Poem: "Carsick"

Down the road we go...
Traffic, ugh! So slow.
I feel sick...
Ick! My vomit is thick.

Can't read on the bumpy road…
Pass by an endangered toad.
What to do?
Play with my shoe?
I'm bored, that's true.

But then! There it is! As far as the eye can see...
We stop at the world's last tree!
I fill with glee.
I am as happy as can be!

Minecraft Survival Journal Entry 1: "Hello, World!"

To celebrate the recent release of Minecraft update 1.4.2, or the "Pretty Scary Update," I've decided to make a survival journal of the colonization of an Earthy, large-biomes world on Minecraft along with its brand new features. This includes new blocks, food (pie!), and a very special anvil. Additionally, there are more evil creatures to battle and slay, including sluggish villager zombies, wicked witches (say that ten times), and deadly withers!

The texture pack I'll be using is the 16x16 OCD Texture Pack. It simplifies the graphics of Minecraft even more, yet does not seem archaic at all. Instead, it has a more modern feel to it. This is done by removing the "graininess" from the original look of Minecraft, which makes everything compare to Pac-Man.

Daylight Savings Ends Today!

Quick reminder that you "fall back" today (except Hawaii and Arizona!~). Well, we were supposed to at 2:00 AM, but not everyone's got that kind of willpower.
Remember the motto: Stay up, sleep in, fall back. What do you plan to do with your extra hour every day?

Of course, your "extra hour" will eventually disappear when the time change synchronizes with your normal schedule.

Minecraft Library Sunset Picture

An interesting shot of a sunset in Minecraft. Sometimes the sunsets actually look better without Minecraft's tacky sun.
On the right is the "library." You can see some books in the window.

Did you know? If you type "When does the sun set" in Google, they'll tell you the exact minutes from now and the time when it'll take place.

Daylight Savings November 4th: Fall Back!

Daylight savings is this November 4th (technically, it's actually ending because it started on March 11). Set your clocks back one hour! Fortunately, most electronics will do this for you automatically.

Image credit MOI.

Happy November!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Here at Smellityet, we've made recognizing this special holiday a tradition. While we do mention New Years, Winter Celebrations, and Earth Day, Halloween has remained our prominent day.
A little history on the subject, Halloween originated in England where several influences and cultures have changed and merged their autumn festivities into the holiday, including days to honor harvest, respect for ancestors, and supernatural belief. If you're interested or would care for a visual, see BrainPOP's Halloween video featured today for free.

With a little Dr. Suess in mind, I chose to write a poem this evening:

What's your Halloween tradition?

What do you do?

Did you throw on a blanket,

and scare your friends with a "boo"?

What's your Halloween tradition?

What do you do?

Are you a mummy who's falling apart?

Have your tried staples or glue?

What's your Halloween tradition?

What do you do?

Will you dress up as a student?

Tomorrow your homework is due?

What's your Halloween tradition?

What do you do?

Are you Sherlock Holmes?

"It was quite elementary… I've found a clue!"

What's your Halloween tradition?

What do you do?

Are you a wicked witch?

Will you make me some organic rat stew?

What's your Halloween tradition?

What do you do?

Are you a brain-seeking zombie?

Or just down with the flu?

What's your Halloween tradition?

What do you do?

Are you a menacing pirate?

Where's your loyal, seafaring crew?

What's your Halloween tradition?

What do you do?

A futuristic robot? Time travel?

Yahoo!

What's your Halloween tradition?

What do you do?

Are you the iPhone 5?

A product oh-so-new?

What's your Halloween tradition?

What do you do?

Are you a big, lovable cow?

Yes? No? Moo?

What's your Halloween tradition?

What do you do?

Do you present your favorite T-shirt and a nice little smile?

Do you just be you?

Minecraft Animation: Slamacow Creations

Slamacow Creations: Small Minecraft animation shorts that will surely make you laugh! While it's always exciting to play Minecraft, it can also be enjoyable to take a look at what the Minecraft community is up to. 

This might be getting a little inspiration from others' masterpieces, learning the latest redstone concept, or, in this case, watching the hilarious videos!

Minecraft: How to Create an Empty/Blank/Void Minecraft World/Map

Note: A more in-depth tutorial can be found here.

In Minecraft Creative, have you ever wondered how others are able to have completely empty worlds as a sort of "blank canvas?" It's likely they used mods before, but now, with the 1.4.2 Minecraft update, you do not need to download/install anything anymore! With the new customizable superflat feature, you can use a little trick and create an empty world. 

First of all, create an empty world with the mode Superflat and click the new Customize bar. (Singleplayer > Create New World > More World Options > World Type: Superflat > Customize) 

Then, click "Select a Preset." Type in the top bar [1;12;1] or [1;13;1]. 

The purpose of these numbers are to signify what block layer you'd like, #1 being air and #12/#13 being sand/gravel. The trick here is that when you load the world, all the sand or gravel will fall into the void, leaving you with awesome emptiness!

Now, you may be wondering, "Why not type [1;1;1] or [1] or [1;1] or something instead of sand or gravel? Wouldn't that be easier because then there's just air?" The answer is: "No." 

If you create an entirely empty world, there will be no blocks for you to connect in order to build. This is because blocks are placed by "touching" adjacent blocks, in this case, nothing, rendering your empty world useless. Instead, as you load your world with the [1;12;1] or [1;13;1], the sand/gravel will appear perfectly flat (not empty). When you place down a first block, the sand or gravel will perform a "block update" and realize its Minecraft gravity physics, causing it to fall. The sand/gravel next to it will perform its own block update as well, creating a domino effect, a pretty ripple, and eventually: your one block above the void. 

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Yay! You're done! Now, log off and back on (the ripple may get laggy) and start building! 

Empty worlds are perfect for making your own skyblock island, adventure map, minigame, arena, airship, spaceship, or planet. Enjoy!

Additional help: If the whole "sand/gravel touch block thing" may be confusing, type the [1;12;1] in the 

Superflat Select a Preset (mentioned earlier) and leave "Generate Structures" on. Punch the sand so it falls, and fly around to look for an NPC village where you can start connecting to. A bit harder, but might be easier to understand.

Texture pack used: Minecraft OCD Texture Pack 16x16

Minecraft Creative Creations 1

I will be piloting a sort of occasional photo-series on a new Minecraft creative world, mode "superflat." Since most of the time I choose to play the survival mode of Minecraft, building freely without stress over collection of resources, enemies, and the coming dangers of night will most likely be relaxing.

"Western Spaghetti" by PES

"Western Spaghetti," by PES (the YouTube stop motion filmmaker) is a short clip imitating the cooking of spaghetti through the creative use of a variety of miscellaneous objects, such as yarn, dice, Rubik's cubes, and bubble wrap. An amusing watch!