Undead Discussion

First off, let me scare you by saying zombies are probably the most plausible thing I have mentioned. Take rabies for example, rabies patients begin to lose their mind and bite others, which transfers the disease. The only thing that keeps rabies at bay is that theres treatment and it is really hard to spread. But that doesn't mean the disease cannot evolve making it spread much easier leading to worldwide pandemics.

So lets say a worldwide outbreak of a zombie like infection occurs, what next? The government would obviously intervene. I assume the most logical thing to do is evacuate the cities, then bomb them, depending on how out of hand things are. If things are too bad in the United States there is a military base basically inside of a mountain. It is protected by a huge door and has tons of firepower inside, to me that sounds like the best place to be. And the soldiers who are stationed in places like that have to feel extremely safe, considering they are in modern day castles and fortresses.

With all of the commotion about Ebola outbreaks lately it needs to be said that occurrences like this are highly unlikely. An outbreak of catastrophic proportions like the Black Plague would be hard to reach with all the knowledge modern medicine has. If your worried a second Plague is afoot know that people in those times threw fecal matter onto roadsides, rarely washed their hands, or bathed entirely for that matter, and rarely washed any tools either, including surgical equipment... but they had no idea thats what caused it. But its basic knowledge that eating that spoiled meat is going to make you sick today and you have modern medical practices to thank for that. So to wrap up, an outbreak is probably not going to happen, but if history repeats itself and we live like pigs, than don't blame me because I told you better!

Bayer04

After a 7 game win streak, the tie to Köln feels more like a loss. With Calhanoglu missing his penalty, it feels like a missed opportunity to stay in the top three spots. Leverkusen faces off against big dogs Bayern Munich next and if they lose that they fall 5 points behind Gladbach. Its not the ideal situation to be in but hopefully the good form they were in can rub off on that upcoming game. Papa the centerback taking over after Spahic's sad departure is out for 3 months on injury, so the back 4 will be alittle worrisome, and if a team is to bear Bayern, they need top form. After getting hit with this realization from the Köln game, maybe we will see them rise up like a Phoenix, either that or they stay down where they are. I imagine the players will be thinking the same thing. Champions league is important to all teams, and if they want a sure way in, they need to grab back that 3rd spot on the table. After losing in penalties to Athletico Madrid, they are going to want thier shot at Europeans finest to show what team they have become. Admittedly better than they were at the beginning of the season, they still have alittle more to go, in order to reach the peak of this mountain.

Sports Changes

Soccer and football are something most of the world likes together. They have been around for over 100 years and I wonder what the future holds for sports in general. Will we have something new develope like Podracing in Star Wars or something more chill and less... Dangerous?. Looking into news on sports lately, a lot of changes and questions revolve around the safety role in sports. The rise in safety concerns isn't due to these sports being safer, rather the reason is it's easier to detect problems or health damage. If anything sports have gotten safer over the years. Look at football uniforms from 20-30 years ago and compare them to now. They are much more bulky and padded than before. Over time, sports will inevitably get safer just because of better health practices and treatments. But with them possibly being a problem, could it lead to something else playing the sport. With robotic advancements possibly the future would have Robot fighting sports, like Real Steel. Without having to pay contracts to robots like human players, it would be cheaper, it also eliminates the health concern, plus it would be cool to watch. But if mankind devolves into madness or some economic depression hits us, leaving us to worry about more important things like food on the table and not about others bruises and scratches, then possibly we could get some interesting Jabba the Hutt mobster sports...

VR and Rambling

A virtual reality. As if it were real life but in something like a videogame or movie, anything virtual, it lets you feel like youre actually there. Technology like the Oculus Rift which augment your vision so when you look around in real life, you look around in the game. Its just a helmet with a screen in it that displays the game, alone I dont see much of a future for the Oculus Rift because it doesn't quite blow television away, alone at least. But think of the possibilities if we combine that with a 360 degree treadmill. I'm honestly not quite sure what the actual name is for these devices but they are a treadmill you can run in any direction. Not much work has been done in this area, and it is really quite obvious. If you find pictures of it online it looks like a baby chair and I'm sure would feel equally ridiculous to use as is appears. So as long as nobody ever sees you using this it is the coolest thing ever...

I hope in my lifetime technology can reach the peak of virtual reality. I want to be able to go home from work and get immersed in a game literally. I could get sucked into the game and run around inside of another, more interesting, more engaging world. Not to mentions the benefits of this compared to modern day gaming. If the treadmill does end up being used, imagine the health benefits. Gaming sessions can last hours at a time and if your running around for hours it would make the ideal "gamer" much more fit, while at the same time making running and working out that much more interesting. Multiple studies have shown that videogames along with relieving stress, also help brain function and activity. Combine that with now physical fitness and gaming would be quite the recreational activity. That is probably the outcome I look forward to the most about this. Gaming has such a negative connotation with most people. When you say I'm a gamer to someone, the general population begins to think, "lazy", "stupid", "slacker", or/and "obnoxious". Although those stereotypes are true for some of the more, vocal gamers, it isn't true for all. My group of friends and I are all gamers and we are straight A kids with jobs, and although sometimes we wish games could be a priority it never is over our work. Gaming is growing and with that the stereotype will decrease, and if gamers become the majority, they also become the smartest and most fit aswell. I'm just waiting for the day when I can 'step out of the shadows' if you will and not hide behind my other interests in hope that people don't think negatively about my true pass-time. A time where all of us can come out of the dark and talk publically about the new Halo game or the unreal trailer for The Division or that incredibly card draw in Hearthstone, that will be the day...

Affordable Spaceships

Sadly, we live in a time where space travel isn't something that is available to anyine. It also isnt a fast or efficient way of transportation, but I want to know, when will the public become able to fly through space, as simply as driving on Earth...

This is a pretty insane concept and idea, just because of how little we are actually prepared for space travel. Think about air travel like planes. You need certain permits to fly a private plane, there are restricted areas that are no fly zones, and other similar issues that arise, but at least there are laws. If space travel somehow got to the average middle class person or even just a couple thousand rich guys, it would be chaos. There are little to no laws in space so what happens if one of the space ships go around and break all the satellites and TV for thousands is out. Is it illegal, if so, who's laws are they breaking? American laws, German laws, Turkish laws? Does the UN punish them? It is a very open ended question that doesn't really have an exact answer. So we really aren't ready for the future like this. Maybe there should be no laws in space because there is little to no way of enforcing any laws in space. All of this is just something to think about because a future like this really isn't as far away as it seems.

Rogue One

It has been a decade since the last Star Wars movie, episode III. There has been a Star Wars 'drought' if you will, but like the prequels did, a new trilogy is bringing Star Wars back, again. This time, it comes back with even more. Disney is taking their newly acquired property and running with it. Along with the new trilogy, Disney has announced that multiple spin-offs are planned, including the newly announced Rouge One.

 Rouge One is supposed to feature the famous Rouge Squadron from episode IV, and have little to do with the main cast at all, hence it being a spin-off. It's exciting to get to dive into these new sections of the Star Wars universe we have not been familiarized with yet. It would be sad if in the end if Disney's episode VII flops, making all of these planned movies do worse, but ill keep thoughts like that away for now. 

Think about what this means for Star Wars in general though. Think of any area of Star Wars you want to dive deeper into, but know it's not enough for a major movie. There have been rumors of a Boba Fett spin-off, which would be incredible, since he is hardly in the movie. Other cool spin-offs could be Darth Maul, Count Dooku, or even as simple as life as an average Stormtrooper would be really interesting. With this in mind, I am carefully, cautiously, hyped... I don't want my hopes to be incredibly crushed when Disney doesn't deliver, but thats not to say they are destined to fail. The way of going about all this new Star Wars news and rumors is simple. Don't dive in, don't expect something that is impossible, just expect nothing. If the prequels taught us anything, it's that we need to expect nothing going in, so everything good about the movie is a bonus, and if it is bad, we don't feel robbed. It's hard be calm, to not board that hype train. But I promise it's not taking you anywhere you want to go.

Halo Today

If you know anything about science fiction, or videogames, or most likely both, than you know Halo. If you don't than get out. Close this window and/or look up what it is because A. I don't have the time to explain EVERYTHING, and B. Its awesome and you should know about it. Ill give you a little info... In Halo humanity has created super soldiers named Spartans. They are incredibly strong, quick, and deadly. And these guys are needed to fight aliens, so they gotta be good.

Spartans are genetically modified, and that is how they are incredible at all attributes. In Halo, this Spartan program is seriously ethnically and morally wrong because the Spartans were basically kidnapped as children and turned into soldiers. In the world we live in it would be morally wrong as well obviously but it begs the question, can Spartans be made? And if they could be, would humanity react the same way?

To answer the first question, yes, they can most definitely be created. Getting a really buff guy on steroids makes him stronger than the normal human. Combine that with Exo-suits modern scientists have been working on and we have a close similarity. It isn't quite battling the Covenant in space ready but still, it's an improvement on the modern soldier. But if they did exist in our world it would most likely be the way I previously described it. Our government's PR would have no excuse to back up why they kidnapped innocent children and trained them to be super soldiers, no matter what it was for. People would get enraged that the government has that kind of power, and they wouldn't be wrong in doing so. Many people are upset already with things like the NSA "spying" on them, even if it is for their own good. But to contrast with the popular opinion, creating these immoral super soldiers could end up being a necessary evil in order to keep humanity alive. My thoughts on this are, if a small sacrifice has to be made to save more, or that the pros do outweigh the cons, than take that chance. Nobody can be that selfish in saying their life or their child's life is more important than the human race as a whole. For this reason I'm going to have to side with the Spartan program, that I would hope humanity could muster up a fighting force like that. Wouldn't you feel safer, knowing we are prepared for a massive alien force, like humanity having a card up it's sleeve you didn't know about.

Traveling in a New Dimension

Time travel is something a lot of movies play around with. But time travel is nothing to play with in reality. It can influence the past, influencing the future, and present. If we go back in time, we could mess up the present. If we go forward in time, there is so much unknown that it would be extremely dangerous. So obviously it is a risky and dangerous idea in general. But, plenty of movies capture what would be wrong with time travel, think about it. There isn't a lot of time travel movies where the time travelers don't end up in some sort of predicament, I guess it wouldn't be interesting if they traveled back in time and everything went according to plan anyway.

So what is the point of time travel in general. Well, travelling back in time would be used to study history, prevent something historic from happening, or for self gain, kind of like the plot in Back to the Future movies. Honestly it wouldn't be that hard to make a living traveling back in time. If you just brought your cell phone back to the early 1900's it would amaze everyone. Go back any farther and it might scare people, some may call you a witch and burn you for your cell phone. But dangerous problems also arrive when traveling to the future. How do you know when you travel forward in time, Earth will even be there. What if aliens came with a death star and blew Earth up. You would have a giant problem as your gasping for air out in space.

But that brings me to my next point/problem/confusion about time travel. Say I traveled forward in time, 2 years. Assuming the time machine works the year would be 2016. But where would I be in 2016. When I came out of time travel am I where I was when I began traveling, because with Earths orbit I wouldn't be in the EXACT spot I was, again, I would be floating in space dying. So if a machine were to exist, we would need to make it place you on Earth, but even at that what if you time traveled back in time and you were placed inside of a building that used to be standing there. Not inside the building like in a room, but inside the wall of a building, or ceiling, or floor.

All of this is the confusion I have with time travel in general, and if you know the answers then go ahead and tell me. In my opinion, I hope that time travel never does exist, because if it did, all of these problems are a concern. But if you think about it, if time travel did exist, wouldn't someone from the future have traveled to the past at one point. Maybe there is a rule against it, or maybe, people from the future visit us all the time, we just don't know it. As long as they dressed the part for walking about in 1814 or 2014, there would be no way of telling where they came from, or WHEN they came from.

Flying without wings

I was shown some pretty cool cutting edge technology lately that the engineers are working on today. One thing that impressed me the most was a new display a mechanical engineer mentioned. They were on the subject of light displays like LCD/LED's and such. One said that there is work being made on making those into a heads up display, HUD. They are becoming small enough to bend and make round, we are already seeing this in newer, rounded, TVs. But that kind of technology is being put into a helmet. With said helmet on, the lights could project a virtual image of your surroundings. He gave the impression that there would be cameras mounted on the sides of planes and when flying, the image is brought up on your helmet and boom, youre flying through the air. Obviously this wouldnt be used on commercial airlines but more in the lines of fighter pilots. This would give an easier line of sight while flying and more awareness.

It would be cool to get the sense of flying at the same time, like truly flying through the air. Can you imagine, obviously it wouldn't be for the lighthearted, but technology like this could let us live lives that we never could before, simulating flying would be insane! Almost like Total Recall where you can get memories of doing something, but you didn't actually do it.

Real Life Interstellar

For years we now we have been going up into space, visiting the Space Station, and coming back down to Earth. But I want to ask how long until we can go up into space and not return. I'm not talking about just going up and dying in space, but taking humans another planet. And even more than that, i wonder when we can start colonizing said planet so that it is fit for survival, able to stand the test of time and support human life for centuries.

For a small amount of time now, private companies have tried getting funds for these projects. Mars One is trying but hundreds of thousands of dollars later there has been no news on the project, all that is known is a plan for 2024, and one would think its because it was a scam. That is the problem with fan-fund raised projects like this, not that Mars one is necessarily a scam just the majority would seem that way. But who knows, it could be just the time needed for preparation.

So even though that some are failures, some are legit. Plans to colonize planets exist now but they do take years of preparation. The shuttle to get there, setting up food and power. All of this work for a trip that could backfire in a week because the oxygen supply was too low. This is why only the best of the best are chosen to go. One would need to be smart and a good problem solver, no or little history of genetic diseases, or any diseases for obvious reasons. But how many people would need to be sent on this one way trip to almost certain death? I think the number of people that would need to be sent is around 16 (as to avoid eventual incest...). So if you meet all of these criteria than you would have a chance if a situation like this came up.

With overpopulation being a big problem in the near future, this could be a really cool solution. Would you go on a one way trip to another planet if offered? I would, just to be a part of something that would make history, even if I died within a month I would still be among the first people to die on a planet other than Earth.

Episode VII

It has become increasingly obvious to those reading and myself included that Star Wars is a popular topic of mine. Although this post is a bit different. I am not going to talk about the probability of something or the quality of one of the movies at all. Instead, I am going to hypothesize and ponder things about the new Star Wars movie. So basically what I've been doing lately

The title to Episode VII will be called "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" Now as interesting, mysterious, and thought-provoking this name is, it is equally as cool. Stepping back and thinking a minute, it's close to best title for any of the trilogies titles. "Revenge of the Sith," "Empire Strikes Back," and "Phantom Menace" are my favorites to date. In a strange coincidence it just so happens all of those have negative connotations in their meaning. This leads to my next point, could the new title be somewhat negative or evil?

What I mean by this is that is the Force Awakens, the same as the Beast Awakens, or the Kraken is released or something else along those lines. Could something have happened that the dark side has turned into something bigger/more threatening. We already know that 0 sith will appear in the movie, but jedi hunter-like people will be a threat. Maybe the force has become stronger and accidentally harmed some people and now the jedi's are to blame, like an uncontrollable power. Therefore hunters are after them. Luke may have to recruit new jedi to help combat the new threat but it could be hard because the force may have negative connotations along with it. A plot line like this is possible, or something that somewhat resembles it. Although this obviously isn't the only possibly outcome, it could just as likely positive as it is negative. The Awakening could be like the religious

Another thought I had from the title is that the (light) side of the force is making a comeback. Think for a second, back to the prequels. In the prequels, jedi were abundant. There were masters and padawans, large temples for them to study, and a council. The original trilogy only featured a Obi-wan who dies, Yoda who dies, and Luke. So the universe is technically left with one jedi. Now, with the darkside defeated, Luke could possible recreate what the prequels inspired. A jedi sanctuary/ home if you will, where Luke teaches new Padawans. He starts gaining followers and new jedi thus AWAKENING the force. Again though, all of this is hypothetical. I'm not sure what the actual movie will pertain at all. Take everything I have said here with a grain of salt because it is just analyzing a title... A title this fan is excited for.

Leverkusen out of UEFA

The game happened a little while ago and if you are a Leverkusen fan you may not want to relive it, but i am going to give my thoughts on it.

First off the game was boring. Hardly anything happened in the nearly 2 and a half hours that it lasted. Not because the teams played bad, but the opposite. Both teams had great defense and really put all they had into the game. The only goal scored was because it bounced off defender Topraks leg and into the goal. Leno would have had it had it gone the trajectory it was heading. Upsetting yes but he had good intentions.

That goal was fairly early on. The rest of the game had maybe 4-5 more chances but not much. Extra time eventually led to nothing. If you are familiar with the two teams, you know who was already going to win in PK's. Athletico missed their first kick surprisingly but Leverkusens Calhanoglu fired it straight down the middle, easy for the keeper. Griezmann scored, Rolfes scored, Suarez scored, then Leverkusen had Toprak go up, probably feeling like he needed redemption and he whiffed bad. That mistake and subbing Son off instead of Calhanoglu were the two big mistakes of the game. Kokes kick was blocked by a great save and Castro scored aswell. Finally Torres scored leaving Kießling with too much pressure, leading him to miss. Devastating to all Leverkusen fans when they had such high hopes coming off a 1-0 victory after the first matchup. If they continue to do well in the Bundesliga, they will get another chance next year, where hopefully they can make it to at least semi-finals.

Smart Watches

I'm not sure if smart watches are becoming a fad or not. I've never seen a single person wearing one, I don't know many people who would want to wear one, but yet every tech company out there is feeling the need to make one. I think the lack of need is a reason I don't see them around. If we didn't already have smartphones than sure, these would be huge! But we do. Why would you buy an overpriced gadget that does everything your phone does, except instead of putting it in your pocket, it goes on your wrist. The price really isn't that big of a deal. Every new tech is insanely expensive when it first comes out. Phones were, tvs were, and nowadays VR headsets are. Eventually they will all drop in price once enough are on the market. A good question to ask is will everyone be picking them up once they become affordable, or will they never completely catch on. The I-Pad is a good example of a product that nobody needed, yet it caught on. Nobody would have bought an i-pad if the tagline was "your phone with a bigger screen and without the ability to call." It was sold as something new and a must have item. Can apple pull the same with the smart watch or are people smart enough not to fall for the same kind of product twice. My opinion is that it will catch on when the price drops, but not as much as companies want. It will be kind of big but you may just seem rich and snooty if you decide to purchase one and wear it in public, if it can shred that connotation that it has with it then it will get bigger. If not, it will stay as a cool idea but not something people need, unless they want to talk into their wrist like Buzz Lightyear or in Star Trek...

Goal-line Technology

In recent times, newer technology has been used in the world of soccer. One of these devices is a measurement system around the goal, called goal line technology. It lets refs check and see if the ball has passed the goal-line and constitutes as a goal or if it was cleared beforehand. It is a bit controversial in soccer for one main reason. Referees have always been the deciding factor in this sport. If someone is pulled down or fouled, the ref intervenes. This is the reason why players often flop on the ground, they are trying to fake out the ref, hoping to get a free kick. The same goes for offsides. The ref may sometimes call things that are wrong, and that is just how soccer is, it is why it stays entertaining, it keeps the game human. Controversial calls are great fun to watch and experience so why take them away. This is why so many fans are upset about this technology, it would eliminate one of the human elements of soccer. In soccer one goal can turn it from a win to a loss, so this is a huge talking point. It's terrible when a team loses because of a goal that wasn't really a goal. An example can be pulled from a Bundesliga match recently. Stefan Kiessling had a header that looked like it missed the goal, but ended up inside the goal. As confusing as it was the referee called it a goal, only to later find a hole the ball had made on the outside of the net! Even though it was found DURING the match, the goal still counted. Bayer Leverkusen ended up winning off of that goal, even though it wasn't technically a goal.

That is why I am afraid of new additions to soccer like this. Events like that could easily go away if new technology like goal-line is added in. One of the cooler parts of soccer is that calls like that can be made, even if they are wrong, but I can see both sides of the argument. Do you think this tech is OK in soccer and is necessary to keep everything fair, or do you think it destroys something that soccer has always had, tradition. Feel free to leave a comment.

Some Fussball Changes

I have put some thought into a new decision for this blog. So far, my 40plus blogs have pertained mostly to science fiction, hence the name Sy-Fience. Slowly and slowly I obviously run out of things to say or type about. I want the quality of my blogs to stay somewhat premium so at this point I may trickle in a few other posts that do not have anything to do with science fiction. Since I am a huge fan of soccer, it will be mostly soccer related things. I will still make science fiction posts, just not every single one will be syfy.

It has gotten progressively harder to write long, decent posts in the science fiction department and that is the main reason. The soccer posts will mostly stay in the realm of the German Bundesliga, since that is what I love following and watching. With constant action up until the end of May when the season ends, I am sure I will be able to keep a steady flow of posts coming into this blog. I doubt I will change the name of the blog due to this change. It is a pretty cool name, plus there is little need to change the name, who cares. Thank you for your understanding and stay tuned.

Lasers

Lasers are something that many people know, and are familiar with, or are they. Pew, Pew may not ACTUALLY be the sound a laser makes, nor does it create a giant red, luminous beam. Think of a Star Wars blaster. If that is what you think of when you think laser, I am sorry, but you are wrong. Not only are Star Wars blasters not lasers, a real world laser would function nothing like that. A laser would travel at the speed of light basically, because it is light. Unless it was heated an incredible amount, it would burn through things either. A perfect example of what a laser is, is just a laser pointer. The beam is nearly invisible, but you can see where it hits. Like light itself, so next time you think about lasers going pew pew, blowing stuff up, leaving burns, think of plasma instead, because that's probably what is really behind it all.

Sounds

Sounds are something that we dance to, laugh to, and maybe cry to. Sadly, someone who lives out in the vacuum  of space would never get to hear or experience any of that. Music is plentiful here on Earth, but would be non-existent in space. The fact that nothing is heard in space is not only sad, it's kind of creepy. Like being deaf, it is a sense that would be greatly missed. Imagine watching Star Wars and all of the space battles had zero sound. Do it, it is eerie and just feels/sounds wrong, even though it would be scientifically correct. Isn't it odd that something that is true, would look or sound wrong. Curious.

Battlefront III

I know I don't do many video game related blogs, but there is nothing really science fiction about some video games and I do want to try and stay on topic. But I do blog about Star Wars quite frequently, and about a year ago, they announced that developer DICE would be working on my favorite video game franchise, Star Wars Battlefront. Now in case you don't know what Battlefront is I will give you some info. In Battlefront you are an infantryman (Clones, Droids, Stromtroopers, Rebels) battling on major planets in the Star Wars universe like Naboo or Tatooine. The game doesn't have much beyond that. The battles can be online or offline against AI bots. What I love most about this game is the scope of it. There aren't huge numbers of players on each team but it feels like you are fighting a battle with hundreds of people. The game still holds up and you could pick it up real cheap online or on Steam.

But back to Battlefront III. There hasn't been much information about the game since the announcement. A few trailers have come out but all we really know is that Hoth and Endor will be in it along with AT-ST's and speeder bikes. Not much. Since not much is known about the game, and it does have a 2015 release date, I think some speculation wouldn't hurt anyone.

One reason this game is so huge is it has been made before. We were promised a sequel after Battlefront II and Battlefront III was in development, but that was nearly 8 or so years ago. A third game in the franchise was nearly complete, and there are leaked trailers showing off the game and it looks incredible. Some fallout happened within the company and the game sadly had to be canned. So when EA announced they would be making it, that was a huge deal. From the trailers of the dead Battlefront game we can see some pretty cool things that hopefully will be featured in the new game.

First is ground-to-space combat. In the movies, along with a battle going on planet side, on was also occurring in space, so it would make sense (and be really cool) if you could get in a ship and fly down to help your allies on the ground and vice versa. It's every Star Wars fan's dream really. Another thing that would almost be necessary with ground-to-space battles is large amounts of people to fight. I am not talking Battlefield's 64 man teams, but 100 to 150 man teams. We have the technology and playstation exclusive MAG had 300+ people in games so it isn't impossible. Also, I really hope they add destruction. It is something that Battlefield creators, DICE, are famous for so you would think it is a given but we will see. Imagine for a second, a spaceship blowing up in the atmosphere, the plummeting and crashing into the ground, destroying everything in it's path, the thought is almost hyping this game too much but still. Lastly, a cool mode could be a jedi hunter-type mode. A small team of jedi have to survive a large team of stormtroopers or bounty hunters or something similar, kinda like Hunt from BF II. Really what would be nice is just a different mode. Battlefront II had the conquest, CTF, and the normal multiplayer game types, but I would like something different, in case I got bored with normal matchmaking. A mode like Hunt or Assault, but those modes could only be played on a handful of maps. Anything off this list is just a hope, the game could still be fantastic without these things.

Now just in case, I also want to talk about features that were in the old one that are important to me and need to make in to the next installment. These are things that deserve be in the next game. Obviously, 3rd person needs to be in the game. Battlefront is a game that could really only be played in the 3rd person. I know there was a 1st person, but nobody used it, and I don't care if they add in a 1st person, but just don't leave out the cornerstone to the game that is a 3rd person perspective. Along with that is another thing that you'd think is a given, but I am worried about. Please do not release the game with nothing at all from the prequels... The reason I say this is I have seen nothing in the slightest about the prequels from the trailers they have shown. The 2nd Battlefront focused on the prequels and thats not really necessary, just don't leave them out. I know and I have talked about peoples feeling toward the prequels, but they ARE Star Wars, even if some of you won't believe it, and that being said they must be in the STAR WARS GAME. Yes, they have only shown 2 trailers, but all of this focus on the original trilogy really has me worried that it will be skipped over entirely, or worse, thrown in as DLC! YIKES! Continuing from that little tangent, split-screen multiplayer should be showcased in the full game, hopefully 4 player. Not many games lately have had 4 player splits-screen and its a shame really. I mean you've got Halo, COD, a handful of party games, and that's really it. With less and less games having this feature, I think it would help the game stand out and stay at its roots. I spent so much of my childhood playing the split-screen with friends or family, so make it happen. Along with that being said, I would like it to continue to have an offline Instant Action against bots, whilst still boasting a better multiplayer. Since I played so much split-screen offline, I didn't spend much time in multiplayer. It wasn't bad, it was fine for it's time, but it doesn't have dedicated servers at all anymore and it's just a shame, and quite hard to find good matches these days. But I'm not worried about the multiplayer because matchmaking is a staple for games nowadays.

If you are someone who like me, has been dreaming of this game for almost a decade, don't worry, more official news is coming Spring 2015. Just the fact that this game is happening is enough for me, it's a miracle that it is coming out this year. The game still is shrouded in mystery, which could lead to delays (fingers crossed though). Think of Dying Light, that game is supposed to come out in a few days but it was shown off at E3 2013, so hopefully us Battlefront fans won't be waiting until late 2016 to get our fix. Until then, I'll just have to wait for what seems like forever for the greatest Star Wars game of all time.

The future of the future

The future is something that will never go away. New things will always be created. New tech will always push the limits. Science will forever be expanding, right? It would be sad to think of a future where everything that could be made, has been made. Obviously way into the future, but still. Would life be more boring, without any wonder or what ifs? And would all this tech be good or bad for us. Would we be lazy and fat, all sitting around on floating chairs like in Wall-E. Or have AI be doing all the tough tasks while humans just have a good time all day. We  all have a vision of the future, huge cities, flying cars, space travel, bright lights, the whole thing. But whats the future of that future. I have an idea of what it could be. Over population could be a concern in the future, it sort of is now. There are so many people in the world, not everyone can be number on, living a luxury life. But we all want to. An interesting idea is something almost out of the matrix. Possibly at birth we all put on virtual reality devices and live our lives in them. Each persons virtual reality is whatever their dream is. Luxury life, lazy life, the whole life is lived out virtually. Think of when neo gets out of the matrix for the first time, something like that. To me that is the end game for the human race. Its kinda creepy because noone would actually know eachother but it doesnt matter because each person is living the best life they possibly could. Isnt this the future of the future? The ultimate end game?

Could the AI be the end game?

Will we be replaced with robots

Zombie Ants (Ophiocordyceps camponoti-rufipedis)

Would you believe me if I said there was something out there that is more deadly than rabies. More vicious than rabies, and more chilling than rabies. It is called Ophiocordyceps camponoti-rufipedis, it comes from the fungus family Cordyceps, (which is what I am going to refer it to since its just easier to read) and you will be happy to know that it doesn't affect humans only ants, at least right now, I am not sure if it will jump the species barrier anytime soon.

Your probably wondering what is Cordyceps and why should I care, and a reason I would give is that it is super interesting and cool to read about. Cordyceps is not a disease or virus, unlike rabies it is a fungus, which is really what makes it creepier. What it does is it grows inside the host (an insect) eating on non-vital organs until it grows strong enough to move into the brain. Once inside the brain this freaky fungus sends out signals and forces the ant to move, it basically has full body control over the ant. What it does in control is lead the ant up a plant, kill it by devouring it's brain, and sprouts a mushroom out of the ants head. Eventually this leads to just a mass graveyard of dead ants with mushrooms growing out of their head, creating spores therefore spreading the fungus further.

All of this is really quite interesting and if you want to read more about Cordyceps than do so because it really is a fascinating thing that not many people know about. The creepiest part about this is just that it is something else controlling your body, you are basically dead while this parasite is in full control of your movements.

Space Travel

I don't know if you've noticed, but space travel isn't something that is readily available to the average person, nor is it a fast or efficient way of transportation, but I want to know, when is that going to change, when will I be able to travel to an asteroid at my leisure?

This is a pretty big topic just because of how little we are prepared for space travel. Think about air travel like planes. You need certain permits to fly a private plane, there are restricted areas that are no fly zones, and other similar issues that arise, but at least there are laws. If space travel somehow got to the average middle class person or even just a couple thousand rich guys, it would be chaos. There are little to no laws in space so what happens if one of the space ships go around and break all the satellites and TV for thousands is out. Is it illegal, if so, who's laws are they breaking? American laws, German laws, Turkish laws? Does the UN punish them? It is a very open ended question that doesn't really have an exact answer. So we really aren't ready for the future like this. Maybe there should be no laws in space because there is little to no way of enforcing any laws in space. All of this is just something to think about because a future like this really isn't as far away as it seems.

Star Wars Rumors

I read something a few days ago that was some pretty cool news. A character from the Star Wars prequels may be returning. More specifically from Phantom Menace. Don't get your hopes up, it isn't you or my favorite character Jar Jar Binks, but rather Qui-Gon Jinn. Yes Liam Neeson in a recent interview said he was interested and would definitely replay his role as the Jedi Master. This is fantastic news not only because he is one of the best characters in the Star Wars universe, but it's nice to hear something about the Stars from the Prequels, because I enjoyed a lot of those characters but for the most part I feel that nobody even talks about the prequels. Qui-Gon was what the ideal Jedi should be. He is cool and collected, but isn't afraid to go against the order a little bit, something that we don't see throughout the films after episode I. It was a shame that he got so little screen time and that he died at the end of Phantom Menace (spoiler alert). But that said, he is dead, so how would a new film even be made with the character now.

The Star Wars universe a great way of doing this. He could reappear as a force ghost and help guide the jedi in a future movie. He obviously won't be in the Force Awakens, but there is no reason we have to rule out the next 2. Episode III hinted at this with Yoda telling Obi Wan that his master (Qui Gon Jinn) has learned the way to immortality. And he actually does show up in the animated Clone Wars series. They already have Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Kenny Baker, all these guys from the original trilogy coming back, so why not give some nostalgia to those who grew up with the prequel trilogy...

If there is no way to work Qui Gon into the plot of the main trilogy again, than that is fine. Being a ghost, it wouldn't do the character as much justice anyway. That is why a stand alone, Qui Gon Jinn film would be just as great. It could be like a prequel to the prequels, possibly even feature padawan Obi Wan, and this time, just them without an annoying kid or an even more annoying native of Naboo. It could explain the background of the character and really show him off and flesh him out more. There has been a rumored Boba Fett side movie so I again, don't see the problem with doing one featuring a different, yet just as cool character. Another thing that would be plausible is Christopher Lee could play Dooku alongside Qui Gon Jinn, showing Dooku as a Jedi, which is something we never get so see. As you may know he was a Jedi turned Sith at some point in time between episode I and II. All of this theorizing is getting pretty far fetched but still. I am trying to hit all the possibilities here, whatever they may be. It may seem like I am trying to get Disney to milk the crap out of the franchise, but why would you care? Ever since 2004 we have had hardly anything Star Wars that was actually good, and some would argue even earlier than that. So I say go ahead and milk it because I will enjoy any film they put out. Heck, Marvel launches a superhero movie every year, sometimes more, and pretty much all of them turn out great, Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Solider both came out in 2014 and both were good films. All this news to me proves that you can't have enough Star Wars. Star Wars has no maximum, no limit, so churn the movies out all you want Disney, I will watch every, single, one.

Galactic Government

Say 300 years have passed. You are dead. I am dead. But our great great great great grandchildren wouldn't be (give or take 1-2 great's). In this alternate reality, we have encountered aliens and years have passed and we have representatives in some space government. Our representatives would then be representing all of mankind. Is it even possible? Perhaps we have colonized planets too, its too many people to represent. Lets take a page from Star Wars, as usual. The Republic has a Galactic Senate. The future could have a Federation of Planets where each planet has representatives. But even then, humans are all so different, nothing can be done ever that would satisfy EVERY person in the world. An alien race could all be nearly identical in personality and beliefs but humans are not that similar. So maybe just find a planet that has similar views as you do and that's the best way to go about this. Another point to bring up is how would the human race fit into this government. What would we contribute. We could be unwelcomed. Treated as the scum of the universe because we are flawed compared to these super aliens with their fancy senate. Or we could join it and realize it's corrupted, by an old, powerful ruler who won't give up his spot in office. (hint hint wink wink).

What history tells me is that this probably won't be the case, at first. Think of how Americans treated natives of America, how English treated natives of India. If karma is real you would think the aliens would come in and just take over our government and do what we did hundreds of years ago. Treat us as lesser beings. Not as mindless animals or anything, just pathetic things that don't deserve to rule ourselves, and who knows, maybe they are right. I think it would be pretty funny if an alien armada came in, took over all government on the planet, and then things were better than they had ever been. Economic growth, industrial growth, all under some galactic alien control. Nobody could even really get mad. Since we are viewed as a species it would be true, full blown equality, so there is a positive. It could be just like Communism, without a greedy ruler doing Communism wrong like every time here on Earth...