Minecraft: CTF

frog3Leave a comment

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Like most of you I like Minecraft and find myself getting lost in the thrill of imagining and creating. This can get tedious at times, occasionally I wish for a more linear gaming experience. The people of Minecraft PVP have solved this issue Minecraft style.

Minecraft PVP is a site, which creates IP Addresses that host nine different PVP modes. Today we will be looking at Capture the Flag or CTF for short.

In Minecraft CTF the players are divided into two teams, the Red team and the Blue team. The objective of CTF is to capture the other teams flag while defending yours. Lets take a look at the free Kits Minecraft PVP provides for you.

Each player who enters a Minecraft CTF server is given four free and basic kits. These kits are: Archer, Heavy, Medic, and Soldier.

The Archer Kit allows the player to attack the enemy from a distance. The Archer Kit equips the player with a: Chain Helmet, Chain Chestplate, Chain Leggings, and Chain Boots. The Archer Kit gives the player an Iron Sword, an Enchanted Bow, 128 arrows, four Steaks and a Compass.

The Heavy Kit lets the player effectively defend the flag and tank for other players. The Heavy Kit equips the player with a: Diamond Helmet, Diamond Chestplate, Diamond Leggings, and Diamond Boots. The Heavy Kit gives the player a Diamond Sword, three steaks and a Compass.

The Medic Kit lets the player support their team through healing and delaying. The Medic Kit gives the player two unique abilities that aids in these task.

The 1st ability is the Medic’s healing; if the Medic hits an ally with its sword that ally is healed. The 2nd ability is extremely annoying and effective, the Medic has Cobwebs when placed down and touched by an enemy that enemy is slowed down.

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“LOVING HIM WAS RED”

eternity1030Leave a comment

After almost two years since her last album Speak Now, my favorite American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift FINALLY released her fourth studio album called “RED” on October 22, 2012 through Big Machine Records.

I have been waiting for so long for this brand new album. And there are 16 songs in this album which are led by the lead song – “We are never ever getting back together”.

The song soon became a worldwide commercial success and the top of the iTunes charts all over the world and sold sold 623,000 copies in the first week!!

“I wrote a song called ‘Red,'” said Swift. “Thinking about what that means to me and all the different emotions that are written about on this album, they’re all pretty much about the kind of tumultuous, crazy, insane, intense, semi-toxic relationships that I’ve experienced in the last two years . . . There’s nothing beige about any of those feelings, so I called the record Red.”

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My Brother

displacedlocalLeave a comment

My brother and I have a unique relationship.
I was disapproving when we first met
When we were little kids my brother and I had a very…violent relationship. We often fought about everything, from who got the last pretzels(A joy I have now because he no longer can eat wheat) to who won in basketball.

Games often ended in loud arguments and we had bitter conversations often. This stayed this way until middle school.


Though there were a lot of good times too

In 2008 my brother first took me to fairfax and La Brea in Beverly hills. On La Brea lies one of my favorite stores, Undefeated. We walked and talked and my interest in sneakers was brought back.

Throughout high school we would often talk about street wear, cars, and sneakers. We would talk about what we found to be the best sneaker of all time. A Title that the Black/Cement Jordan 3 currently holds.

We would play basketball and we would go and make trips to Undefeated, Supreme, and Union.

Slowly I got closer to the point where he would have to go off to college.

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App Review: 9 Colonies

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Hello. As anyone who goes to OVS knows gaming has been banned in the dorms. There is a grayish area however (More of a ignorable area). iPhone Apps, more specifically iPhone Games can be amazing.

A great strategic game for iOS is 9 Colonies. 9 Colonies is a simple real time strategy game developed by XOR Gaming.

It is the year 2180 and humanity has expanded to all nine planets in the solar system.  Each of the nine planets vies for control of the solar system and the rest of humanity. Your job is simple, join a planet, conquer other planets, and unite the solar system.

 9 Colonies has an interesting mechanic to keep track of players progress. Although the date of 9 Colonies begins on 2180time moves forward via an in game weekly calendar.

For example if a player wanted to research a STARBASE, a planet defense upgrade, that research might take the player five weeks. Or if a player needed to invade another planet it might take them ten weeks to travel there. XOR Gaming put in place this clever mechanic to make the player understand there is a price to every ship they build, every structure they construct, and every technology they research.

The more advanced your colony and technology is the more likely you will be able to defeat your enemies. However as you upgrade your arsenal and planet’s defenses your enemy does the same. To make the game more difficult XOR Gaming implemented three critical attributes that the player must manage.

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Captain Apathy

smackyjackjackLeave a comment

Captain Apathy was in his Lair of Indifference when the apathy meter went in to overdrive.

“Good lord!” The Captain said as he read the meter.  “The museum is on fire! I’m going to make myself a sandwich.”

After Captain Apathy ate his sandwich he took a lackadaisical stroll down to the museum.

“Captain Apathy!” The museum curator said. “Where have you been?! The museum is almost gone!!”

“Meh.” Grunted the Captain.

“Well, are you going to do anything to save what’s left?” The curator said.

“I mean…I could.”

“Well would you?!”

“Ughhhhhhhhh, FINE.”

Captain Apathy slowly walked towards the almost burnt down museum.

“Hurry up Captain!! Try to save the Picassos!” The curator turned to his assistant. “Dammit, why couldn’t this town have gotten a normal superhero?”

Captain Apathy stumbled through the flames into the lobby of the Museum. He looked at the map to see how to get to the art wing, but saw directions to the food wing instead.

“Ooh! Food wing!”

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Star Trails.

eternity1030Leave a comment

Stars and the galaxy are things that attract photographers. After seeing a few pictures of star trailing photography, one of my friends fell in love with the beautiful circles the stars draws. And soon I found that it is actually really interesting.

Star trailing is basically shooting a picture with a very long exposure time at night. While the sky is being exposed, the earth will rotate but the stars will not. Therefore, the light of the stars are captured by the camera over time and the light will draw curly lines or semi-circles.

Creating star trail images is a fun technique that can occur a lot of different results depending on the shooting location, foreground objects and number of visible stars. While the technique can be simple, proper setup and then proper post-shooting preparations are very essential.

Shooting star trail pictures requires a camera with a tripod in order to make the lens steady. The camera should not move at all during the shooting process. Find north and aim the frame at that direction to get a centered and circle shaped star trail. Set the camera to a very low ISO and long a exposure time to shoot, and it works even better if the camera has a bulb mode.

Due to the length it requires to shoot the star trails, make sure there are not any moving objects around that may run into the frame, because they may mess up the whole picture. Control other light sources and be sure not to let any other light come into the frame except the stars. Set the focus to infinity so that star trails will be sharp and clear.

Charge the battery to full,  then put on warm clothes and begin shooting tonight !!!

Thanksgiving Break

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

Tomorrow is the final day before Thanksgiving Break, and the school is riddled with anticipation. A suitcase sitting in the hallway of the dorm, flight plans being turned in… The school is packing up.

For me, Thanksgiving break is the first time I get to see my brothers, after three months of eery calmness from not having them around.

Thanksgiving break is also a time for me to see my dad, and for us to spend time as a family.

This Thanksgiving, our plans our secret. My dad has sorted out one of his “Papa Adventures,” and according to him it will be the biggest one yet. I’m excited, but you know. It’ll either be really good or really bad. Hopefully it’s the former.

Last Thanksgiving break was a bit of a nightmare. My mom took me and my brothers down to Denver for my brother’s hockey tournament. Spending a week in a hotel room with two little brothers is NOT fun. Emphasis on the not.

For one, they don’t feel the need to have any sort of manners, whatsoever, when around me. It’s just lovely. The hotel room did not smell good by the end of the week.

I’m excited about this Thanksgiving because even though we will all be in a hotel room, we won’t be at a hockey tournament. Which is a huge improvement.

And as soon as I know what the “Papa Adventure” is, I’ll let you know.

The Pressure of Dreams

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

For those of you who don’t know, I wrote a blog a little while ago called “My Best Friend.” The subject of the blog is my horse, Time, who is indeed my best friend. He listens to me, whether he wants to or not, and doesn’t pass judgment.

A couple weeks ago, Time and I participated in a Don Sachey clinic. It was extremely fun, and also very frustrating.

My horse does this thing sometimes, where he locks his neck and basically makes it impossible for me to do anything with him.

It makes me want to stomp my feet and scream. Almost like I’m four years old again.

But that’s beside the point. Riding has always been an escape for me, a time when I don’t have to face the reality that is everyday life. I’ve been riding since I was two, and my dream has always been to go the Olympics with it.

WIth those kind of dreams, it’s hard to escape the pressure that accompanies them.

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Choices Follow Up

callmemaybe32Leave a comment

So I was thinking again yesterday, occasionally it can be dangerous when I do that, but it wasn’t, it rather was quite productive.

I went home and turned on the TV and was looking for some sport to watch being as the NHL is STILL locked out… cough* cough* Bettman (still waiting).

Any who, I saw something called “A Football Life” and turned it on.

It is a series who follows a different player every week, but it shows their life through the season.

Yesterday’s episode was featuring Ray Lewis, “the Ravens 16 year defensive soul,” as the show called him.

He is actually someone I can admire and look up to.

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Skyfall

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

This weekend, I went over to my friends house. Friday night we got our nails done, Saturday we went shopping. It was so much fun, and the perfect weekend. It felt amazing to get off campus, even if it was just for a little while.

But on Sunday, we spent hours trying to figure out what to do. We wanted to go to Ventura to see a movie, but there was no one to drive us.

So we ended up going to the Ojai Playhouse instead, to see the new James Bond movie, Skyfall.

Skyfall is different from the other James Bond in that the characted is flawed. Bond is not the super-hero agent, invincible and undeterable, but instead has a hinderance, which repeatedly gets in his way.

Instead of ruining the Bond character, this flaw instead made him more relatable and personable to the audience. Bond went from the unattainable “perfect” human being, to one of us with mad spy skills.

Another great aspect of the film was the bad guy, Silva. He plays an almost Joker-like character. He was also incredibly smart, and creepily evil. It would not surprise me to see him appear in a little kids nightmare.

The film focused more on the characters within, and creating personalities for them, instead of using an outside issue, which can be both good an bad.

For one, it makes the film a bit more believable. On the other hand, one may wonder if they are perhaps running out if ideas for the legendary 007.

One more aspect of the movie which I will point out are the opening credits. Normally when they appear on the scene I groan, and get antsy. Although I did do this at first, my attention was quickly captured by what was playing before me.

They used the setting so perfectly in the opening credits, and the transition went so smoothly from the first scene, that it seemed almost as if it were an extension of what had just taken place.

The pictures fade in and out, creating a sense of mystery, intrigue, and danger. The occasional provocative woman’s body reminds the viewer of thee famous, and possibly even infamous, Bond girl. The opening credits were remarkable.

All in all, Skyfall was a great movie, one that I highly recommend you watch.