So this morning I went over to Walmart and, on impulse, bought the Hauwei Glory sold on the Tracfone MVNO. The nice thing is, because it's Android, you can set it up before transferring your number, which allowed me to have a little fun with it and determine whether or not I do want to make the transfer. This post will go over the ways it is better and worse than the LG Optimus Dynamic (also known as the 38c).

First things first, the Glory runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwhich, while the Dynamic runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread. ICS is capable of running a wider variety of apps, but there are only a select few I frequently use. So, surely the Glory is capable of doing those things with ease, right?

Wrong. First, here are all the things I hate about this new phone:

1. Lack of a music player - I was absolutely floored that a phone which has its own FM radio does not have a music player for MP3s. Thankfully, I was able to download Music Player HD from the Play Store. The app looks just like Apollo (if you've ever used CyanogenMod, that's the player they usually bundle with). However, my music troubles were not over yet.
2. Rear Speaker - This is more of a personal thing, but I cannot believe they put the speaker in the rear of the phone. A less personal thing is that the speakers themselves are not good. Despite being louder, they have more of a rattle to them than those of the Dynamic.
3. The stock keyboard - Swipe is stupid. I don't care what you say; Swipe has always been a stupid function. But more than that, it took a half hour to figure out how to alter the keyboard settings to get it to where I could disable that. Also disabled autocorrect. But what bothers me most is that it just feels really clunky compared to the LG Stock Keyboard. The LG's one had all the right keys up front, while I have to go fishing for them in menu after menu here. Speaking of touching...
4. The touch screen - Ohhhh boy, am I peeved about this one. You have to press much harder for this screen to register. With the Dynamic, I can hover my fingers over the touchpad and it will register as a hit. This one you have to deliberately press down.
5. No Services Menu - In Gingerbread, if you go to your Settings, there is a menu under Applications that says "Running Services." This shows how much RAM your apps are using. Yeah, that's gone now.
6. No Internal Compass - Alright, now this is just ridiculous. The Optimus Dynamic has an internal compass independent of its GPS. This means that if GPS is disabled, you can still use compatible apps to display what direction your phone is facing in. With the Glory, there isn't a feature like this. The compass is always static and will display North no matter which direction you are facing. Also, it takes longer to get a GPS fix compared to the Dynamic.

Alright, let me take a breath and tell you guys that the Glory is not a bad phone. In fact, I really am considering keeping it and transferring my number to it. And here's why.

1. It is pretty - Now, I personally loved the look of Gingerbread, but ICS does knock it out of the water. The 3.5" screen has a much higher resolution compared to the 3.2" Dynamic. Widgets look absolutely gorgeous, the text is nice and sharp, and the Glory seems to handle color better. The best part? Apps like Plume actually fit the screen properly.
2. Skype works on it - One of the reasons I've been looking for a new phone is for Skype. Even old versions kill the Dynamic with excessive CPU and RAM usage. The Glory has a 1GHz processor (the Dynamic's was only 800MHz). As far as I can tell, the Glory also has more RAM. Skype is a little slow, but it should be leagues better than it was on the Dynamic.
3. NOVA Launcher - NOVA Launcher is not compatible with Gingerbread. It is compatible with ICS. It's one of the best launchers out there. That alone makes this a good sell.
4. Better Notifications - The Glory's Notification Drawer removes the redundancy we saw in the Dynamic. Because Media controls show on any music app you install to the device, there is no need for a permanent music bar like we saw in that phone. Additionally, there's a toggle for Auto-Rotate, and the Vibrate toggle is removed.
5. FM Radio - Yes, we discussed it earlier, but it is worth reiterating that this phone has an FM radio.
6. Notes - This phone comes with its own notepad, unlike the Dynamic.
7. Way more Storage - This phone has over 2GB of internal storage, 500MB of which is allocated for app installation (the Dynamic only had 157MB for apps). After installing everything that was on my old phone and more, I still have 325 MB left for apps.
8. Updated Google Play - Because you can put Google Services updates on the phone without killing it, you can update its associated apps. This includes Youtube, which looks so much smoother and is Chromecast compatible.

So as you can see, even though there is a lot to hate about this phone, there is still more about it to love. Honestly, despite its many flaws, I do feel it's worth transferring to. That said, I am keeping my Dynamic as a fallback, just in case anything goes wrong (or I need a compass that actually works!).

Why Farmers Should Not Be Paid to Farm

(NOTE: These are just my own observations of an industry based upon what I know about economics. I don't claim to be an expert on agriculture, so please take this with a grain of salt. Also, since my perspective is that of someone in the United States, it may not be as applicable to other nations. Alright, here we go.)

The production of plant material for food, fiber and medicine is integral to the survival of the human race. Farmers who take up this endeavor do a great service to humanity, but sometimes it can appear that they are not given their dues, so to speak. It is common for a farmer to work sun-up to sun-set, sometimes in harsh weather, to ensure maximum crop yield. The problem is, while maximum crop yield is great for most everyone else, it isn't always so great for them.

Crop price, and therefore crop revenue, is dictated by the factors of the market economy: supply and demand. Underproduction shifts supply cost curves to the left, increasing market price, while overproduction shifts them to the right, lowering market price. Furthermore, even though demand for these goods is constantly increasing with population, real demand (demand by people who can actually seek these goods) is not always increasing; sometimes, it even decreases.

THE 21ST CENTURY UNITY PROJECT

The other night, I posted on a group YouTube channel a motivational speech having to do with humans in the 21st century expanding their knowledge and worldview. I ask of you to help spread this message, using the creative media of your choosing!

1) Watch the video at the bottom of this page. Using the transcript of the audio, create your own audio or video recording, synced to the music of your choosing. Be sure to make it as awe-inspiring as you can.

2) Upload the audio or video to the site of your choosing. Paste the URL of the video to the comment section of this post so that others may find it easily.

3) Spread the word of this project to others! Post the idea on as many social media outlets of your choosing! Together, we can inspire the minds of thousands!

Thank you, and happy filming!
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"As each new generation is born, they grow with a new perspective on how the world works. The ideals and approaches perpetuated by our forefathers are discarded, replaced with those we deem to be better and truer. And though we feel our actions are just, we are marred by a fundamental flaw in how we turn our backs on the past.

Though the abandonment of historical failures is an important social responsibility, we in our haste become ignorant of historical successes. Foolishly we turn a blind eye to ideas and processes which can be updated to reflect modern ideals, and natural phenomena which we fail to recognize as having a modern parallel. This is erroneous and short-sighted; it limits our potential as humans! Our hearts and our minds are firmly held by the preconceived notions that forward is the sole directional path. Before we can step out and change this world, we must change this destructive narrow-mindedness!

The time has come to relinquish the mental chains which bind us to a narrow worldview! From here on out, we question with boldness the fundamental nature of our status quo, and the way which we live our lives! All of us can evolve, to become something larger and greater than our mere selves! In this way, we become more than human! Go forward, into the future, confident in our potential to spark a new Renaissance and forge the pillars which uphold a new era of reason! This is our time to prosper!

In all of us lay a great student and a great teacher. In all of us lay the capacity to understand the theory of everything, and the ability to invoke that understanding in others. Our value is not the result of some benchmark, reputation, authority or other superficial classification. It is in our ability to recognize the complexities hidden within the most basic of elements. 

The natural earth, its plants, animals, insects, and formations all serve as canvasses for emulation. The relics of the past, no matter how dated adn inefficient, are all candidates for resurrection and reinvention. Let us not delay in a thorough examination of the old, so that we may assimilate it into the new! Let no object be spared of this thorough inspection! This is our mission and our shared responsibility as representatives of the twenty-first century!"

Blog Update and YouTube Collaborative Works!

No new series article tonight, but I would like to bring to your attention some changes and additions which haven't quite come to light.

• On the right sidebar is a "Donate" button. It links to the GoFundMe account where you can find a copy of "On the Criminal MO," the 75-page book I wrote a couple of weeks ago. I encourage you to give it a read, and if you enjoy it or any of the works that have been written and published so far across the WLIA site, please donate! It helps immensely!
• Recently I have been working with others from Twitter to create videos for a joint YouTube Channel. This includes gameplay videos, dramatic readings and parodies. We would love it if you gave it a look through. The channel can be found here. As a teaser, here are some of the videos we've recently worked on.

Paradigm of The Urban Nighttime Aesthetic

Robotropolis from "Sonic the Hedgehog OVA"
(1996). Altered with Photoshop 7.0

Science tells us that black is the representation of all color absorbed, while white is the representation of all color reflected. On paper, this doesn't really mean all that much, but in application, we can come to a few conclusions. Because white reflects color, it automatically distorts any color within its vicinity.If you want a single color represented in its most vibrant form, you place it on a black backdrop. Or, alternately, you apply a black filter to the foreground, which makes white far less prominent to your vision and causes color to pop out in an aesthetically pleasing manner.

The truest black humans are subjected to is the absence of the Sun, also known as the night sky. At night, individual light sources stand out, with powerful ones able to be seen from miles away. Thus, beautiful displays such as those above can only be viewed properly when the sun goes down. Night culture is its own form of art appreciation, and stems from the flirtation of color uncensored. Understanding this, other forms of nighttime allure begin to make sense.

There are other benefits to living in the darkness. The temperature, for example, is far more stable than it is during the day, especially in summer. There'd be far fewer heat deaths if people slept during the day and conducted themselves during the mild summer nights. But more than that, a preference for the night would allow us to address some of our pressing nighttime issues.

Movements have begun to retrofit entire cities with energy-saving, higher-luminosity LED streetlamps, as well as using LED in large buildings which would benefit most from it. Now, that sounds well and dandy, although many regions face opposition on the grounds of those savings not really being appreciated aesthetically. After all, why go through the trouble of completely overhauling a city's nighttime fixtures if nobody will be around during the night to appreciate them?

Thus, the issue becomes one not of finance, environment or anything of a political nature. Rather, it becomes one of paradigm, of culture, or humans fighting to create and preserve something beautiful. As summer creeps into North America, we as a people should work to push a nighttime agenda, to open others' eyes to the clarity and purity of the night. In turn, they too shall fight for it. That's the hope, anyway.

In the near future, paradigm will be the root cause for a large number of ideological battles.

SPECIAL UPDATE: CHARACTER INTERVIEWS

Up until now, we have done one interview for a character from Danganronpa, and multiple interviews for characters from Kill La Kill. Up until now, we have been asking our interview candidates to be as close to "canon" as possible. This means that they had to be as close to in-character as they could get, and focus almost solely on the events which occurred in the original work. However, this does ignore a large part of these franchises and their fan communities.

As we move forward from here, our interviews will start to include characters from alternate universes, particularly those of the Kill La Kill expanded fan-universe. We will be doing interviews of alternate interpretations of the main cast post-series. We will also be looking at opposite-gendered counterparts. As those versions do not have a canonical source to reference, we will be doing things a little different.

When we did the interviews of the original characters, we focused on inspiration and aspiration. We used these two elements to determine if a character was flat or round - static or dynamic. We also determined whether those characters were ones we would want to emulate in behavior and mission. Inspiration was more tied to the actual series writing, while aspiration was derived from the interviews themselves.

For the Alternate/Expanded cast of characters, we will be looking at two new variables: contrast and overlap. Contrast deals with how well an AU character stands on their own in driving the post-series plot. Does that character have value in presenting a new or unique perspective on the series proper? Overlap deals with how well said character matches their original counterpart in characterization.

Contrast will be scored out of three. Overlap will be scored out of four. The square root of the sum of the squares will determine the score, with five being the maximum.

A Little Rant About Debates on the Internet

Most of you guys know what an opinion is, and most of you know that people will not always have the same opinion. As such, debates about hot-button issues occur with regularity, especially on the internet. However, there are some things you should not do while debating, and I'd like to discuss that.

This morning, an individual (I will not say who) posted a controversial video about an well-known person who was being threatened and harassed on a routine basis because of their job. As a result, they began to harass and be violent in retaliation. Of course, this only served to increase the harassment toward them, perpetrating the cycle ad-infinitum. Not only that, but it was incredibly unprofessional of them to do.

The individual stated that they supported this well-known person, while I stated that I disagreed wholeheartedly with the actions. They went on to ask if I agreed with the opposition's actions, and before I could respond, they proceeded to state that "by proxy," I supported the opposition and was thus associated with those "disgusting acts." They knew full well this wasn't the case, but that those watching from their side would see me as a disgusting person and a bully-supporter through basis of assumption. Through emotion, this individual had vastly elevated their own position without taking the time to so much as respond to anything I had argued thus far.

So of course, I call them out on it, tell them they aren't being fair. Rather than own up to it, they start making up excuses. "You're being overly emotional." "You tried to contradict me and I responded." "It's all opinion." All this individual is doing at this point is trying to affirm their flawed assumption to keep their position elevated. The icing on the cake? "This seemed like what you were doing, therefore let's agree to disagree."

"Agree to Disagree" is a term I personally despise. It's the "Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies" method of ending an argument. You silence yourself in order to silence the opposition, so that the positions of both people remain locked. This would mean that this individual would continue to look like a saint while I continued to look like a bully-sympathizer. So I refused.

And then the attacks started.

"You can't take contradictions." "You're not smart enough to know what 'by proxy' means." "This is the internet so you have no reason to care." Finally, I got to a point where I'd had enough and I simply told them I was done, but before I left for the morning, I told this person that if they ever attacked my character like that in the future, I would not be so nice. Up to this point, I had responded with no attacks, no swearing, nothing that would give this person further ammunition other than to point out all of the flaws they were trying to perpetuate for the sake of image.

When I returned, hours later, this individual stated, "If you don't like the way I tweet then you should unfollow me." However, when I went to look at their profile, I found out that they had preemptively blocked me, to ensure that I'd never be able to contradict them again.

The more I think about what happened, the more I realize that this person is a complete and total narcissist, but there is a point to all of this. You see, in a debate, the point is not to prove somebody wrong. It's to affirm that your stance is a valid one. As we've seen more than once in this very blog, there is more than one valid perspective to an issue, but you have to be able to demonstrate that validity. This individual was so obsessed with making me a villain that they couldn't see that.

Lastly, painting someone as a bully-sympathizer, knowing full well they've been bullied most of their personal and professional lives, is just plain stupid. I've been sexually harassed at my jobs, threatened at my jobs, and have had crimes committed against me at my jobs. Yet I never acted as immaturely as the person in the video. Professional decorum is important in any job; it doesn't matter if you're in the military, if you're a receptionist, if you're an athlete, or if you're shoveling fecal matter at the zoo. You are in a position where you should be responsible for your actions, even in the face of adversity. If you can't handle that, then quit.

Tech Evaluation - The LG38c (Optimus Dynamic)

The WLIA blog has discussed many aspects of our evolving technology, but one notion which I personally like to uphold is the repurposing of older devices. It is for this reason that when I decided to purchase a new phone back in February 2014, I chose one of significant age. The phone I chose was the LG38c, also known as the LG Optimus Dynamic. The network I run it on is Tracfone, so I will discuss Tracfone service in this review as well.

Out of the Box: The 38c uses a touchscreen which is 3.2 inches diagonally. Below the screen is a Home/Recent button, a Menu button, and a Back button. A volume toggle is on the left side, with a headphone jack and power button at the top. On the bottom is the port for the data/charge cable. It runs Android 2.3.6 (Gingerbread) and uses the CDMA series of networks (RTT/EVDO). The processor is 800 MHz (single core). The phone has 254MB of RAM according to the system settings, and has storage in three tiers:

• System Storage: 157 MB
• Internal Storage: 1GB
• External Storage: Removable MicroSD (up to 32GB)

The Gingerbread OS: At three years old, Android 2.3 continues to function despite a continued loss in long-term support. Due to massive changes within the Google Play Store and Google Services, the core apps all take up so much memory once updated that they simply will not fit in the phone's System Storage partition. The only option is to keep these apps stock and not use them. Other Google-related apps have been discontinued by the company but remain on the device, so these must be kept stock as well. So, let's talk about how to go about this:

1. Go into Settings -> Applications and check "Allow Instillation of non-Market applications."
2. Go online and download the APK for "Holo Launcher." Copy it to the phone and install the app.
3. Configure Holo Launcher to hide Google+, Latitude, Messenger, Places, Play Store, and any other stock app you will never use (such as Play Books and Play Music if you don't need them). 

Any apps you want can be installed the same way as how Holo Launcher was installed. That said, not everything is compatible with 2.3, so you'll need to do some research to ensure that the services you use have apps that work.

Just Some Personal Thoughts

At this time, I would like to just vent about a lot of things going on in my life and the direction I personally am taking. After all, some of the changes may impact the direction of the WLIA Blog. With that, here we go:

• The GoFundMe campaign for "On the Criminal MO" is still going, and I intend to keep it up for the next few months to see if that $1000 goal is attainable. My NookPress account has finally been approved but I don't intend to market the book there unless I absolutely need to. I don't feel the concept is polished enough for professional release; at least, not unless I make a spinoff or sequel rendition of the concept.
• Speaking of which, I do have every intention of turning the Jormungand pieces into either A) a new book, or B) an add-on to the original work. To be honest, I feel like the latter option is the more favorable one, but it would require a massive overhaul in how the chapters are currently organized. You may have noticed those articles are not as in-depth as others in the blog; this is because I plan to omit the applications of these fictional elements until I release whatever that project becomes.
• Currently, I am working 30 hours per week. Starting in June, my hours will probably drop to 20, but I will be resuming my education which severely cuts the amount of time I can dictate for writing purposes.
• At the end of the month, I'll have been on Twitter for an entire year. I feel that's pretty awesome, so when that day comes I intend to do a "Year in Review" post on the blog, which will cover some of the content I have helped to create on that social network and how it has affected me as an individual and as a writer. So look forward to that!
• I do intend to do more character interviews. On that list are Minori Kushieda, Yuusaku Kitamura and Ami Kawashima from the Toradora series; Ryuuko, Senketsu, Ragyo, Satsuki, Junketsu, Mako, and some others from the Kill La Kill series; and maybe Rebecca Miyamoto from the Pani Poni series. Not sure the order or timeframe for those interviews but it will happen, little by little.
• As far as school goes, I am trying to complete my units for a Natural Science AA, and either a GIS Certification or a Social Science AA. Not sure yet since it depends on which college I finish out at. So I ask that you wish me luck.
• I plan to do more random posts, such as tech reviews and showcasing some of my 3D modeling content. It all depends at this point.

That's about it! It seems like I'm the only one left here who really updates (all my supporting writers have lives and stuff). I'm going to continue to keep this going until it becomes something truly beautiful!

- Maddy Koller

  Contributor

Character Interview: Chihiro Fujisaki

(Good fiction requires good characters who promote inspiration and aspiration. To demonstrate this, we shall be looking at characters from multiple series and judging how deep their archetypes go. We shall be calling upon individuals who take on the personas of their favorite characters in order to establish these traits).

CHARACTER INTERVIEW!

Interviewee: Chihiro Fujisaki (Danganronpa)

Portrayed by: @MalkyKaren (Twitter)

Bio: We've already covered many facets of Chihiro's personality in an earlier blog post. This androgynous tech wizard became the SHSL Programmer though persistent development of a computer AI which could recognize voice commands. This character's work aided us by providing deeper insight into how computer AI can function. Today we are looking at them on a more personal level.

On Demographics

Below are YouTube links to two songs. Please listen to both, then read on. You will be asked questions about what you listened to.

Unidentified Song A
Unidentified Song B

So what did you listen to? Well, if the album art didn't give it away, the first was a single by legendary rock group The B52s (if you think you've never heard of them, look up "Love Shack" and "Rock Lobster.") Odd that they would come out with a song geared so blatantly at children, though not exactly unheard of.

The second is a single by the pop group Westlife. It has a rather beautiful sound to it, and is something you could easily hear on adult hits radio station. If I asked you to purchase an album pertaining to one of those songs, you would most likely buy the one containing Song B.  Well congratulations, because you also just purchased Song A.

Both songs were featured on the soundtrack for "Pokemon: The Move 2000," released in July of that year. The movie is very obviously geared toward children, but its soundtrack makes it seem like it would easily be geared toward other age groups as well. Interesting, isn't it?

The problem is that we, as a society, try to lock people to content that is within their demographic. It's deemed peculiar for a child to have interests an adult would, and taboo for the inverse to occur. That said, it is rarely quite so clear-cut. Therefore, if you choose to disregard something by its cover alone, you are bound to miss out.

Content creators can take advantage of this by hybridizing their franchises, and providing content that is enjoyable by all ages. That they often choose not to is the real issue. Granted, this is not always possible (no matter how many 20+ year old men love My Little Pony, it's premise will always be predominately geared toward preteen girls). However, there are still many franchises which can.

Let's take a look back at the Pokemon example for a moment. Its premise is rather open: people travel the world, capture wild creatures, and engage in high stakes matches using said creatures. Outside of this is an entire geopolitical conflict of corrupt criminal organizations fighting for supremacy, using mythology to trigger cataclysms the world hasn't seen for millennia.

Yet the series still continues to portray this spirit of youthful idealism and parental-minded censoring. If it were to embrace the other side of the coin, to throw in ultimatums and themes of a bittersweet or more adult nature, it would gain depth and mature into something which opens doors for new demographics to explore. And who knows? Maybe someday it will.

But for now, all we can do as individuals is pick and choose the elements which best apply to our demographic. Hopefully, in understanding that multiple demographics can exist for a franchise, we can eliminate some of these peculiarities and taboos.

On Programming and Design

Programming is easy.

No, really; while a programming language may seem like alien hieroglyphs at first glance, in reality it is a lot like Calculus. And while that too seems like an alien construct, the truth is it is fundamentally simplistic (hence why it is so brilliant). Calculus, at its core, centers around the Derivative and the Anti-Derivative (also known as the Integral). There are many rules for deriving and anti-deriving, but once you've done it enough times you begin to realize that every problem really just focuses on one of those two concepts in some way. Thus, it becomes easy.

Programming too relies on mastering fundamental rules. Every function or series is simply a different combination of rather basic elements. All that changes are the inputs; the methods in which you generate outputs remain constant. Thus, once you've practiced enough times, it becomes an easy routine to carry out.

So, if programming is easy, then what can we say is truly difficult?