Bring your Own Planets (BYOP)

So Kepler has found 715 more planets. Or they have found 715 more planets within the data they already had. Either way this brings the total to a whopping 1,750 planets that we know of beyond our solar system. OK, that's great. But what most people might be asking is, "what exactly does that mean? Furthermore, what precisely does that mean for me?"

Planetary Potluck.. BYOP (Bring your Own Planet)

We humans are a strange, strange species. For a very long time during our past history we actively searched out people who spoke out against the existence of a supernatural being that created everything on the planet. We persecuted scientists who said that the Earth was round and that it was not the center of the universe but rather that it rotated around the Sun!

In a short period of time however we have sure come a long way. From what I just described to us actually having a telescope in space, orbiting around the planet, searching for others. It truly is amazing. So now that we have this information, what next? That is just it. At this point the count of these planets is just information. We really do not have any other info about them like their size or what their made of. Are they like Earth or are they like Venus or Mars? We really don't know.

Because of the way we found these planets it is really hard to tell. But don't let that make you think we had other options. Honestly, I think the way these planets were found was probably the best way to do it considering what we were working with. These planets were found using a method that, to make it as simple as possible, basically the telescope watches a particular star and waits to see if the light from that star dims at all because something passed in front of it. When something passes in front of it, the amount that the light dims can tell us something about what is passing in front of it. So to can the rate at which it happens. All of these things put together, and done on a massive scale and for a long period of time is how Hubble found these planets.

So here we are. We have all of these planets and we know very little about them. So we can go back to that original question. What does this mean for us? In my opinion it means a lot. Consider Galileo. Yea, he is the guy that was persecuted for saying the Earth was round and that we rotate around the Sun. When you consider what he knew in his time and what we know in ours, the difference is tremendous. Yet, in the grand scheme of things, the amount of time that has passed between his age and ours is minuscule. On a cosmic scale it is an amount of time that is barely even noticed.

Regardless of how small it is or isn't we are here now and we are living in that period of time. So it is up to us to do something with it. Consider further what is happening in our day and age. Look at all the technology that we have and what we are doing with it. A quick example. My 9 year old daughter. She is the youngest of three. She got her first phone a month ago. Might be a bit young, I know, but we have our reasons and this is not the topic of conversation anyway. Back to the point. My daughter has a cell phone that she knows how to use every inch of. What does this mean?

Back in the 1960's the technology that she holds in her hands is more than the government would have trusted to the average soldier. It is more than most intelligence or counterspy agents had. Yet today it is not only in  the hands of children but used by millions of people across the globe. In addition the technology in these phones, as great as it is, pales in comparison to the tech found in anything that is considered "high tech" for today's age. Where am I going with this?

How much have you paid attention to the general "news and information" of the space industry these days? Let me give you a quick crash course. The government run programs have cut budgets in a big way and have essentially re-purposed themselves and what their main goals are. The private space industry has grown from one company to multiple companies. Each of them have a stake in our future. That is after all where all this is leading. Just as in the past with Galileo, his discoveries were all about where the human race could go with the new knowledge. Where will we go with our new knowledge?

The planets that we have found and continue to find are all too far away at the moment to do anything about. But to me, this is what we need. We need something that will push science to create a way for us to travel through space faster. Our biggest stumbling block in space exploration is the distances we must travel and the time it would take to do so. Planets, galaxies, and everything in space is hundred of light years away from us. In order for us to go and really explore anything we need to be able to travel much faster than we have the means to currently. This is not easy science.

So out of all of the things that we have recently discovered in space, the planets are among the most interesting. They are because they provide us with a way to increase our reach. They provide us with a way to secure our future. We must at some point face the fact that our time on this planet is limited. Eventually there will be a natural disaster that will be big enough to be an extinction event. It happened to the dinosaurs and it will happen to us. It is a fact and all that stands between us and it is time.

So what are we to do? We cannot fight it and we cannot prevent it. Those who are able to survive whatever it turns out to be will be able to rebuild our society but in order to do that they must survive. The only way to do that is to not be on Earth when it takes place. I know this sound a bit strange and maybe even pretty far-fetched. But consider the facts for a moment. Yellowstone National Park. The park is basically a huge super-volcano. This is a scientific fact! They have also discovered that over the lifetime of the planet the super-volcano has erupted multiple times and it happens about every 100,000 years or so. At this point it is over-due.

This is only one example. There are a number of other extinction-type events that could take place at any point. So we should be somewhat prepared and the only way for us to do that is to find another home. It might seem a bit "out there" but it is our only choice. Besides that it is also something that everything is leading up to anyway. All of our space exploration and space travel all leads to one eventual outcome and that is to colonize another planet. It will happen at some point and it is one of those things that in every way is a positive for our species.

So these planets that we are looking for and finding, we should recognize that this is but the first step in our space evolution. We are evolving into a race of people that will explore space and eventually find a new place to call home. As we continue to progress through our evolution and generation after generation continue to move into the future we will find more about these and other planets in our galaxy. Hopefully we will then have the ability to travel to them to explore them further. Hopefully we will have used these planets as a reason to build the means to travel through space at a pace that allows for a timely exploration of these and any other planets we can find. We will need to because our planet has a lifespan just like any other living thing. Eventually it will die and I surely hope that we have a place to go when that happens.

PS4 Headset Companion App Upload Help

Looking for a way to get your sound profiles uploaded to the headset? Look No Further!

Quick informational post for all those looking for a way to get the PS4 Headset Companion App working. At the moment there is not a whole lot of information available.

I tried all the various ways to get this thing to work and sadly it took me about 30 minutes to get it to work as it was advertised. That is not good at all. This should be a quick 1 minute process.

Basically it gives you the opportunity to have a customized sound file for various games or actions you are performing on the system when using the headset. I have the Gold Headset but this should also work with the Pulse and possibly Elite as well.

Here is the bad part about all this and something that Sony really needs to fix. When updating (uploading) sound files from whatever choices you are making from the app menu, you would assume that you could do so while using the headset wirelessly. This is how it should be. However, this is not the case. The headset MUST be plugged in to the system in order to get it to work/upload.

Another point to keep in mind. Plugging the headset in with the charging cable or another micro-USB will not work. At least from my quick testing it had to be the shot cable that originally came with the headset. Why? Not sure.. I was not even aware that these were coded somehow. Anyway.. more on that later.

So you have to plug the headset in. Turn it off and then back on again. I also turned the app off as well just for giggles. Not sure if this matters, but the headset themselves should be power-cycled for sure. After doing that I went back to  the Companion App and clicked on "Shooter" which is the profile I wanted. The corner of the "Shooter" page/icon folded over and then I went over to the left to highlight the Upload portion of the icon. I clicked the X button on the controller and it finally said "Upload Complete"!!

While this is a method that is sure to work, I am not sure if there are any alternate ones out there. As of the time of this writing this is the only way to get it going as I looked through Reddit and a couple other places for info and there was none to be found. At least none that were too helpful anyhow. If you have any questions/comments feel free. I will help if I can. Good Luck. Enjoy.

PS4 Hideaway

Another few days have gone by with not so much as a peep out of me.

Sorry folks, I have recently purchased a Playstation 4 and it was something that I had been waiting for since its launch back in November. As an avid gamer since I was 12 this is not something that I could have avoided. That is, the prolonged absence from all normal resemblance of life. I basically just emmersed myself in the virtual world that is the Playstation Network.

I must say there are quite a few features that I am impressed with and even though it pains me to say it, a couple that I am not so impressed with. My biggest disappointment in the system is the lack of ability to insert a flash drive and copy/play my own video and sound files. From what I hear it may be something that is added in a later update but I will not hold my breath. The latest DRM talk from both camps (Sony and Microsoft) is not to promising. Seems everybody wants to keep what they have.

Anyway, more on that later. I am sure at some point I will put out a couple articles related to this topic. So stay tuned. For now, I have a couple articles in the works with a bit more practical meat on its bones. They should be posted soon. Maybe even later today. Until then, there are ome life-matters that require catching up on.

Tony Out!

Struggles of a Writer Struggling to Write

We all find, unwillingly, the hardships and obstacles to doing whatever it is that we do. For some being a painter is difficult because you cannot find others who share your vision. If you are a lawyer you are undoubtedly disliked by those you oppose. If you work in an office by day and care for your children at night it can seem that everybody is against you. If you are a writer, you are no more or less than anyone else, but just like other professions or hobbies they all come with a unique set of obstacles.

If you are a writer it will seem like nobody you love or call a friend, not even your spouse, will read your work. It can sometimes seem like a cat taking a bath. The water will not hurt the feline. As a matter of fact, the cat might be better for having taken the bath, yet it fights and struggles against doing so. Just like trying to get my wife to read my daily blog posts or something else that I have written.

One of the bigger obstacles that a writer will face is that of the daily duties. Things like taking out the garbage or washing the dishes. All of these things conspire against the writer if only to keep him or her away from the keyboard for half a day. There are times where taking the dog for a 2nd or 3rd walk for the day can seem like a great break from the days work. Either way, taking a "break" means that there must be work getting accomplished to take a "break" from. Sometimes there is nothing getting done. No words written, no sentences typed. When this is the case a few chores or tedious household tasks might acceptable, but not welcomed.

Finding that we are being kept away from our writing or even that we have walked away from it is another hardship for the writer. Sometimes the previously mentioned struggles can lead to a writer  taking a step away from their work. Sure, this is both good and bad and it all works on a balance kept by the writer. Sometimes the ability to balance is not there and it all falls apart. Yet for those who have the ability to balance it all it can become too easy to just stay right there. Never moving, never changing.

The struggle to proceed to where you know what is next is the hardest of them all for some. 

Distractions, self-loathing, ego, fear, or time can all get in one's way. Figuring out how to move past this can be done but it is difficult when you will not allow yourself to do so. It is very easy to let all of this and what others have said get in the way of taking further steps. A writer struggles with all of these things in an effort to put words in motion. We sometimes look too deeply at something trying to find a meaning that is either not there or that others cannot see. But for this we will often let everything else pass by. And for what?

For a writer living through life, time is precious. There is so little time to try and formulate intelligent thought around the sometimes chaotic ones in our heads. When we are able to push everything else aside for that moment and get it written in a way that we can present those thoughts to others it is magic. We have accomplished what we set out to accomplish. It does not happen too often. For some it comes in multiple pieces during multiple moments, and for others only once or twice. Regardless of which happens for you, you must capture it if you can. The struggles will always be there, they are for everybody. Some say hardships and struggle can mold the individual. Do you need further construction?

Writing, just like anything else can be difficult. However, just like everything else in life it is only as hard as we make it. Yet, we cannot just make life fit around writing because there is no longer a balance and the material will reflect that. We must live life with all its hardships and all the things that make being a writer so hard. That is because life itself is not easy and it is the struggles that make every other moment we have worth living and worth telling others about in our writing.