New Year's Resolutions

I don't usually make these things, but I've got one for this year: blog more! I'm awful at blogging. The fact that this blog is the third I've made, but the first to get past more than two posts, says something, I think.

I've collected a few possible things to blog about:

Games (Card, mostly)
How to Linux (once I download it on something or fix the GRUB error on the drive I already have it downloaded to. It'll be Xubuntu, by the way, unless otherwise stated.)
What [Media] Teaches Me
How to TiddlyWiki (the internet needs more of these)
Help With Writing (Writing and Editing)
How to Crochet?
Help With Art (A request)
How to Music Theory (And some 'This Might Be How to Music I'm Not Sure' posts, because I am an amateur (like really really amateur) composer.)
Programming and Debugging notes (it's going to happen; I'm taking an intro-to-programming class next quarter)
Flash Fictions
How to Internet
Miscellaneous
Etc.,.

I hope to make several of these a series. I might even set up a schedule sometime! No one really reads my blog right now other than a few I link some posts to, so I feel at liberty to do really whatever I want XD

That is all~

Card Games: "May I?"

Card playing is a big thing in my family. Whenever it's a big holiday, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's, we play hours of card games. I've come to notice, however, that when I look up the rules of some of these games, they are often different variations on what we play.

So, I've decided to put some of our rules up here! I hypothesize that the cause of mutation is caused by a lack of a physical record; we teach each other card games orally, instead of reading from something written.

Our favorite game to play is a Rummy variant, called "May I?" I looked up some other variants (one which I shall dub 'EVIL "May I?"'), none of which were played the same as ours.

*I apologize in advance if some of the symbols for cards I use are not the same as standardized rules. I will also be using 'she' as the preferred pronoun throughout this series, since I usually game with other women. XD

"May I?" (Honsvick Style)

Objective: 

Be the player with the least amount of points by the last round. The best way to achieve this is try to be the first one to go out each round, or at least down. 

Setup: 

We usually play with 4 or 5 people, but it can be played with 3-6+ (more than 6 starts to get painful, but possible. More than 2-3 decks are required for more.). We start out with two standard decks, with the Jokers (which are Wild Cards), but add in a third deck around 10-12 cards, depending on how many people there are. 

Each person is dealt the required amount of cards each round. The dealer begins with the person to her left and ends with herself; make sure everyone has their respective pile of cards (or else the luck is screwed up. Don't mess with the luck). 

When the person to the dealer's left is ready to begin, she picks up the top card from the deck and turns it over. 

Rounds: 

There are seven rounds. For each round, there is a different amount of cards needed, as well as different combinations of cards to win. 

A set: (at least) three cards, all of the same value. (e.g., Seven, Seven, Seven.)
A run: a sequence of (at least) four cards in the same suit. You cannot bridge the gap with a run: no King, Ace, Two. A234 and JaQKA are fine.

1. 7 cards: Two sets

2. 8 cards: One set, one run 

3. 9 cards: Two runs 

4. 10 cards: Three sets 

5. 11 cards: Two sets, one run 

6. 12 cards: Two Runs One Set

7. 13 cards: Three Runs

Theoretically, this pattern could continue endlessly. Two sets == 6 cards, which is one less than 7. One set, one run == 7 cards, which is one less than 8. So on and so forth. However, at 14 cards, you have two choices: 2 runs, 2 sets, or 3 sets, 1 run. We never play past 7 rounds for this reason.  

Note: A player cannot lay down more than the required sets/runs. 

Play of Cards:

A player begins her turn by drawing the top card from either the deck or the discard pile. A player ends her turn by discarding to the discard pile. 

Going Down: When a player has all the cards she needs for that round (e.g., Two Sets for Round 1), she may lay her cards down face-up on the table. This must be done during her turn; she cannot lay her hand down in between turns or during someone else's turn. 

Going out: A player wins a round when she gets rid of all her cards . She can do this by laying either on her own cards (adding to a set or extending a run), or by laying on someone else's (who is also down) cards. 

Her last card must be discarded; in this version, a player cannot play-out (which makes it easier, really). 

If a player is not down, she cannot play on another, already-down player's cards. However, if another player has a Joker in their laid-down sets/runs, any other player (whose turn it is) may replace the Joker with the proper card and take the Joker. 

May I-ing: In between turns*, if a player (P1) sees a card she needs, she may ask the player whose turn is about to begin (P3), "May I?" If P3 does not want the card on the discard pile, she will say, "You may." (If P3 does want the card, she gets it, no questions asked.) P1 then takes the top card from the discard pile AND the top card from the deck. 

However, if P4 wants the card on the discard pile and also asks, "May I?" (and P3 agrees), then P4 gets the card instead of P1, because P4 comes in the rotation before P1. 

Each player has only two May-I's (per round). May-I's make it harder to go out, for each adds two cards to a player's hand. A player can keep track of her May-I's by counting her cards (e.g., Round 1: 9 cards means 1 May-I. 11 cards means 2). A player who is down has no need (and should not want) to May-I.

Multiple May-Is in a row can occur. If P1 wanted the top discard card and May-Ied it, then P2 wants the new top discard card, she may May-I it. 

*We always play that a player cannot May-I during someone's turn, but I'm told this is a rule the group needs to decide before the game begins. Can you May-I during someone's turn? 

Scoring:

Points are tallied at the end of each round and accumulate.

She who goes out receives 0 points for that round.

All who lay down count only what they are still holding (i.e. their cards on the table don't count towards points.)

Those who do not lay down might ragequit (or just weep quietly), depending on how many points they have in their hand.

2-9: Face value

10-K: 10 points

A: 15 points

Joker: 25 points

It IS possible to never go out and win the game, generally by collecting all low cards and discarding all one's high cards. It makes other people want to strangle you, however. 

Something else a player can do, if she wants to troll the other players, is collect all the cards everyone else needs. This is generally a bad tactic for winning, since high cards are often included, but it gives a player who never wins the satisfaction of cackling throughout the entire game. (One of my aunts does this.) 

Adding A Player In: 

Players can jump in mid-game (at the beginning of a round, of course). However, they must adopt the losing score as their own; they don't start at 0 points as everyone does at the very beginning of the game. 

"May I?" (EVIL Style)

This is one of the variants I found online. (First post). It makes our variant seem like we're playing Nerf. As my sister says, this one would involve "twice the crying." It's slightly modified, since some of the rules don't make sense. (How are you supposed to lay down 12 cards when all you have is 11? Theoretically, it is possible, since when you draw, you have one more card than you were dealt, but I feel like you shouldn't just lay down to go out.)

Objective:

Be the player with the least amount of points by the last round. The best way to do this is to go out each round. 

Setup:

Shuffle three standard decks together. Game for 3-6 players. 

For the first four rounds, deal 11 cards to each player. For the last two rounds, deal 13 cards to each player. The dealer begins with the person to her left and ends with herself; make sure everyone has their respective pile of cards.

When the person to the dealer's left is ready to begin, she picks up the top card from the deck and turns it over. 

Rounds: 

There are six rounds. For each round, a different combination of cards is needed to win.

A set: (at least) three cards, all of the same value. (e.g., Seven, Seven, Seven.)
A run: a sequence of (at least) four cards in the same suit. Aces CANNOT be used as 1 in this version; they can only be used after a K. 

1. One set, one run. (7 cards to lay down)

2. Two runs. (8)

3. Three sets. (9)

4. Two sets, one run. (10)

5. Two runs, one set. (11)

6. Three runs. (12)

A player cannot lay down more than the required sets/runs.  

Play of Cards: 

A player begins her turn by drawing the top card from either the deck or the discard pile. A player ends her turn by discarding to the discard pile. 

Going Down: When a player has all the cards she needs for that round (e.g. Two Sets for Round 1), she may lay her cards down face-up on the table. This must be done during her turn; she cannot lay her hand down in between turns or during someone else's turn. 

Going out: A player wins a round when she gets rid of all her cards . She can do this by laying either on her own cards (adding to a set or extending a run), or by laying on someone else's (who is also down) cards*. 

Her last card must be played on either her own cards or on someone else's; in this version, a player cannot discard-out.

If a player is not down, she cannot play on another, already-down player's cards.

*Jokers may be replaced in a run and will move “up” in the run unless there is already an Ace at the top, then they will move down. They will stay with the run and may not be replaced once a run is full. 

May I-ing: In between turns, if a player (P1) sees a card she needs, she may ask the player whose turn is about to begin (P3), "May I?" If P3 does not want the card on the discard pile, she will say, "You may." (If P3 does want the card, she gets it, no questions asked.) P1 then takes the top card from the discard pile and TWO cards from the top of the deck. 

If more than P1 says, "May I?" it is she who said it first who gets the card. If it is a close call as to who said it first, a loud disputation will settle the matter, with P3's word being final. 

Each player has only two May-I's (per round). May-I's make it harder to go out, for each adds two cards to a player's hand. A player can keep track of her May-I's by counting her cards (e.g., Round 1: 9 cards means 1 May-I. 11 cards means 2). A player who is down has no need (and should not want) to May-I.

Scoring: 

She who went out scores 0 points for that round. 

Those who do not go out might ragequit (or just weep quietly), depending on how many points they have in their hand. (This version says nothing about people who go down getting freebies.)

2-7: 5 points

8-K: 10 points

A: 20 points

Joker: 50 points

Other Variants: 

Variant one: 

1. 2 decks. Each round gets 10 cards.
2. NO Jokers, NO wild cards.
3. Begin with only two sets for 6 cards to lay down. 
4. Remove 'three runs' round. 
5. Players may use May-Is as much as they would like, only drawing one card from the deck. Players can May-I multiple times at once. (May-I the top card, then May-I the next top card.)
6. You can only discard-out.
7. Aces are only worth 15 points and can be used both low and high (a 14 card run is possible, if there were such a thing). Bridging is not allowed, however.
8. In the last round (Two runs, one set) NO ONE may May-I a card unless it is her WINNING CARD. She does not draw a penalty at this point, either, but goes out immediately.

Variant Two: 

1. No Jokers; Twos are wild.
2. Two rounds are added (to the Evil Style): Three runs, and an abnormal round: One set, one run of 7 
3. "You cannot have an out card." I have no idea what this means. Do you?

Variant Three: 

This version of May-I combines many of the rules from all the versions. Reading it may also make reading my guide easier to read, by the way; I've never explained a card game before in writing. A few terms are different--contract, melding, laying off, etc.,--but the idea is the same.

1. Dealing is the same as the Honsvick Style
2. There are no Jokers; Twos are wild. (Variant Two)
3. The round combinations are the same as the Honsvick Style.
4. It has an alternate version of the last round; Two Sets, One Run and no discard, instead of Three Runs. The round ends immediately after 'melding' all the cards (a.k.a. going down) (Variant One, sort of). 
5. Play ends if all the cards run out and there is no winner. (That sucks. Just add another deck in in our version. XD)
6. The person that asks for a May-I first gets it (Evil Style).
7. You cannot take a deuce from the meld it is a part of (Evil Style). 
8. Number cards are all face-value, except for Twos, which are 20 points. Face cards are 10 points, and Aces are 15. 
9. Aces can only be played as high. (Evil Style)

Variant Four: 

Another guide I found online with the variant name "Contract Rummy." Good to know. This uses some of the same language from the other guide. 

1. Three to five players; optimum four. 
2. Two decks WITH Jokers.
3. There should be one less Joker than there are players; three players play with 106, four with 107, five with 108. (Interessant!) 
4. Seven rounds; in the first three rounds, players recieve 10 cards each. In the last four, they receive 12.
5. No discard on last round (three runs). 
6. You may not lay off (play off) other people's cards on the same turn you lay down.
7. You must discard-out for every round except round 7.
8. Play ends if all the cards run out.
9. If several people want to May-I a card, it goes to the player earliest in rotation. 
10. There is no limit on May-Is, but one player cannot successively take more than one card from the discard pile.
11. Jokers gained by stealing from someone else's meld MUST be played THAT TURN. It cannot be saved for play later.
12. Contigious sequences (or runs) are not allowed; no runs of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, 6, 7, 8. There must be a gap, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, and  3, 4, 5, 6, or 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, 7, 8, 9.
13. In round seven, one of the sequences must be longer than four cards.
14. Numbered Cards are their face value, Face cards are 10, Aces 15, Jokers 15. 
15. There is no rule stating whether Aces are high or not. 
16. A variation: No Jokers.
17. Liverpool Rummy is another game similar to Contract Rummy. 

I'm sure there's more out there, but there's what my initial search pulled up. I think if I search "Contract Rummy," I'd get all sorts more rules. Whee!

What's your favorite version of "May I?"

Skype

I remember it almost as it was yesterday. I was sitting in my chair, drinking herbal tea, Skyping my friends, and then suddenly--disaster struck.

Skype closed.

Immediately, my heart spiked as a window opened up, prompting me to download the latest version of Skype or I would never use it again. I had knew this was coming, ever since Microsoft bought Skype out (blasted M$).

Reluctantly, after battling Google for an answer to keep my beloved 5.10.0.116 version, I finally downloaded the latest version of Skype.

Since then, I have been plagued by automatic updates without my even knowing, sometimes: I would open up Skype to see a small notification saying, "We've downloaded the latest version of Skype so you have the latest improvements and bug fixes!" ("We're doing this for your own good, Mariah. You don't know what you're doing. Just let us help you. You'd like that, wouldn't you? Imagine a world where happiness abounds . . . all because you let us handle your updates. You don't even have to worry about it . . .")

My Skype continued to get weirder, shinier, and more "user friendly," (no doubt, since that's what M$ is all about). And I hated it.

Today, however, was the last straw. With the upgrade to Skype 7.0, Skype almost stopped working every time I switched over to type in something (correction: It DID. It would either lag incredibly, or it would freeze and show "Skype (Not Responding)").

So, to Google I went, praying desperately for a solution. And I found one--now I'm sitting pretty on version 5.10.0.116 of Skype (*cackles maniacally* Take that, M$!).

So, you want to downgrade Skype? Here it goes. (Note: I'm not talking to you like you're five, I'm just trying to be clear)

Step One: Remove Skype

Gotta get rid of the newest version to replace it with an old version. 

1. Go to Control Panel 
2. Go to Programs and Features
3. Find Skype
4. Uninstall

Step Two: Download the Setup of the version of Skype you want. 

M$ has blanketed over almost everything I pulled up today; I think I actually had the setup for 5.10.0.116 already stored on my computer. I think there's a way to search in the Skype files for the old versions, but I don't know how; Google is your friend if you want to look into that. I have a few lying around: 

5.10.0.116

6.21.0.104 or 6.21.0.104 (File Hippo)

Have fun looking for other versions (and I hope those 6.21 versions don't go out of style for you).

Step Three: Replace the SkypeSetup.exe with the SkypeSetup.exe You Want

Now that you have your beloved version, you must trick Skype into thinking it's updating all the way. 

1. Navigate to C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Local\Temp
2. Scroll down to SkypeSetup.exe (Ignore the Skype folder)
3. Delete the SkypeSetup.exe and the other Skype files surrounding it (I had three things; the SkypeSetup, Skype Toolbars, and some other Skype setup thingy I got rid of just in case, since it 'contained all the information and data needed for version 7.0').
4. Copy your SkypeSetup.exe version that you like (probably under the name of "SkypeSetup_<version>.exe"; I renamed it to "SkypeSetup.exe") into the Temp folder.
5. Right-Click on the File and go into Properties
6. Check the 'Read Only' button
7. Apply

Step Four: Download Your Version of Skype

1. Download your version of Skype from the SkypeSetup.exe (I had a copy on my desktop I downloaded from; I don't know if you can download from the Temp file, but probably)
2. Open Skype and bask in your victory.

Step Five: Disable the Skype Updater.

This gets rid of Skype's ability to check for and download updates automatically.

1. Go to Services (Start > Run > Type "Services.msc"; search your computer for it; go through the Control Panel; Task Manager > Services > Open Services)
2. Find 'Skype Updater' 
3. Right click on it and go into Properties. 
4. Under "Startup Type," select "Disabled."
5. Apply.

(Optional) Step Six: Block Ads

Does your version still have ads? These ad-blocking techniques never worked for me (at least not for the newer versions), but apparently they work for everybody else. XD So, here's what I've heard:

1. Go to Control Panel > Internet Options > Security > Restricted Sites > Sites
2. Add http://apps.skype.com/ (this blocks your entire home page, seemingly . . . that's never happened for me, so maybe my computer is trolling XD) and http://g.msn.com/ . 
3. Bask in your victory and in your ad-free pages. 

Hope this all was helpful! Fight the automatic, involuntary updates, everybody! Have fun debugging. 

Winter

Merry (Early) Christmas! Have a story about snow and pirates.
_________________________________________________________________

A coughing fit woke the captain from his rest. He sat up, blankets falling off of him.

"Yagh!" he exclaimed at the frigid air, yanking the covers back up as he fumbled on the ground for his shirt.

Dim light shone through his window; he stumbled across the room, resting his arm on the wall above the hole as he peered through. Ice crusted over the outside, making it impossible to see.

"The hell?" he muttered, wondering if he was drunk. He could swear he wasn't, however. Shaking his head, he tumbled to the door, throwing it open. A rush of cold air met him, as well as the cabin boy.

"Cap'n!" exclaimed Jono, who was poised to knock on the door. The small lad was bundled up in a winter coat, his brown hair peeking out from beneath his cap. "Cap'n, somethin's goin' on up yonder that we thinks ya should see." The boy's breath fogged the air when he spoke.

"I was just headin' up there, lad," he replied, grabbing his coat and shoving his arms into it. "Lead th' way."

The young man nodded, turning and running up the stairs on booted feet. The captain pounded up after him, though he kept a hand on the wall for support; his legs didn't seem to be working quite properly. Perhaps he had had something to drink and was hungover now.

"What in th' gods' name . . ." he swore as Jono opened the door and snow blew through. Stepping outside, he shielded his eyes against a world of white. "Lenos! What th' hell is goin' on?"

"I haven't the slightest, Captain," his first mate replied. "One moment, the sun was shining, and the next, it wasn't."

The captain took a step forward, nearabout tripping. "Blast! I can't seem t' walk straight," he growled.

"Almost none of us can," replied Lenos, coming up alongside the captain with a steadying hand on the wall. "The sea has frozen over, rendering our sea-legs useless."

"Frozen over?" the captain questioned, looking out at the ocean. There was only ice, as far as the eye could see. "What in Saeson's unholy name . . . ?"

A mighty rumble rippled throughout the ice and ship, causing a chorus of yells to go up as many fell to their knees. The captain swore, but steadied himself as the rumbling continued.

"Look!" cried one of the sailors. "Of to th' starboard port, look!"

Attention turned towards the location, where a great castle had rose up out of the sea.

"That would appear to be the castle of the Sorceress of the North," Lenos noted.

"How th' hell can ye tell?" the captain asked.

"Well, how many other sorcerers do you know that would go out of their way to cause someone trouble?"

"Point taken." The captain sighed, melting snow on his beard with a plume of warm breath. "It would seem th' only option is t' go 'n' investigate."

"Aye, Captain," Lenos said. "I'll have the men get ready."

TO BE CONTINUED

"Homophobic"

For anyone who has read my profile on here, I believe it states somewhere that I'm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints. I do strive to live the standards set by my church, and sometimes this can run me into problems. The one that I see most often (other than, "You don't drink coffee?!) and the one that bothers me the most is when people get uptight about me not agreeing with LGTB stuff.

What brings this up is a comment recently left on my Figment profile:

Thanks for the offer to swap! I liked your story 'Beloved' but as you've said several things I disagree with on your wall ('I don't heart swaps' and that homophobic bit about not being able to read about LGBT) I decided not to heart it. 

I haven't responded to this person, since these sort of people throw me in utter disbelief.

I don't agree with LGTB stuff, but that doesn't mean I don't have plenty of friends who do, or who participate in that. I have several bi friends, several gender-fluid friends, and a few lesbian friends--I don't think I know anyone who is gay or transgender, but I feel my point remains the same.

While I believe that LGTB is wrong, I don't discriminate against these people. I also believe that people can do whatever the heck they want, and that means they can go out and do stuff I don't believe in.

What gets me more about some of the people in the LGTB community  (I do stress "some"; I don't know tons of them), or those who strongly support it, is that they're rude. I don't go, "I don't want to be around you because you're lesbian/bi," but I've had a few people tell me off because they don't want to be "judged" for having a same-sex boyfriend or girlfriend when all I've asked them to do is not talk so much about it around me, since I don't want to hear about that stuff (and I don't want to hear that sort of relationship gushy stuff about straight people). I don't tell LGTB people, "You're the devil's child!" It's not like I haven't sinned at all in my life.

This poster on my wall liked my story, but because she disagreed with who I am, she decided against giving me a heart (which I guess she deems highly important to me if she's going to use it to try and convince me that I should feel guilty for being "homophobic.") It's like, "Alright, I'm the 'homophobic' and 'bigoted' one, yet I'm not the one being rude here. That makes sense."

What this says to me is that it's alright to discriminate against someone because of their beliefs. Yet, if I went out and did something like that--"I won't give you a heart on this story you wrote that's great because you believe LGTB is okay even though your story had nothing to do with that stuff"--I would be burned at the stake. 

America likes to pride itself on equality, but, while we truly are far better about it today, we appear to have a long way to go. I can't state my beliefs--exercise my right to say whatever I wanna say--without being discriminated against for it, which is exactly what LGTB people and activists claim to have a problem with: They can't be who they want to be without being discriminated against for it. While this has merit--LGTB have been treated very badly and sometimes quite unfairly--why they do this to other people is beyond me. It certainly doesn't win their side any brownie points.

What I'm trying to say here is treat people how you wanna be treated. If you are rude to people, expect rudeness in return; if you don't expect it, you're a hypocrite. Being nice to people doesn't always make people be nice to you in return, but at least you're being a good person.


P.S. I don't know why she doesn't agree with me not doing heart-swaps. Heart-swaps are cheating. Refer to earlier post.

P.S.S. The contest is FINALLY over. I don't think I mentioned this here, but Figment extended the deadline from the 26th of November to yesterday (the 5th of December) TWO DAYS before the contest ended, without warning. It was ridiculously irritating.

P.S.S.S. Edit: I lied. They extended the contest again. Jack wagons.