Super Blood Harvest Moon Eclipse. It might be your last…

The last Super Blood Moon was in 1982. That was 33 years ago! You are not gonna want to miss this one, because if you do, you are gonna have to wait another 18 years. The next Super Blood Moon is in 2033.

This is a 4 in 1 moon.

1. Lunar Eclipse, when the moon appears darkened as it passes into the earth’s shadow.
2. Super Moon, when the moon is closest to the Earth. This results in the moon appearing up to 14% larger in diameter.
3. Blood Moon, when the moon can appear reddish in color during a lunar eclipse because almost all colors except red are “filtered” out.
4. Harvest moon, the full moon closest to the Fall equinox (The time or date [twice each year] at which the sun crosses the celestial equator, when day and night are of equal length).

Total Eclipse begins at 7:11 PM, PDT

Total Eclipse ends at 8:23 PM, PDT

Partial Eclipse ends at 9:27 PM, PDT

Live Streams of the Moon can be found here:

Griffith Observatory

NASA

$2.50 for Tap Water?

Someone recently told me that Europe charges for tap water at restaurants and that tipping is not “mandatory” like in the U.S. This got me thinking… Would I rather pay for tap water or never tip again?

I would rather pay for tap water than give someone an undecided amount or percentage of of the total bill. I worked hard for my money and I already paid Olive Garden for the food and service. So, why should I give more of my money because of… “reasons.”

What would you choose?

5 Ways to Make an Exciting Live Steam

If you have ever done a live stream, you’ll know it’s a little bit of a rush. Broadcasting to the Internet for viewers to be entertained by YOU. It’s a lot of fun but I’ve watch a lot of people do it poorly. There are a couple popular streaming services but Twitch.tv has the most internet traffic. Without breaking the bank, you can have an exciting live stream.

The first thing you should have is an OVERLAY. This adds a lot of personality to the stream and shows you care about the details. These are easy to make and there are a ton of free templates all over the Internet. Sign up for a free trial of Photoshop and you can be on your way to editing your own overlay. Check this guy out for a bunch of free overlays.

The second item is a WEBCAM. People want to see you and your reactions. It makes the stream more relatable and personal when you show your viewers who you are. You can purchase cheap webcams or wait for nice ones to go on sale. I have streamed with a built in laptop webcam on my MacBook Pro and it worked great for me.

Next up is a FULL PROFILE. Your viewers will check out your profile the second after judging your live stream. Show them that you care about your followers by giving them information that will be repeated over and over in the comments like your computer build, streaming schedule or your basic info.

The fourth point is USING A BOT to help with your comments and new followers. I used Nightbot for my stream because it had a easy to use interface and it allowed me to do a lot of things for free. For example, when I had a new follower it would pop up on my stream with a  little animation, some jingle, and the name of the user who just followed me. It let me know I got a new follower and the follower got a little shout out on my stream.

Lastly, setup a DONATION BUTTON. This is fun for many reasons. 1. You get money. 2. The user obviously loves you. 3. I made it a point to do something crazy when money was donated to make them want to donate more to see me do more crazy stuff. A lot of fun ($$$).

Do you stream? Send me your username so I can check you out! (All screen shots taken from a guy I follow on twitch named GamrKev)

How A Computer Is Like A Human

Over the weekend I built another PC. I use the PC for casual games like someone would use a PS4 or Xbox One. Building a PC is very easy and VERY satisfying. There are 7 main components to build a functioning computer.

• Case (Body)
• Motherboard (The Brain [tells everything what to do])
• Processor (The Heart [keeps everything functioning])
• RAM (The Arms [for multi-tasking])
• Power Supply (Blood Veins [keeps it going])
• Graphics Card (Muscles [looks great and allows you to do awesome stuff])
• Hard drives/Storage (Memory [where all your files are stored])

Building a PC is as simple as putting these 7 parts together and you will have a physical computer. I learned how to do everything on YouTube and you can too. You don’t need an engineering degree. You’re welcome.

What if Christmas Music was Played Throughout the Year?

What if Christmas music was played all year long? Or do you cringe at the people who enjoy listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving? Answer these questions to yourself:

1. Do you like Christmas music?
2. Does Christmas music bring happiness/joy to you?

If you answered yes to either of those, now imagine listening to Christmas music in July. Would the world be a better place? I have no idea.

Shrek’s Guide to Panda Express

When it comes to Panda Express, I’m pretty set in my ways. I share the 2 entree with my wife and we get the noodles with Beijing beef and the delicious steak chunks that cost a little extra but is worth the juicyness. But what would an ogre get?

Without a doubt Shrek is getting a 3 entree with chow mein, kung pow chicken, mushroom chicken, and walnut shrimp.

Why though? Because these are the closest foods that looked like colorful/tasty bugs. Because Shrek is disgusting. Lovable, but disgusting.

What would Donkey get?

SUV Beats Lamborghini

Zach, this would never happen. I would like to take a moment to tell you why I am against purchasing a performance car, ever.

Practicality. A Lamborghini may have a $100,000 professionally tuned engine but if you are to go anywhere in California, you can only travel at 65 mph (70 mph on Interstate 5).

A Lamborghini gets an average of 13 mpg while my Toyota Rav4 gets 23 mpg.

A Lamborghini seats 2 people while my Toyota Rav4 seats 5.

A Lamborghini can go 224 mph while my Toyota Rav4 can do the legal speed limit too.

Now, if we were going on a closed track where speed limits don’t exist then Lamborghini all day long. But life is a highway not a speedway. 

How To Make Ice Cream Rolls in 2 Minutes

This guy is a beast.

What is your favorite ice cream?

Which Gaming Resolution Is Right For You?

“I’m a gamer… Which resolution is best for me?”

To answer this question, it really comes down to two things: your budget and your computer build. For instance, if you have a $600 budget for a monitor, but only have a Radeon R9 260 graphics card, I would recommend you only get a 1080p resolution monitor, even though you could afford to buy one with 4k. However, if you only have $150 to spend on a monitor and have a GTX 980 Ti graphics card, you could only afford a 1080p monitor. The idea is to find the price/build sweet spot.

As for my personal recommendation for the best experience in gaming, I would recommend a 1440p resolution monitor. I believe this resolution provides a perfect bang for your buck as these monitors can be found for as low as $250 and do not require much more graphics power than 1080p. Although 4k will give you a much better picture quality, it requires much more graphics power, costing you more money. 1440p provides a great price for performance ratio giving users a great gaming experience, while saving a pretty penny.

Here is my monitor that I purchased for $250.

Here is a good 1080p monitor for $140.

And if you’re dying for a 4k monitor, here you go.

Let me know in the comments if you have any monitor recommendations!

Top 5 Bedtime Adventure Movies (IMO)

Welcome to In My Opinion (IMO). I have chosen 5 of my favorite stand alone adventure movies that I can repeatedly watch. I consider these movies my “bedtime movies.” I like them because the scenery is always changing and the movie is progressing. This, to me, feels like a bedtime story that you can fall asleep to. Anyway, here’s what I got.

1. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

2. Sahara

3. Harry Potter – All of Them

4. John Carter

5. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

What are your favorite bedtime movies?