Two teenagers. One video camera. One walk home.
Now, you can experience that day with us.
Cataclysmic Snow
Alright, well, maybe not quite cataclysmic. I know that recently, there’s been an incredible amount of snow descending upon states all throughout the USA, and the storms appear to be spreading. Southern Canada has been experiencing severe snow storms, much more than usual. And that’s saying something. These recent blizzards have, at times, propelled vehicles off of streets and highways due to whiteouts. I imagine that, in communities located farther south, driving conditions will become hazardous. They haven’t stopped there, though. The storms are moving northward, and who knows where they’ll stop?
Forecasters have warned that this storm could be the worst Canada has experienced in approximately 4 years. Most recently, the storm has been buffeting cities throughout Ontario. It’s expected to move to Quebec, and possibly even further, to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, bringing tons of snow with it on top of the heaps it’s already provided.
Snowfall warnings have been issued to communities throughout southern Ontario, in hope that there will be as few accidents as possible. There have already been several deaths in Ontario due to the storm. Hopefully the number of lost lives won’t climb.
Not all is grim, though. With the extra snow, there are opportunities to go skiing, snowboarding, and other such winter activities. It will be enjoyable for the children and young adults, as well as grown men and women. Families can enjoy a fun time outside, then warm up indoors with a nice hot chocolate or three. c:
A Snowy Excursion Home
MMORPG’s vs. Reality?
Today, I’m here to talk about RPG‘s, immersion, and life. Some of you might be wondering how those all fit together. Others might have an idea. Others still might already have it figured out.
Since I’m most familiar with World of Warcraft as an RPG, most of the content and examples here today will be coming from WoW.
The following video is the first cinematic trailer for World of Warcraft.
This next video is the cinematic trailer for the most recent expansion of World of Warcraft; This is Mists of Pandaria.
Usually being able to immerse yourself in a game isn’t considered particularly great, am I right? Of course. There aren’t a lot of parents or teachers (or bosses o-o) who want their children delving into the worlds of RPG’s like WoW – killing monsters, battling people, and completing quests – while they could be studying, or learning about the real world.
Some people really get into the game, and sometimes they’ll begin to lose touch with reality. BUT, that immersion is what helps get the “full experience” of these games. Creativity and linguistic skills, two important things in life, are needed to truly experience it.
Immersion in MMORPG’s actually requires quite a bit of work, what with all the different things you need to pay attention to. The NPC’s, your HP, armor, other people, and your surroundings.
Some of us have always wondered what it would be like to have to work for survival. If we could pick up a sword and shield, bow, or acquire magical powers, and fight. To fight for our own life, and for the lives of our allies. To fight for our home. To protect our cities, and the loved ones who live there. Some of us haven’t had that chance, some of us never could.
A World of Warcraft PVP Arena called Arathi Basin, where you fight to defend your land, as either Alliance or Horde.
The point is, we have the chance to learn new things. Languages, for example. Experience new places, or historical eras. Defend your race, or faction. We have the chance to meet new people. Make friends, and fight together. While playing MMORPG’s, you have the chance to do this.
There are thousands, even millions, of new people to meet. One of those is you. One of those is me. The rest, we’ve yet to find out.
Plane Crash In Utopia
Sunday, the 11th of November, 10 AM local time in Snow Lake, Manitoba. Accidents affect everyone in a town this size. It doesn’t change whether the ones involved were close friends, or people you’d barely ever spoken to. It affects us all.
On Sunday morning, there was a plane crash about 10 miles from the Snow Lake airport. The Gogal Air Service flight was taking workers from the nearby Lalor mine down to Winnipeg. The weather conditions weren’t the greatest during take-off, with low clouds and humidity. Of the 8 people aboard the plane, there were serious injuries among the 7 passengers (all of which are in stable conditions, no fatal injuries) and one fatality caused by the crash. Unfortunately, a life was lost. It was that of the man piloting the aircraft, 40-year-old Mark Gogal. When people actually got near the crash site, it took hours to get to the actual site. A local contractor provided a way through the bush by pushing a path using a bulldozer. From there, people from within the town went out to help with trucks, quads, etc. Everyone responded quickly, which was good because without the aid of locals, they might not have gotten there in time. People arrived on the scene of the crash around 11:45 AM. Who knows what would’ve happened without the aid of the locals? We’ll never know, but I don’t imagine the outcome would’ve been in our favor…
The Cessna itself was, for the most part, intact but severely damaged. Much of the damage was due to colliding with trees while crashing through the bush. According to those who were checking the Cessna out to see if there were problems, it seemed like the aircraft was operating properly before the crash. The engine had been running fine, although not a lot more could be determined at this point in time.
The plane is being taken to the TSB lab in Ottawa, where it will be analyzed.
So far, there’s not much information on what caused the crash, other than bad weather.
This accident, and the loss that came with it, has and will really impact the community, I think. It was a tragedy. When things like this happen, the town as a whole is affected. It really doesn’t matter if the people involved in accidents are people you’re close to or people you’ve never spoken to in your life. In a town this closely knit, we all feel the loss. I, for one, didn’t know Mark personally, but I know people who are close to him and his family, and he was a part of the community. I can’t imagine how it must be for his family and those who were like family. :/
“Every End Comes With A Beginning” by Juli
Five Card Story: With Every End Comes A Beginning
a The Idea Hive story created by Juli
flickr photo by Larry Johnson
flickr photo by bionicteaching
flickr photo by Serenae
flickr photo by Serenae
flickr photo by cogdogblog
“You never know what you have until it’s gone.” That’s a lie. You always knew what you had, you just never thought you’d ever lose it. Then all you have is the walk down memory lane. You might remember colors that remind you of them. Or the last evening sky you saw with them. But every night is followed by morning.
“Unwanted” by Juli & Katie
Five Card Story: Unwanted
a Five Card Flickr story created by Katie & Juli
flickr photo by Serenae
flickr photo by Serenae
flickr photo by Serenae
flickr photo by Serenae
flickr photo by Serenae
The man had always liked something about the tree. Today he decided to climb it. From the top of the tree, a staircase ascended. He glanced at the walls, looking at the carvings. When he reached the top of the stairs, he walked out onto a cliff and stared out into the open nothingness.
Outdoor Photography Project
I’ve always been kind of interested in photography. I just liked taking pictures of different things, although my favorite things to take pictures of things in nature. Today I’m going to share some of those pictures with you. ^-^
This was taken sometime in the ending weeks of summer. I’d just happened to look outside and, of course, I just had to grab my camera and get a picture of it. I loved how the lake was still as glass, and how the trees and grass were so black against the lake & darkening sky.
I took this during an 8 hour road trip to Saskatoon with my mum. Our truck had actually been moving at the time I took this, but I like how it turned out anyway. It’s not too often you see a lot of pictures like this taken in a place like Snow Lake.
I took this one around July-August. It was sometime in the early afternoon, I think. Early afternoon and in the evening are, I think, the best times to take pictures of the lake because the sun seems to be in just the right place. I always keep my camera on the table in case.
I loved this one. I thought the picture was kind of creepy. I took this after a huge storm that took place in Snow Lake a couple of months ago. A few people who’ve seen it thought it’d be perfect for a sort of horror story scene, like Slender man or something. I agree with them.
I’ll leave you with just a few pictures this time, but I can promise you there’ll be more. ^-^ Check back soon, especially if you like photography and taking pictures. This is all for now, though. If you know me, you know there’s going to be a lot more soon.
I’m also going to be starting a project, starting in January, taking one picture every month for 12 months. One year from this January, there will be quite a few pictures going up here. I can’t wait!
Similar Differences
A few weeks ago, we of both F.E. Madill and JHK answered a bunch of questions for an interest survey Mrs. D set up. There were questions like “What’s your favourite video game?” and “If you had one wish, what would it be?”. Then last week, we all went to look at the spreadsheet she made with all of our answers to the questions.
Now we’ve been given the assignment to look at who’s similar to us, and who’s different. As I looked at the answers by the students of the other school, there were a lot more differences between a lot of them and me, than similarities. That was kind of expected though, because I AM kind of a strange child. c; I’m that girl who likes to stay inside and play Minecraft all day while Skyping with her best friend who lives a whole 2 minutes away, and other friends who live as close as Maine or as far as Ireland. Cx
So, I saw a couple of people who were at least kind of similar. Of course, everyone brushes their teeth. Most people brush twice a day, according to the survey. I saw that Brayden likes Two & A Half Men, which I think is an awesome show too. Not the same without Charlie, but it’s still pretty funny. He also wrote that he likes working with us in Snow Lake, just like I enjoy working with the people in Wingham. Another person with a couple of similarities is William. We both like Minecraft, and both of our favourite websites are Facebook and YouTube. I also saw that he’s a Bro. *BROFIST*
If you’ve ever watched PewDiePie play Amnesia, you’ll understand. C:
There were a lot of differences between myself and a lot of people, though. I only found one person, even including Snow Lake, whose favourite video game is Minecraft. I only know one person who loves it as much as I do, though… I also didn’t see many people with the same favourite sports. Not many people play an instrument either, although I did see one or two people who play guitar, and I think I saw a couple who play drums.
We’re not all similar, or different, from each other though. We all have similarities with at least a few people. That’s the beauty of meeting new people, you get to meet a lot of cool people with similar interests as you. That’s one thing I love about playing Minecraft online, actually. I’ve met a lot of my best friends there. :)
Well, that’s a few similarities and differences between myself and some of the Wingham students. ^.^
It’s October?
Welcome back! It’s a new year, and the students of the Idea Hive are getting back into their geeky ways. I know this past summer there was tech trouble with Idea Hive and sadly, Mr. Fisher couldn’t save it. Instead, he recreated Idea Hive. It took a lot of work, but it’s back, and so are we! xD
So some of you might be wondering who I am. Well, I’m Juli, an 8th grader at JHK, and I’m 14 years old. I live in the (extremely) tiny town of Snow Lake, MB. Since it’s such a tiny town (population less than 1000 :o…), we all need something to occupy ourselves, don’t we?
My entertainment just so happens to be Minecraft!
I love this game, maybe even a little too much (*cough* I’M NOT OBSESSED *cough*)… There are so many different Mods out there for Minecraft, and my best friend Emily (her and I are probably two of the most random people you’ll meet, btw xD) and I found an awesome one called Hack/Mine (aka Hack Slash Mine). It’s really fun, and we’ve met a lot of cool people while playing it. When I think of Hack/Mine, I think of a sort of combination of Minecraft and World of Warcraft, because there’s so many different mobs, weapons, etc. We play it a lot, and that’s what takes up a majority of our time outside of school. c:
In fact, we’re going to be starting a “Let’s Play” series for Hack/Mine on YouTube soon! xD I think it’s going to be really fun, and I hope anyone who watches them enjoy our extreme randomness as much as we do. c:
Speaking of video games, we also might do some Terraria and Happy Wheels “Let’s Play” soon too^.^
This is a dungeon room I encountered a while back, when I was still kind of a n00b to Hack/Mine Cx
But enough about video games. However amazing they are, they don’t (quite) run my life (close, though;D). I love playing basketball and soccer. Those are my two favorite sports, although I do play others. One sport I really dislike is volleyball, though. I don’t really know why, but I’ve never been a fan of it. I used to love floor hockey though. Uuuntil I got hit in the mouth with a hockey stick (extremely painful, btw. I don’t recommend it). I’m not really too eager to play anymore, although in gym and such, once I really get into the game, I’m all about it. Or at least until we finish the game. xD
I’m also a huge music fan. Yeah, I’m all about metal & rock \m/ It’s funny, because Emily pretty much loathes metal, while I absolutely love it. Both new metal and old, I love both. Metallica is my best friend. c: Along with Iron Maiden, Aerosmith, Ledd Zeppelin, etc. Old rock and metal is my absolute FAVOURITE. There’s a lot of great new bands too, though (not including One Direction, sorry to the Directioners) xD A few of my favorite newer rock/metal bands are Demon Hunter, Mekanism, Chimaira, BFMV, Korn, Skillet, Rise Against, 3DG, etc.
This is where the Juli known as Dƺӎɸɴнμɴ†ƺʀʀ came from.
I don’t limit myself entirely to metal and rock though. I also listen to a bit of the mainstream sort of thing. A little Eminem here, the occasional P!nk there, maybe even a bit of LMFAO sometimes. The only thing I don’t listen to is country… Funny, because when I was younger I loved country. I think what I listen to the most, though, would be video game parodies. WoW, Minecraft, CoD, Diablo, LoL, etc. You name it. I love Tobuscus’ parodies (especially the Literal Trailor ones), and CaptainSparklez & TryHardNinja’s parodies, along with L70ETC, Zharken16, Oxhorn, Nyhm, Silver Letoni, etc. That’s pretty much all I listen to when I play Minecraft or WoW, or any game, and you all know how much I play games (for those who don’t, A LOT). ^-^
So yeah, I’m a huge music person, and a huge video game (mostly Minecraft, Terraria, and WoW) addict. C:
Well, I guess that’s all. You know a bit about me now. If you keep checking in with my blog, and the Idea Hive, you’ll learn more about my friends and I. :D
Bai, guise. Cx
Back To Blogging?
Ohaider :3
Juli here!
Wednesday of last week we began the school year. We’ve started to talk about working online again, things like blogging, online radio stations, Google Docs, etc.
Tomorrow (Monday) we’ll yet again be Skyping with the class in Wingham, although now the class is just 8th grade. I think it’s going to be fun working with them, as in the past couple of years we’ve worked with them it’s been an awesome time. xD
I’m hoping we read another book over Skype this year, just like the previous years. It’s worked out and been successful all those times. Personally, I think it’s fun reading over Skype and talking to the other students over the chat room and stuff.
Anyway, I’m just updating now because I haven’t had anything to write about before, and when I did there wasn’t much time to get on WordPress… Check back soon though, because we of the Idea Hive will likely start blogging to keep you all entertained within the next couple weeks! Cx
I know this has been a really short update, considering how seldom I get on here and how long it’s been, but that’s going to change very soon. ^.^
Keep checking Idea Hive out if you want to keep updated on what’s happening!
Arokei's Domain 