Pixelmon - Minecraft and Pokemon Unite

Header of Pixelmon's official website

I love Pokemon and I love Minecraft, and I just discovered the unthinkable.  My two favorite games have been merged into one awesome experience: Pixelmon.  I have known about Minecraft mods for a long time now.  They are variations of the game that are often created by fans and are often free to use.  Below are a few examples:

Image by kingbdogz

The Aether Mod
By creating a special portal, Minecraft players are whisked away to a floating world with new crafting materials (like Zanite and Aerclouds) and new mobs (like Flying Cows and Whirlwinds).

Image by toesmash

BuildCraft
This mod adds many industrial materials and crafting options, including: pipes, engines, lasers, and
more.

Image by Paulo Guilherme

More Explosions Mod
Who doesn't enjoy blowing things up?  This mod introduces many forms of explosives beyond Minecraft's standard TNT, including grenades, time bombs, C4, nukes (pictured), and more.



However, since mods are not official additions to Minecraft, it takes some work to install them, and sometimes they can corrupt your game or cause it to crash.  Because of this, I have always been too intimidated to install any sort of Minecraft mod.  I was always content to watch other people on Youtube play them.  Until I discovered Pixelmon, that is.  As I learned more about the mod, the more excited I became.  Over one hundred Pokemon wander the different biomes of Minecraft, able to be captured by Pokeballs you craft yourself.  After catching them, you can battle the Pokemon with wild ones so it can gain experience, level up, and learn new moves.  Despite my past inhibitions about mods, I was eager to try Pixelmon out.

(When starting your first game, you get to pick one of four starter Pokemon:

Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, or Eevee).

I found this mod installation tutorial by LittleLizardGaming invaluable in installing Pixelmon to my Minecraft.  The person speaks clearly and gives easy-to-follow directions from start to finish.  There are, however, a couple things I realized after installing this mod:

1. Once you install a mod, you cannot switch back to the original Minecraft or another mod without having to remove and reinstall files, sometimes resulting in losing all of your saved games.

2. Mods are more complicated to install in the latest version of Minecraft (v. 1.6.2).  The tutorial video above shows how to install mods in versions 1.5.2 and older.

That being said, after spending hours of tweaking and fiddling, I figured out a way to have two Minecraft launchers on my computer at the same time, one with the original game, the other with Pixelmon.  That way, I don't have to go through the trouble of moving files, reinstalling launchers, or losing my saved games.  I will share how to do this in a future blog post.  Until then, don't be afraid to give mods a shot.  They add variety and excitement to a game that was already incredible.   

Check It Out! - The Cat That Got the Milk

There are a lot of Indie games out on the Internet right now, and even though I like to browse through them, sometimes they all start to look the same.  An unusual game title, however, caught my eye today: "The Cat That Got the Milk."  This is a unique and beautiful game that anyone can play.  It's has the same basic concept as the old-fashioned computer game Snake, but with a challenging and artsy twist.

A screenshot from "The Cat That Got the Milk" game

You control the cat with the up and down keys, guiding it to the bowl of milk.  It starts off easy, but the environment quickly becomes more abstract and difficult to traverse.  "The Cat That Got the Milk" is just as much a work of art as it is a game.  It's a dazzling and refreshing change to all of the cookie-cutter, jump-scare Indie games out there.  The game is short, taking only about 10-15 minutes to complete, so feel free to give it a try.  The game requires the Unity web player, which is free and safe software similar to Adobe Player.  There will be a link to download this at the game website.  Save and download the Unity Web Player and the game will begin loading on the webpage automatically.  I really enjoyed playing "The Cat That Got the Milk," and I hope to see more unique games from the developers in the future.  Below is the link to the game as well as a preview video of the actual game play.  Have fun, and get that milk!

Click here to play "The Cat That Got the Milk."

A Little Nature In My Home

I often go on random errands with my mom, and one day, I found myself at the Boy Scout store. This particular store was large and expansive, and very impressive. They had everything from an Native American roach kit to handmade, leather belts to sporks. I was drawn to the book section and one book kind of jumped out at me from the shelf. "The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature-Deficit Disorder" by Richard Louv. I was intrigued. I liked nature, but what was this nature-deficit disorder? Surely a homeschooler like me wouldn't have that, right? I flipped through the pages and skimmed the chapters, and was immediately hooked. I needed the information in this book!
In a nutshell, nature-deficit disorder is a fancy way of saying that a person has become too disconnected from nature. Even a nature lover like myself spends way too much time inside the house in front of a electronic screen (like blogging, oh no!) But Louv is not anti-technology. On the contrary, he recognizes and approves of the amazing advancements human society has made. The Internet is awesome, cellphones are essential, and blogging is a great way to share ideas with hundreds of people. In his book, Louv teaches that technology should not be replaced with nature interaction, but that there should be a healthy balance. The more technology that's in my life, the more nature interaction there should be, too. Louv does a great job citing dozens of scientific studies and theories that support the benefits of nature in the human life. I prefer personal experiences and stories myself, but the scientific info is good for any doubters who may read his book. And Louv does share his personal insights into nature interactions as well as the insights of others. It's those parts of the book that especially touch and inspire me, because I am a feeler. I read something and know it is true deep in my heart, or at least the thought inspired by the reading is true, if that makes sense.

I was inspired to spend more time outside, even when it is hot and muggy like it often is in North Carolina. I also wanted to bring more nature inside my home as well. The main way I have done this is through my frog terrarium.

It's a 30-gallon fish tank on a wooden stand. Inside are three glass figurines from Hobby Lobby, two live plants (pothos and dracaena), and a green tree frog. I LOVE frogs and hope to put more in the tank! Anyway, this terrarium brings a bit of nature into my home. It's green, bright, and makes me happy. And hopefully, it helps me avoid the dreaded nature-deficit disorder.







The terrarium seen from afar. It took some time and effort to put it together. I'll blog about the process another time.















A closer look inside the terrarium. The ivy on the top and the fern in the middle are both fake plants. The pothos is on the far left and the dracaena is on the far right. Both are easy plants to grow in a terrarium and safe for frogs to crawl around in.










The glass squirrel is probably my favorite! They were unexpectedly expensive, but thankfully 50% off at Hobby Lobby. In case you're wondering what that big, ugly black thing is in the background, it's a heater for the frog.

















The fake froggie next to the pothos.
















The very artsy snail next to the dracaena.



















The real froggie on the fake ivy. It's a green tree frog bought from Petsmart. It is not tame but can be caught and held if I really put the effort in. I love frogs!

"She Can't Handle Her TV"

I had an interesting experience tonight while watching TV with my husband. To be exact, we were watching Netflix; we don't have cable by choice. We were watching the 7th or 8th episode of a cool show called "White Collar." Ben and I like the two main characters, but at the end of the episode, one of the good guys turned out to be the bad guy! I was stunned, and frankly, a little upset. But a show is a show, so I accepted it and was prepared to move on. In the next episode, however, it turned out that the good guy who we thought was a bad guy was still a good guy. Yay! All's well that ends well, right?

At the end of the episode, Ben turned to me and said, "See? I knew he couldn't have been the bad guy. But look at you! You were ready to accept he was a scumbag."
I wanted to get a laugh out of Ben, so I said dramataclly, "You can't become too involved with a TV show, Ben. In the end, you will only get hurt."
Ben laughed, and said something quite insightful: "Is that why you watch America's Home Videos over and over? Because it's safe?"

In that moment, I realized he was right! I do watch AFV a lot. I've watched so many episodes, I'm pretty sure I've seen every clip from the show at least ten times. In a way, I always wondered why I couldn't stop watching AFV, even when it was just another rerun, but now I know why.

I'm a very sensitive person. This is good in a lot of ways. But it also means that I'm highly affected by emotionally-triggering things, like TV shows. I know that it's all pretend. No one dies, no one gets hurt. They all go home after acting on set and live a real life. But my high imagination is very invested in pretend things. As far as my imagination is concerned, "White Collar" is real. It's this vivid imagination that helps me write books, do art, etc. And it also sends me on an emotional roller coaster during a simple TV show.

At the start of the show, I'm all like...



"I can handle this. I'm an adult; it's just a show."






After the show, even after the TV is turned off, I'm usually like...


"That was so intense. I can't believe [that terrible thing happened] or [such and such died]. I was so emotionally invested in that character and now that [this or that occurred], who knows what will happen next? No one is safe. The characters that I love could be taken away from me at any moment. Oh, the world is so cruel! Where's my husband? Don't die on me, too, honey! DON'T DIE!" *huddles under blanket*



Clearly, this is an example of how creativity is both a blessing and a curse. The fact that my husband understands why I get so weepy during shows is a great comfort, and in the end, it really is just a show. As I continue to discover, understand, and accept my weaknesses, they will have less and less power over me. And being able to laugh at myself is important, too. Are there things in your life that sometimes evoke these same kind of reactions? To this day, Ben and I watch "White Collar," and we look forward to each episode's twists and turns, ups and downs, sorrows and triumphs.

What Makes Me Significant?

I'm starting to understand a thing or two about life. No, that's not quite right. 'To understand' is not a one-time event or an end goal. It's a process of gathering. I understood something new a few weeks ago, and today, I understand even more. It's the "increased light" philosophy that the Lord talks about in Doctrine and Covenants 50:24, which says,

"That which is of God is ^alight; and he that ^breceiveth ^clight, and ^dcontinueth in God, receiveth more ^elight; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day."

I'm beginning to understand that this philosophy applies to almost every point of my life. For a short time, I saw a therapist every week to help with my overwhelming anxiety (which was WONDERFUL while it lasted). My therapist taught me that I have subconscious thoughts that dictate how I view things, like sunglasses that paint the world in a certain way. He called them "super highways" of thought. One of my super highways is this...

My subconscious thought: "I am an imperfect being. I am nothing. In order to become truly significant, I must reach (these) ideals and accomplish (those) tasks. Then I will be worthy of (this) and (that)."

This super highway is destructive because it makes me believe that who I am today isn't good enough. Being significant isn't a one-time event or an end goal. I was significant two weeks ago; I am significant today; I will be significant tomorrow. Even when I was at my worst this month, I was significant. This is because my significance does not diminish, but only grows. It can stand still, but it never diminishes. Why? Because significance, like understanding, is not measured by a wall chart. I AM SIGNIFICANCE. It's inside me; it's a part of me that can never be removed. I may lose sight of it, or forget about it, or doubt that it exists, but it's always there. In this way, it can never be truly taken away from me.

Today, I am significant, and I have a lot of understanding, too. Just the fact that I am living and breathing here today is a miracle and a blessing. I don't have to DO anything to be worthy of that. I just am.

"The Search for Significance"

by Robert S. McGee

is an excellent book that

addresses the tendency we

have to base our significance

on the things we accomplish.

Along with my LDS religion,

this book inspired this blog post.

I would recommend it

to anyone. :)