This has definitely been a learning experience, I mean that in a good way. Since this original posting, my son and I have been playing Minecraft on the server. I've learned some configurations and also feel like I'm getting some basics on Java, at least Java usage, as I have been working with .jar files (for the game and server). I've also been playing with the commands (in game and on the server) as well. The commands in the game are also knows as cheats, so I've done some cheating, which has made the game much easier.

Along with healing, I've been using saturation (restore hunger bars) and enchanting. I've created fully enchanted gear for both me and Vinny. This has helped us both survive. I've also changed game settings such as making it so that we don't lose our inventory upon dying. I also turned PVP off. So, the game is less challenging, but less frustrating in most regards. Still, after a few hours of exploring the server world, I get a little bored as I often find myself running in circles or spending countless hours exploring and looking for particular things (like wolves to tame or cows to pen).

Both of us have our own Minecraft identities. Sure, I've payed for the game twice, but in total I spent less than $60, which is what games typically go for these days and aren't as fun. By getting this accomplished, I found an old email address by trying to access a different one, so I have two extra email addresses to use. I plan to take advantage of this soon by creating a Steam account for Vinny using one of those email addresses. This will allow us to play Steam games together (*cough* Terraria).

So far, I've still neglected Mods, that will be another learning experience.

=) Well I briefly looked into mods, which my son keeps asking for, and it looked a little more complicated than I wanted to get into at the time. One mod I've thought of, that would be cool, would be to remove Creepers. Although lately with my overly enchanted gear, they're not as much of a problem anymore.

That's great that you got to play with Travis and Katie. I understand what you say about Terraria and Minecraft, yet for some reason I keep coming back to Minecraft. Don't get me wrong, I love Terraria, but since I've already done almost everything, I'm not sure what else to do. The last thing I was trying to accomplish was finishing the Pumpkin Moon event, which I think I need to use a better strategy for (in other words I need to use potions for the PumpKing battle)..