Category: technology

I Friggin’ Love Playlists

scarlettoharaLeave a comment

Everyone always has at least one moment in which they make a decision that completely upturns their life. What makes them notable, normally, is that they begin completely innocuously, like the decision to switch a class, to make small talk with a specific person, however you respond to them, and only later can that decision maker realize how a radical change to their life hinged on that one choice they didn’t see.

I may be able to call what I did around 3 years ago that sort of choice, but its payoff seems just as innocuously debilitating as its trigger. I saw a playlist on youtube, clicked on it, and listened to it while doing homework.

You might be compelled to laugh, but yes, it can be debilitating! Work moves like molasses if I’m not hearing sick beats, and hearing sick beats can make me less able to focus on what I need to. I’m not sure at this point if my habit slows me down or is the only way I can set my mind to anything vaguely smelling of labor. During regular classes it feels like I have to do anything else just to not lose my mind to the clouds, but nearly all teachers seem to misinterpret multitasking as a character flaw of the youth. I’ve become a Gen Z stereotype, technology has completely divorced my attention span from what organized society finds acceptable.

New Spotify & Apple Music Playlist Categories in Chartmetric

PC: Chartmetric

Toon blast

progstenLeave a comment

Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green blocks are all you need.

The rules are simple. Match two or more of the same color to complete the given task. Some call it an off-brand candy crush, and some call it the world’s greatest game. It is simple, but the simplicity of the game makes it fun.

About 4 years ago, my 8th-grade self made a decision that affected my life more than I could ever imagine.

As many in my generation go through, I bought many mobile games in my day, going from one form of short entertainment to another whenever I got bored. While this was an extremely unhealthy childhood, that’s not what this blog is about.

As another day passed, I got another ad on one of my many mobile games. Just as normal, I await for the x to appear in the top corner of the ad when I end up clicking on the ad on accident, causing the app store to open; the game that appeared was Toon Blast.

At first glance, I thought it was nothing more than an off-brand Candy Crunch, yet I decided to give it a try. So off I went, playing a new game like many times before. However, as I played more and more, I found myself spending much of my time on the game.

Eventually, time went on as I cleared level after level, reaching far into the 2, 3, 4, and even 5 thousand levels.

As I look at those thousands of levels cleared, the only thought I tend to have is if I have wasted part of my life on something inconsequential.

Probably so.

pc: https://play-lh.googleusercontent.com/gtbXJIRh-y3vS3885bqy-4y8noqfzFym7Ep47eoZuZs_6wd5lc4L0_sWp66lMmD7Olw

History of Los Angeles

leapingwaterLeave a comment

I recently came across this instagram account, which takes out pictures from old archives, specifically of Los Angeles (@ forgottenmadness_la). They pin down the exact location of where it was taken and often colorize them. These pictures come mostly from the early 1900s. They are particularly interesting to me because I grew up in Los Angeles, so to see how much the city has changed is really incredible. It looked like a completely different place (obviously), but its so crazy when I can actually recognize a building or where something was taken. In one video they posted you can even see the old apartment I used to live in. In general, the entire account is a great example of how much electronics and new technology have changed society.

pc:https://www.instagram.com/p/C2qVXN4v0cb/

Instagrams reels

progstenLeave a comment

The place where people go when they finally delete TikTok to try to make an effort to bring their screen time down. However, in semi-recent times, Instagram reels have become a place of true terror and horror. Now, I personally believe that TikTok is much more addicting than Instagram reels because their algorithm is better; however, I am not too sure if Instagram is better, honestly. While TikTok might make you spend 5 hours looking at stuff that you won’t remember or care about the moment you turn it off, Instagram reels will show you things that you will remember, but you don’t wish you did. Instagram has a pretty horrible filter that stops people from seeing horrible things on there. On Instagram reels, there is an absurd amount of people dying or getting attacked, mainly shown in car crash videos along with other videos that should not be shown, such as racist ideas/jokes. The reason why these videos don’t get taken down is that you are only seeing the car get crushed or the person fly out the window but not the person actually dying, and the racist jokes don’t get taken down because the algorithm can’t really tell what is racist and what isn’t so it relies on the judgment of the people watching the reels to report the things they see. However, because these videos have become so commonplace they often time they never get reported, but they get likes and shares because people have come to find these videos normal and funny. The main issue with all this is that these ideas and videos are becoming commonplace which reflects on the people. Even if they are jokes, they instill these views into people, which is obviously a horrible thing. Now, I’m not free of these videos, but it’s because I’ve seen so many that I know how big of an issue it is. If you go onto Instagram and read the comments of videos you will find some pretty horrible things.

pc : https://plugins-media.makeupar.com/smb/blog/post/2022-04-27/9839f784-3452-4e59-acc1-b929e3a4582f.jpg

Self-Driving Cars

leapingwaterLeave a comment

Advancements in technology are terrifying sometimes. Over the holiday break, my brother and I were shopping for Christmas presents when our mum told us that her friend was going to pick us up. What we didn’t know was that he ordered a self- driving car. I had never seen one of these in real life, but once the car started moving I actually felt scared. What if it had like a malfunction and didn’t stop for other cars or something??? My brother wasn’t scared by it whatsoever. As the car was driving us, people were staring, and were just as confused as I was. I’m very glad that we got to our destination quickly, but it was also cool to experience this.

pc:https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-03-05-at-3.56.40-PM.jpg

Typing…….

graypenguinLeave a comment

There are many things I would like to write about in this journal, but the reality is that not all of it is the kind of content that I would honestly show to the public. Every Friday comes around and I spend all day trying to wrap my head around what to write about, and the name of the blog. I can honestly say that I feel like I have already written most of it down.

Today I want to write about something I’ve been into lately. Before I came to this school, I had barely touched a computer. The computer I am using now is the first one I got in my life. To be honest, I feel like it is about to reach the end of its useful life, so I would like to get a new computer this winter break. Something that my roommate and I have been into lately is playing typing games. You get points for typing for 5 minutes. Before I came to this school, my highest score on that test was 32. But the other day, after a long time, I got 78 points. I think it is a big improvement for me. This skill will help me in many things in my life, both in my work and in my studies. I am now looking forward to my score going up a little bit at a time. My goal is to be able to do blind touching perfectly by the time I graduate.

ps;https://images.ctfassets.net/p0qf7j048i0q/Ye7XLtAQbu92riigoreTz/300f1f0104786bc5eda435cf8bf4e3e1/G1352603244.png?w=3840&q=75&h=3840&fm=webp

Driving

poofypuffyLeave a comment

When I was fifteen, I kept telling myself that I would have my license as soon as I turned sixteen. However, I didn’t start driver’s ed until I turned sixteen. I took months to start it, forget about it, and then finish it. I took the permit test two weeks ago, which was four months after I finished driver’s ed. However, I finally got behind the wheel and drove around a parking lot for the first time! Thirty seconds in I told my dad there was no way I would ever drive on the street. I don’t think I drove faster than ten mph at any point; the fact that people drive at seven times that speed every day baffles me. Driving reminded me that cars are completely operated by people (most of the time). Sitting in a car or seeing cars moving everywhere every day seems so natural and instinctive that everything almost seems automatic; it feels as if the cars move on their own the way that clouds or birds do.

Picture Credit: Darwin Vegher

My crippling addiction

progstenLeave a comment

A little over a year ago, I was introduced to something that would come to change my life, probably for the worse. At first, I thought it was something innocent and fun, however, it turned sour and harmful very fast. You might be wondering now what this addiction could possibly be. Is it alcohol? Is it vaping? Is it hard drugs? No. It’s Stardew Valley. Now Stardew Valley is a simple 2D game that is a fun and chill game to play where you can farm, forge, mine, fish, befriend villagers, and other calm and relaxing activities, but Progen, how could this chill and relaxing game ruin your life? I HAVE NO IDEA WHY. for some god-forsaken reason, I can not stop playing that stupid game no matter how hard I try it’s physically impossible i am just addicted to the small dopamine I get for completing the quest or when doing another task in the game. I really need to stop because my grades are slipping because of that game along with my mental health. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=stardew+valley+chicken&tbm=isch&chips=q:stardew+valley+chicken,g_1:transparent:wmKub7x8GBw%3D&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS974US975&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjM3NSxpaGCAxVINkQIHejZA10Q4lYoAHoECAEQKg&biw=1600&bih=884#imgrc=DmoVHJCCoQQr8M

Organizing Music

fishfaceshawtyLeave a comment

I have gotten into a lot of discussions recently about the best way to organize one’s music library. This discussion goes beyond the typical Apple Music vs Spotify discussion. While that discussion is equally important, there is a right answer (the right answer being Spotify). The discussion of what is the best way to organize music is open-ended and transcends the void of the preferred listening platform. That is unless you use a platform like Pandora, a radio station, and if you use Pandora, I will respectfully avoid interactions with you.


I organize music by just shuffling my liked songs. This is mainly inefficient. Unless I find new music consistently, I end up listening to the same songs way too often. Also, when I play music while hanging out with friends, I have to put a lot of attention into making sure the music fits the “vibe”. I used to organize music by having one playlist for every day of the week, and while this worked for me, once again my playlists did not always fit the “vibe” of hangouts due to the mixed-up genres.

Probably the more efficient way of organizing music is having one playlist of all the songs I like, which I would listen to while driving or working by myself. Then I would have a few playlists of some different “vibes”; like summer beach days, light night vibes, or just chilling. Which would allow me to have more versatility when playing the role of DJ.

Photo Credit: Me

FIFA

navraj22Leave a comment

My favorite video game series ever is FIFA. I grew up playing the career mode and play nows against my cousins, so playing today reminds me of those times. I remember once, my cousin played me when I was 8 and he kept the ball the whole game, scoring at the last minute of each half. I cried the whole time, but he blocked the door and wouldn’t let me stop playing.

Anyways, in the 10 years since then, I have grown up with FIFA. I moved from career mode to online seasons in FIFA 17 and switched to the ultimate team in FIFA 22. I play in my free time and I played all summer, so I got really good this year, but when school started, I realized I couldn’t play because the wifi at my grandparents was so bad. Solely playing on the weekends didn’t suffice, I needed a solution.

That’s when I realized I could play at school during free periods. Since that realization, I have been playing on the college counseling room tv during all my frees and have been doing homework at home instead of during frees.

I am excited for school to be out so I can play FIFA all year. Here is a photo of my ultimate team’s best player’s card.

PC: Futwiz