Minecraft Space Battleship

I started working in minecraft again after the 1.2 update. I was really pleased to hear they increased the maximum height. Doubled it actually. I wanted to build maybe not as big as other project I have done but more complicated. Involving redstone circuits that are more impressive than doors. So I built a spaceship with a bunch of dispensers that shoot arrows. There are over a hundred guns and they can fire between 6000-10700 arrows every minute. All of the circuits lead back to the control room where they can be started and stopped. There is also a parallel circuit for each one that controls a light in the control room where you can see if the circuits are active. So the light will blink when the guns are firing, and the blinking is synced with the timing of the shoots. Meaning the light will also tell you how fast you are shooting.

There are a few circuits that control lights throughout the ship. On the top floor there are lights in every room that can be set from the control room to blink on and off, this is a kind of "Red alert" state. The other interesting circuit is the landing lights on the landing deck. They blink in order leading you out of the landing bay, just like you would see on a real airstrip.

For the most part the circuts are hidden in the walls, and ceiling. there are maintenance doors on the lower level that let you access all of the guns, and circuits for reloading.

The engine does not do anything other than look cool. Its just a bunch of pistons working in sync to move water. I thought I would add it for aesthetic purposes.

A copy of the Map can be found Here.  Installation is simple 1. open the start menu and type %appdata% (yes with the %s)  then open .minecraft, then saves, then paste the newworld folder and your done.  (you must have the most up to date version of minecraft to open)

New Software: iOS 5.1

Along with the announcement of the iPad 3, or what apple is simply calling "the new iPad", a software update for iOS was also released. This update added a couple of things. There is a camera button always on the lock screen, some enhancements to make battery life better, and some other improvements. One interesting update for AT&T users is that the iPhone can connect to AT&T's HSPA+ network. HSPA+ is commonly known as 3.5G because it's faster than a 3G network but not as fast as an LTE (4G) network. However the iPhone shows the HSPA+ network as 4G so it would look like the iPhone magically became a 4G device, but its not. But a little extra speed is a always a good thing.

Now for my favorite update. Japanese language support for Siri. I've played around with it a bit and got it to do the basic Siri commands like setting a timer or playing a song. I don't use Siri all too often, but this update makes me use it more often just because I like to practice, and I feel smart using another language. Dictation is pretty good in japanese. Most of the mistakes are just my bad pronunciation.





Heres a translation of the picture above:

Me:  Morning
Siri: good morning Mackenzie!
Me: I want to listen to "Onna to otoko no lullaby game"
Siri: ok I will play "Onna to otoko no lullaby game"
Me: Thanks
Siri: I am happy that you are delighted.

New Tech: Klipsch KW-100 10" powered subwoofer

I picked up this speaker from someone selling it online.  It was still in the package when I bought it, seemed the seller did not need it.  So I was able to get a nice deal on this sub.  This is the first sub woofer I've owned so I'm learning about things like "frequency response"(the frequency level that the sub kicks in).  A couple more specs on this device;  its down firing.  Down firing is pretty self explaining, meaning the speaker is aimed downward to send the low frequency sounds into the floor.  Unfortunately because I'm in the basement, and have carpet this does not shake the floor like it would if I were on the ground floor.  Its powered to 225 watts.  The wattage of a sub basically means how much sounds It can produce.  More power more bass.  Overall I am impressed with the amount of sounds this device makes.

Even on the lowest power settings (2-3 out of 10) the bass can be heard at the far corners of the house.  Meaning I have not had many chances to play the speaker really loud as it would disturb other people living here.  The loudest I have heard so far was around 6.

For music the sub is great.  Right now I only use a couple of computer speakers, which get the job done, but they are not a great match for such a powerful sub.  The extra bass add a lot to music, but the sound travels a lot farther then the smaller speakers.

Its also good for movies or video games.  A lot of ambient sounds are at a lower frequency and the sub is perfect for bring those sounds to life.  Explosions, gunshots, and magic fireballs all sounds much cooler with the sub.