AMA: Tjololo12 edition

[Tjololo12]

So someone asked me to do this, and after adamantly denying the existance of AMAs and declaring that my "neo-hipster" qualities forbade me from doing anything until after hipsters declared it was uncool, I decided to go ahead and do it.

Sooooo...AMA!!! Keep in mind, there are some things in my dark, sordid past which may be too fragile for your minds, such as REDACTED BY CUT AUTHORITIES. In such cases, I may have my posts censored by...certain individuals...*glances around furtively*.

HOWEVER! Rest assured, I will attempt to answer any questions with minimal trolling and maximum honesty, as allowed by law and as my patience/interest decides. Do not fret! Each answer will be jam packed with as much horrible humor as I can cram down your throats...unless I don't feel like being funny.

[Invunarble]

I remember a house being near D4nny's mansion that was owned by you! However, it's gone now. Is this some sort of conspiracy against the people of Borjan? Were you behind the original inside job on 9/11? Did you assassinate John F. Kennedy from the grassy knoll beside the highway instead of in the 4th depository floor? Does this explain why there are so many sheep and pigs around Tolteca? Were the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki a secret coup d'etat made by you to gain control of the Empire of Japan? Are you Jesse Ventura?

[Tjololo12]

I remember a house being near D4nny's mansion that was owned by you! However, it's gone now. Is this some sort of conspiracy against the people of Borjan?

Ah yes, I remember that house well. It was a little crapshack lol.
I had actually completely forgotten about it for a long time, and then one day I was trying to help a new player find a place in the world, and remembered it. I decided to give it to him, but I went ahead and regenerated the land it was sitting on because I had been mining in there while I was REDACTED BY CUT AUTHORITIES.

Were you behind the original inside job on 9/11?

I honestly do not believe that 9/11 was an inside job. When it happened, I was in middle school (I was 13). Kids were leaving class left and right, and teachers were sobbing in the hallways...However, nobody told us anything. It wasn't until I headed to the high school (grades 9-12 in the US) for my Latin class that I found out what was going on...They had TV's on in every room, showing the news, and were shocked we were told absolutely nothing.

Did you assassinate John F. Kennedy from the grassy knoll beside the highway instead of in the 4th depository floor?

No.

Spoiler! :

historicalpic.png

(this took waaay too long to make x_x)

Does this explain why there are so many sheep and pigs around Tolteca?

I honestly didn't think there were that many sheep and pigs there...I don't go into Tolteca much though

Were the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki a secret coup d'etat made by you to gain control of the Empire of Japan? Are you Jesse Ventura?

I can answer both of these with a simple REDACTED BY CUT AUTHORITIES.

[dandres]

What do you think of the concept that the Minecraft community will be the ones updating and carrying Minecraft on into the future once API support has been added because the Minecraft team is running out of ideas to implement themselves. Also what would you like to see added or changed? I personal think they dropped the ball on the mine carts and could have made the mine cart system better and more efficient.

[Tjololo12]

What do you think of the concept that the Minecraft community will be the ones updating and carrying Minecraft on into the future once API support has been added because the Minecraft team is running out of ideas to implement themselves.

I think that's a very accurate assessment. When you're the one developing a project, coming up with fresh ideas is extremely difficult. You'll never know the full potential of a project you've made until you open it up to the masses.

I think the minecraft team has sort of written themselves into a corner here. Yes, they could continue to make new blocks/ores, but at some point that will just become old hat. There's only so many different ores/types you can have before it just seems like you're beating a dead horse. Without changing the main game mechanic (static cubes), they're unable to add any innovative content to the game. Yes, they could do some form of jetpack, or new furnaces, but unless they put in a motor, it will just be more of the same...Brings me to the second half of your question.

Also what would you like to see added or changed? I personal think they dropped the ball on the mine carts and could have made the mine cart system better and more efficient.

Something that I'd like to see added or changed. I feel like I put this in a thread...somewhere...whatever.

In terms of petty, minor things, yes I think the mine cart system could be infinitely better. Primarily, lessening the cost of track would be great. Nobody makes a minecart go 40-50 blocks away, they're for long-distance travel, between vast expanses of land. Also, the game is MINEcraft. All mines are supposed to have minecart tracks, it's like tradition or something stupid. Making them extremely cheap or even some kind of free block would vastly increase their use, and utility.

I would also like to see an update to redstone. I know one's coming, but that's not what I'm talking about. I want to see redstone be more useful, more compact. Something similar to the redpower mod, where you can have bundled cables, compact logic gates, etc.

As for major mechanic changes, I would like to see a motor. Just a simple block which would take rotational energy from somewhere (water or wind) and rotate a small pully. You could then attach belts and other machines, such as an auto-planter for wheat. These are logical progressions given the "time period" of the game. We have flowing water, we have wind moving clouds...Why can we not harness these natural powers for useful things.

I'd honestly like to see a tekkit-like system available with this, where you could hook increasingly complicated machines up to your windmill. It would create a sort-of comical steam-punk type of atmosphere, where you have a series of 10 windmills or water wheels running a massive quarry system.

Perhaps this is all just idle wishing, and maybe I should make my own mod, with blackjack and hookers and windmills...But, that is waaay too much work.

The final thing I'd like to see added (and I'm sure this is in the works) is a *STABLE PLUGIN SYSTEM*. What I mean is, I'd like for it to be like most games. If I want to run a mod on my server, I have to have each individual client install that mod as well. I see no point in this. There is no reason why there could not be some form of unique mod identifier, that if a client's mod list does not sync with the server's, files will be passed to the client to patch their .jar to match the server's. This may be a problem with the way the client/server system is modeled, in that both have a full version of the game, rather than the server having more information and the client simply acting as a "window" to the server, but that is not for me to decide.

Long story short, IMHO, minecraft still has a very long way to go before it's what I would consider a "proper" multiplayer game. The single-player aspect works just fine as it is, but Mojang et al needs to seriously re-think the current model and, to be completely honest, re-code the whole game into a proper language.

[Invunarble]

Since I can't recall what I intended to ask you, I instead give you another question which I would hope for you to try to answer truthfully (despite how difficult that probably is).

What is the meaning of life?

[Tjololo12]

Since I can't recall what I intended to ask you, I instead give you another question which I would hope for you to try to answer truthfully (despite how difficult that probably is).

What is the meaning of life?

You're right, that is pretty difficult. And thus, this answer will be long (possibly, I'm just starting to write it, so I don't *really* know, but I'm warning you in advance).

Backstory is in the Spoiler, ignore it if you just want my answer.

Spoiler! :

First, a little backstory so that you can understand the methods by which I determined my answer. I grew up in a moderately Christian household, next door to the most Christian people I've ever met. Like, quote scripture at each other during arguments, family mission trips to Africa, not allowed to watch any movie rated higher than G type people. As a child, I was inundated by Christian values (read: shoved down my throat). Understandably, I became a fairly devout person, somewhere in between my family (to whom church was a "meh" type thing) and my neighbors (to whom every day is church).

This lasted until about Middle School, when I began to take an interest in science and, specifically, quantum physics (interestingly enough, after reading Michael Crichton's book Timeline, which was surprisingly scientifically accurate for the most part). The more I studied about quantum physics, string theory, and multiverse theory, the more I found that some of the things I was learning directly contradicted the bible. I was also learning that these scientific theories had very little un-supporting evidence, besides the fact that due to their nature they could not be observed directly.

I began to question my faith at that point. I was still going to church regularly, attending a bible study, and going on occasional trips (such as Acquire the Fire, an experience I consider very moving and powerful to this day, but that's another story). I began to question my youth leaders and pastors about my knowledge. Surprisingly, they were not very illuminating. This may be indicative of failures on their part, I saw it as further proof that even the highest church leaders I could find had no idea what to do with this information. When questioned about the multiverse theory (you can look it up on wikipedia for more info), they simply responded along the lines of "According to the bible, that's not true." When pressed for further proof besides a single, and in my opinion unreliable, source, they would simply respond that the Bible was the word of god, and was thus utter truth. Anything that contradicted the bible was wrong.

I was also, at my age, beginning to see the "double lives" of many of the "Christians" I once believed to be men and women of God. Only about 10% of the people going to my church were, in my opinion, "worthy" of the title Christian (I did not include myself in that number). The rest were merely acting it out. When I asked the church leaders about this, they responded that all these people would have to do is ask for forgiveness, and they would be welcomed back into the Kingdom of Heaven.

My questioning continued for a little while, but the more I learned and the more I saw, the less I believed in Christianity in general. I started forming my own beliefs. I wrote an interesting paper tying Christianity with Evolution, using concepts drawn from the Ender's Game series. I might be able to find it if you're interested, but that's not the point. The point is, shortly after entering high school, I decided I was no longer a Christian, and I no longer believed in God.

That's not to say I'm not open to the idea of a Creator, however from what I've learned the proof is simply not there. I consider myself an Agnostic, or an Athiest. That is, I personally cannot say for sure whether there is/are a god/s or not, but I'm leaning more towards the not.

So now onto the topic at hand: What is the meaning of life. In my opinion, there are several definitions, depending on scope.

Immediate (now) scope for individuals: The purpose of life is to not be a douchebag. I think some of my Christian "training", if you will, comes into play here. Live as enjoyable of a life as you can, so long as you're not interfering with others' enjoyment. Now, don't take that as "Go nuts, who cares?" because it does matter for other scopes.

Lifetime scope for individuals: What is the purpose of your life? Reproduction. It has been hammered into your psyche since we became multi-cellular organisms. Every creature on this earth wants to pass on its DNA to others. I think this is for two reasons. The first, is because we are so short-lived, we want a sense of permanence. There is the desire to live forever, and since we cannot do that, we want to ensure that some part of us does. Second, it's because we all believe that we are "special flowers" deserving of attention. We think our genes are *worth* being passed down.

Immediate (now) scope for humanity: Similar to the scope for individuals, but for the "now" with humanity, it more focuses on continuation of evolution. I believe humans have basically stopped evolving. We're now advanced enough that we can tackle almost any situation given to us. However, in order to continue growing, we must evolve somehow, otherwise we stagnate. I think this is being done through technology. It makes us stronger, faster, smarter, and more communicative. As time progresses, I think we will see an influx of personal technologies, designed to enhance the capabilities of the individual.

Future scope for humanity: Survival. We as a species desire to survive. We take concern in our environment, our planet, and our local space. We watch for dangerous events, and try to mitigate the effects. We do all this so that we will continue, and thrive. I think things that the individual does every day has a long-lasting effect on the continuity of our race, and that should be taken into account in our everyday lives.

So this ended up being a lot longer than I thought, but hopefully it gave you some stuff to think about

TL;DR: Meaning of life: Be nice, mate, learn, clean.

[Invunarble]

The CUT Authorities really didn't try to redact anything from your life story?

On the topic of CUT, would you also endorse Lord Mountbatten into making a AMA thread himself?

[Tjololo12]

The CUT Authorities really didn't try to redact anything from your life story?

I doubt they read it. It was fairly boring.

On the topic of CUT, would you also endorse Lord Mountbatten into making a AMA thread himself?

I'm not sure whether Lord making an AMA would be a good thing. On the one hand, it would probably contain some humorous responses. On the other hand, it would be filled with nothing but lies and CUT propaganda.....I'd definitely read it though.

[Lord_Mountbatten]

I didn't read it. It was fairly boring.

And no, I don't need an AMA thread.

I disagree with you about the lifetime scope for individuals thing. I feel no desire to harbour offspring. My sense of permanence is recognition, and from everything I see from people with children they would ultimately stress me out and get in the way of recognition with their needs.

[Invunarble]

Then again, you're sort of a renowned man yourself, not many people can accomplish things that you've done. How many people do you know go around suggesting for aircraft carriers to be made of ice, become the first and only Viceroy of India, split a continent apart, become the Admiral of the Fleet during WWII, and furthermore, manage to survive a combustive boat explode in your face at the age of 79 years old?

[Lord_Mountbatten]

I have high expectations of myself.

[asi1998]

How did you get the name tjololo12

I wrote an interesting paper tying Christianity with Evolution, using concepts drawn from the Ender's Game series. I might be able to find it if you're interested, but that's not the point.

Id also love to read this if u find it and would like to share

[Tjololo12]

How did you get the name tjololo12
Id also love to read this if u find it and would like to share

Actually, it's a pretty interesting story. Back when I was in 7th grade, I started playing Runescape. It asked for an account name, and I was completely at a loss. I have a horrible mind for creating usernames, passwords, etc. Whenever I needed to do so, I would look around the room until I found something relatively memorable, and would use that.

I happened to look to the left of me, and I saw the cover of a National Geographic, October 2001. Its main article was "Tjololo: Stalking the Leopard". I decided that sounded like a good name; it had a nice random distribution of letters, it was unique, unlikely to be taken, and could be easily shortened to Tj.

Ever since then, I've been Tjololo. When I find that's taken, I use Tjololo12, or Tjololo1221, but it almost always begins the same way. When Tjololo the leopard died a few years back was when I really started having to be creative; it was fairly widespread news, so a lot of people started picking that username.

You can do some google searches for Tjololo and, if they're not about me, they're about that leopard.

I'll look around for that file, and if I can find it, I'll send it to you

[asi1998]

Do you like to hunt?

Do you like airplanes? If so, what is your favorite one?

What is the coolest thing you ever build on the server?

Have you ever been to Europe? If so, what was the coolest place there?

[Tjololo12]

Do you like to hunt?

I've never been hunting, but I do enjoy shooting. I'm currently saving up for a handgun to take to a shooting range nearby.

I wouldn't be opposed to hunting, so long as someone else was cleaning

Do you like airplanes? If so, what is your favorite one?

I *love* airplanes. I've been "working on" getting my pilot's license for years now. I say working on with quotes because, though I have about 15 hours (you need 40 for a license), I'll have to start over. It got waaay too expensive, and I've forgotten almost everything (it's about $150 USD per hour)

What is the coolest thing you ever build on the server?

There are a few things I'm proud of that I built. The most obvious one would probably be Vallorn's face in creative. I made it after the music big build, which I entered almost secretly at the last moment, and made a pixel art of Rick Astley, complete with lyrics to his song (I think you know which one). After that, I made the Vallface.

Another thing I'm proud of is my locking door system for my home. It's also available to look at in creative (I have no idea of the coords though XD I can look them up if you want). It's sort of pointless for the server, because we have cuboids and lwc. However, it's awesome on survival. Basically, it's a double-iron-door, with pressure plates outside and a button inside and a lock. When it's locked, you can go out but not in. When you press the button, the doors stay open until you step on the pressure plates. The button can be pressed while the door is either locked or unlocked. Finally, there is a "lockout" method for if your door is locked, and you need to get inside. It helps keep mobs from getting in.

Finally, my house in general is pretty cool. It's dug out of a hill with trees all over it with a semi-hidden entrance, it's very hard to see until you're on top of it (and can see the glass roof). I have an indoor lake, a chest area, a dragon egg on a diamond block, and secret rooms/entrances galore! I also have a bravery bridge entrance, but it's sealed up as it lags and kills me XD

Have you ever been to Europe? If so, what was the coolest place there?

Unfortunately, I've never been outside of America. In fact, I've only been two locations in my life. 1: The eastern seaboard of america (have visited all states from maine to florida, basically every state that touches the ocean) 2: Alaska (visited my sister when she lived up there). And that's all XD My sister now lives in Arizona, so I'll be visiting her there as soon as I can so I can say I've visited a landlocked state XD

Thanks for the questions! I assumed everyone had forgotten about these threads, it was pretty neat. In response to your last question, I haven't had any luck finding that paper yet, but I think it's on an external harddrive I have at home. I'll keep looking around, and if I find it, I'll let you know