Well, it’s been wild. I had major tests two days in a row this week, which was simply not fun. That was compounded by the three quizzes and two written assignments I had last week and left me generally unhappy. That was temporary, though, as I found a way to increase dopamine production in a healthy way. Granted, this also increases lactic acid production, and generally feels unpleasant while it is happening, but afterwards, I am usually quite happy with what I have done. For those of you who have not yet figured it out, I started exercising more. Turns out four classes a week of MMA practice wasn’t doing it for me anymore, so I added running three days a week and bodyweight exercise six days a week with an eye on increasing that in the future. I may also look into the noteworthy few recipes that hold the distinction of being both delicious and nutritious. It seems that this is a hard combination to come by unless you program yourself to enjoy foods with lower amounts of sugar and fat. Those two things are typically strewn about our food like sand at a beach. They are also the reason why a bacon cheeseburger and a mint chocolate milkshake taste so damn good. Throughout history, fat and sugar were some of the biggest energy storage mechanisms that humans had, or could readily consume. So evolution steps in and says “Hey, you know that stuff that is really efficient at keeping you moving, yeah, we’re gonna make that taste amazing for you.” Which was pretty neat, until everyone stopped walking everywhere and didn’t do primarily hard labor as a job, so now we’re stuck with high energy density food that tastes great, but without removing any of that fuel. Wow, that was a tangent and a half and I’m not even done yet. Anyway, generic words about increasingly sedentary lifestyles and energy dense foods leading to an increase in health problems and you have the gist of the point I was trying to convey. All that to say, I’ve had to moderate my intake of carbs and fat because ice cream tastes good, but it really won’t help me build back up after 160 burpees. Lean meat, whole grains, vegetables, nuts, and lots of water are slowly taking the place of prepackaged meals and sodas. Granted, the latter tastes better, but the former is healthier, so I need to find a way to make the former taste better so the only barrier is effort. Aside from that, my grandfather had to go back to the hospital because he was bleeding internally. Thankfully, it was minor and he is home again, but for a few days, I was genuinely more worried than I have been in a very long time. I hope to visit him again soon, but for now he needs his rest. Transitioning directly from that somber note to another high-gear set of ramblings, I found a new thing to occupy my time that isn’t social media. I know, I know, I said I wasn’t on social media and for the most part, that was true. I just don’t really know how else to classify it. Anyway, I started watching the expanse, and I was struck by just how realistic it was for a science fiction show. I thought that was nice, in comparison to some other science fiction titles. Starting with video games, the two main ones would be mass effect and halo. Now, they’re fine as games, but lack some necessary elements that would otherwise allow them to be classed as fiction rather than fantasy. Prepare yourself dear reader, I’m about to start complaining again. I usually discern fiction from fantasy by how well it can explain its fictional elements. For example, in halo, the player typically fights as a “Spartan” super soldier, these are humans that have been heavily augmented which leads them to have near superhuman capabilities. While not possible now, it is explained in such detail that the casual observer could believe that similar procedures would be possible in the not so distant future. However, I feel it strays into the realm of fantasy thanks to things like energy shielding and faster than light travel. The former being a complex problem that many seasoned science fiction writers struggle with, and the latter being deemed by physicists as impossible. Mass effect is more egregious with things like biotics and reapers, the former being a term used to describe what I have come to label as part of the umbrella term “space wizards” and the latter being an ancient race of super intelligent machines that wipe out all advanced life in the milky way galaxy every 50,000 years. That’s not to say I don’t find these games entertaining, quite the opposite, I like them a lot, I just don’t get to play them that much. Moving on, I also have some thoughts on movies and TV shows that I feel should fall into the category of science fantasy. I’m gonna steer clear of the Warhammer 40K universe, because it is fairly well established that that is science fantasy. Instead, I am going to go into star wars. They have their own brand of “space wizards” in force users. It also has some fairly incredible materials and technology that seems to need more explanation to fall into the realm of possibility. This to me brings it into the realm of science fantasy. So what would I consider science fiction? Well, Joss Whedon gave it a very good crack with firefly. Some of the technology seemed far fetched, and don’t get me started on the reavers, but all told, it seems far more realistic than some other titles. However, I’m also not an expert, nor an experienced critic, so this has just been another segment of me giving out my opinions for free. It has a sort of catharsis to it, and it does provide a good time dump while I figure out what I should write next for the story of Grzegorzh.