Beware the Tourists

The smartphone revolution

2010-12-02T15:38:00.001-05:00

Over the last couple of years, I’ve come to believe that the way we connect to the world will be through our phones. Other countries, like Europe and Japan, are already ahead of the States in this aspect. With the great push of the iPhone and Driod, already most of our civilized cities encompass and encourage this technology. Now, the choice becomes, which smartphone is the “best”?

Let’s start with a quick history lesson in mobile technology, we going back back to the turn of the 21st century. A now defunct little company, called Palm, took over the market of portable digital organizers with their flagship and self titled Palm devices. The early models could sync with your PC and connect to the internet on their own via additional modem hardware (since the majority of the internet clients were still using “dial-up” connections). As high-speed, wireless, and Bluetooth technologies evolved, so did the Palms allowing for more mobility and usability. At this time, Microsoft took a stab at the technology with the introduction of the Pocket PC built around their Windows CE technology. Pocket PC and Palm changed the way the world saw the internet. Now, through a simple wireless connection, you could view your calendar, email, and some websites all from the palm of your hand. In addition, you no longer had to connect your little device to your PC (thanks to innovations in Microsoft’s Exchange Server email system). At this time, Microsoft, as they so regularly do, changed the name from Pocket PC to Windows Mobile. Shortly thereafter, Blackberry entered the market with the first devices that integrated your cellular phone and your digital organizer. Microsoft soon followed suit with another revamp of their Pocket PC OS, called Windows Mobile for Smartphones. Due to cost (whether they were manufacturing or just greedy profits), these two devices were originally only available to the financially elite or businesses. Unfortunately, Palm entered the market too late. They hung for a while, but eventually lost to the Windows giant and Blackberry. This brings us to Apple’s emergence into the industry with their now highly sought after iPhone. The iPhone’s hardware and OS has introduced a new change in the mobile technology. Now integrating a simple digital camera, camcorder, digital organizer, full internet browser, email, and a slew of social “apps” and games, you don’t even need a PC for your day-to-day internet tasks. Admittedly, Microsoft had already achieved this by Windows Mobile 6, but never on the scale Apple did. Leave it to Mac users to start a trend. With the internet giant, Google, hot on Apple’s trail releasing their Android OS (commonly referred to as Driod) and Microsoft back in the race with their completely revamped Windows Phone 7 OS, Blackberry is now a dead company. Will anyone else take up the race? Who knows; but they better have an astounding device and PR department. Well, maybe this wasn’t quite a short history lesson.

On to the competitors. Personally, I want a completely autonomous phone that doesn’t even need a computer. What do I mean by that? Well, here are the requirements:

email, calendar, etc, must function with my existing email accounts (whether they be work or personal) and should be accessible no matter where I am. Applications on the phone should be able to integrate these. Screw viewing it through a web browser.
I prefer a completely touch screen device with the ability to zoom in while viewing objects (like web pages, pictures, etc). As a bonus (but no required), the phone should have a very usable “dual thumb” keyboard. Not one of those crappy half keyboards where you end up pushing 2 buttons instead of one.
The device must be of decent size. This means not to large to fit in my pocket, but not so small that you have issues typing with the on-screen keyboard.
The device should be able to download and install miscellaneous applications via the cellular network that can keep up with my mobile life, such as social website access, online banking, simple games for entertainment, electronic books, references for “trivia” questions, etc.
Have a decent digital still/video camera in case I want to photographically document and share/brag my mobile life.
A fully functional web browser that can view real web pages, not just mobile-friendly ones. This includes videos, animations, and scripts (forms).
The phone should be able to get any updates it needs for the OS or applications via the cellular network.
Oh yeah, it needs to be able to make phone calls, too.

I’ve had the luck of being able to use the iPhone, Driod, and Windows Mobile (not the new 7 ones) devices. Over the years, I became partial to Windows Mobile. Currently, I have a HTC Driod Eris. My only downfall with the Eris is it’s slightly smaller size; this can be remedied by replacing it with the Motorolla Driod X (if I only had the funds). The Eris also tends to go into a huge lag when trying to place or answer a phone call. I think that’s a problem with the Andriod OS, though, as the wifey has the same problem with her LG Ally. I was able to tinker with an iPhone 3GS for a while. I would still be using it for work, but the cell program we’re using doesn’t have any more allocations for the “special” iPhone data plan (which irks me to no end that it requires a data plan different from AT&T’s other smartphones). Also, the fact that you must initially set the phone up and apply updates through iTunes really boils my already overfull pot of “things I don’t like about Apple’s proprietary methods”. As for Windows Phone 7, I don’t know what to expect. The devices I’ve seen so far (in pictures only) seem a bit small, so I’m waiting for them to get through their initial consumer wear and tear. Like Apple (now on their 4th generation), I’m sure there will be much more to offer in future revisions. I’ll hold my opinions and stick with my Windows Mobile 6.5 Samsung Jack for now (even though I don’t care much for the physical device) until I can actually test drive 7. Hopefully, some time early next year.

For now, outside of the iTunes requirement, the iPhone has impressed me the most with its smooth transitioning OS and perfectly sizable hardware. Overall, Andriod is a more fully-featured OS. The Driods are 2nd in my book only because they annoyingly lock up (drag) in certain scenarios and require an app for memory management. Like installing Windows 7 on an old computer, until the hardware manufacturers catch up, memory usage will continue to be Andriod’s downfall. As for Windows Phone 7, it was a much needed upgrade to the now antiquated Windows Mobile. However, let’s see if Microsoft can make the same or better innovations by the time they’re on their 4th generation devices. If you’ll remember, the iPhone still lacked quite a few features in it’s first incarnation, and though it was older, I still strongly stood by my Windows Mobile when Apple first released them.

BTW, I think it’s time to finally let this blog die. Between married life (yes, as of Oct 23, the GF/fiancé became the wifey), work, and projects around the house that need completing, I just don’t have the time or desire to play on the internet anymore. Unless I get a huge hair to rant about something, you probably won’t be seeing anything new here. I don’t even socialize on Facebook much anymore. Sorry, but real life has just gotten in the way of my internet socialization (god forbid).

l8rz, and maybe see you in the next incarnation of the interwebz…

On the barstool and ranting…

2010-09-17T18:15:00.001-04:00

Yup. I’m back at Taco Mac again, and here’s a quick writeup on the two latest games.

Halo Reach. Yes, midnight release. All next day play. It’s still the same engine used for Halo 3 and ODST, but Bungie has tweaked it a bit to expand the Haloverse to MASSIVE environments. Well, maybe not as massive as Fallout, but pretty darn close. What can I say other than it’s Halo. Go get it. You’ll love it. Well, I do. New multiplayer maps and modes (yes, I’ve actually played a few). New story. New hero. And, you’ll just have to play it for yourself to find out who’s origin it is.

Metroid Other M. Next to Halo, I’d have to say Metroid is my next favorite series. Well, maybe third to Gears, but Metroid is the longest running besides Mega Man. This latest installment goes into Samus’ background, which has never been explored by Nintendo. So far, it’s excitingly not what I expected. The gameplay is like nothing the Metroid fans are used to (and impressive). The lack of camera control can be a bit awkward at first, but I’ve yet to be in a situation where it can be a problem. The 3rd person gameplay has added a whole new twist. If you have a Wii and know anything of Metroid’s history (all the way back to NES), you must play this. I miss the nunchuck control from the Prime Trilogy, but the simplified controller has come to be a huge bonus over the GameCube plethora of buttons. Oh, and you no longer have to collect energy and missile refills from your enemies. Just lift the controller vertical and press A for a recharge. Nice!

Well, time to part. The Taco Mac manager just opened a special tap of the Heavy Seas Cannon Cask that I must try. Yay for Fridays!

l8rz!

Now, time for teh game on.

2010-08-29T00:29:00.000-04:00

The dust has settled (back on the racks), updates have been implemented, new machines installed, and accounts created. Time to get back to gaming!

I'm finally able to enjoy a calm weekend by myself since the soon-to-be wifey is off visiting her family. Ah, there's nothing like listening to the cicadas backgrounded with drunk Mexican karakoe at midnight. Did you catch the sarcasm in that statement? The neighbors are throwing down again. I guess if I went inside, I wouldn't have to hear it. :P

So Dante's Inferno finally came in. If you've ever tried to read Virgil's "Dante's Inferno" or "The Divine Comedy", you know they're not easy stories to follow due to the language. The game is roughly (and I'm serious about "roughly") based on The Divine Comedy. It's much easier to follow the story, and a whole lot more entertaining. However, I'm a bit dissappointed. I was expecting this awesomely over-hyped game to be something new and fresh. What I ended up playing was a God Of War remake. Now the graphics were fairly well done, but there could have been more. I was pretty downed by the FMV sequences as they were rendered less detailed than the actual gameplay. The backgrounds were pretty well done, but the camera control (which there was none) sucked. I hit one section where I kept jumping off the ledge because the camera was at such an odd angle, I couldn't see where I was supposed to land. The gameplay, however, was well done. You can choose to either violently punish or absolve your enemies from a grab. And I mean violently. This is no kids game. You are in hell, and the characters/enemies show it. The squemish wouldn't like this. I, however, reveled in and awed at the developers depictions. It's how I would view it. In all, a fun and gorey play. But, save your pennies for Halo Reach when it comes out 9/14. My inner fanboy is giddy with excitement for the midnight release. Yes, I have my copy reserved (regular, I don't do collector's editions anymore). :D

I really should come up with some sort of rating system if I'm going to keep doing this.

l8rz!

Late night Linux brain spazisms

2010-08-28T23:59:00.000-04:00

Sometimes in the evening, when I'm trying not to think about work related stuff, my mind goes into overdrive with weird projects. Sitting on my back porch slowly enjoying a Crown and Coke and mucking with my Netbook, tonight has become one of those nights.

It started with a simple decision to find the "fastest" OS for the Netbook. So far, Fedora Moblin has won, but I'm having issues with getting the wireless to work (Red Hat-based distributions are my preferred). Ubuntu Netbook Remix has come in at a fully functional second, but I'm not that familiar with Debian-based Linux. If I can't fully manipulate the OS from a termial (or Command Prompt), I'm not satisfied. Windows 7 Starter Edition is what came with it (and is functionally the best), but has it's slower moments (hence the desire for something faster). In my spare time waiting on ISOs to download (CD images for you computards out there), I started thinking about the 3 Playstations (the original - two grey boxes and one white "PSOne") I have downstairs collecting dust. "Hey, I wonder if you can put Linux on one of those?" Why in the hell would anyone want to put Linux on such an underpowered piece of hardware? Just to say it's been done. After sorting through the Google and Bing searches, parusing through multitudes of forums, and following nothing but dead links (websites that are no longer available), I found the Runix project. However, files from this attempt can no longer be found. It was a neat idea, but because of the PS's hardware limitations (no HDD, a 512K ROM, and only 2G RAM), I'm guessing it never got off the ground. So sad. It would have been fun to try. There are Linux projects out there for the PS2 (non-slim since it won't take a HDD). But, I'm not ready to throw in the towel on my PS2, yet. I don't have a PS3, and from what I've read, the software PS2 emulator on the current PS3 (the first models had a hardware chip) is crap. Also, Sony killed the PS3's ability to dual-boot with Yellow Dog Linux in a recent firmware update. Bastards. They just keep compiling reasons for me not to get one. I love my 360. Maybe when I get my original XBox back from Pops, I'll see what I can do with it. I remember reading where you can turn one into a massive Media Center. Oh well. At least I have some other Linux projects on the mind from other thunkings (like creating my own arcade console and home automation to name two). Those require a little financial backing that I'm just not ready to invest in. However, I will make them a reality at some point.

Oh lookie, my drink is empty. Time for another. ;)

l8rz!

Down with the Nazi regime!

2010-08-06T17:00:00.000-04:00

Ugh it’s been a busy two weeks. Trying to get any game time in has been a chore at best. Oh, and the house still hasn’t been vacuumed in 2 weeks. This is not a fun thing to deal with when you have to readily shedding pooches. Two game updates this week:

Yes, I love fighting Nazis. Read my previous posts if you haven’t realized that already. After collecting dust on the table for almost 2 weeks, I was finally able to play and finish ID’s Wolfenstein. If you’ve never heard of the Wolfenstein name, then you are either too young or never play video games. If the latter, then why are you reading this? j/k NEwayz, the Xbox360 reincarnation puts our hero, B.J. Blazkowicz, in a whole new story. Without giving away the story, there’s not a whole lot I can say. The weapons you find along the way are pretty frikin cool. Especially once you get further along and can start upgrading them at the Black Market. My Panzerschreck (rocket launcher) and Leichenfaus 44 (particle disintegrator) were pretty unstoppable (as long as I had ammo for them). Considering the game was built on a modified version of the Doom 3 engine, the graphics weren’t too bad. The characters aren’t overly realistic like Modern Warfare. However, the immense environment was was pretty detailed especially once you start using the Thule Medallion to move in an out of the Veil (something you will be doing quite frequently to survive). There are 3 modes of gameplay to keep you entertained for many many hours along with some online multiplayer modes. Overall, not a bad rent. And, if you can find it in the bargain bin, not a bad buy. I will be looking for a decently priced gently used copy myself (no, I haven’t hit eBay, yet).

The Xbox Summer of Arcade has started once again this year, and they have games on the docket that I’m after. Over my many years of gaming, I’ve accumulated quite a few consoles. Some of those consoles (the Sega Dreamcast) I purchased (very cheap, mind you) for a few specific games. I’ve been able to replace most of them through the Xbox. Dead or Alive 2 I replaced with the Dead or Alive box set for Xbox (the original). Soul Calibur has been available in the Xbox Live Arcade for some time, although I haven’t forked out the Microsoft Points for it, yet. Last week, my last Dreamcast title was finally replaced. Good thing, too, because the cd reader puked about a month ago. Hydro Thunder Hurricane. I’ve been waiting for years on this one. Now, I’m a happy camper complete with a graphics upgrade and some new tracks added from the sit-down arcade version (at Dave and Busters the last time I was there). Time to start looking for my old NES favorites in the Wii Arcade.

The four weeks at work is going to be crazy busy so I’ll try to get at least part one of the automated Windows 7 install up this weekend.

Happy boating (racing)! l8rz

Automating a Windows 7 install

2010-07-28T17:00:00.000-04:00

Lookie! I’m ranting about computers now!

Ok, so for the last couple of weeks, I’ve been working with Windows AIK, scripts, and Windows PowerShell to come up with a fully automated Windows 7 install for work. Mind you, I’m extremely anal when it comes to computer procedure and writing scripts. This is why I’m not a programmer. I probably would have finished this a week ago were it not for my OCD-ism.

It took a couple of days to learn the WSIM (Windows System Image Manager) interface. Once you get used to it and understand the different passes in an install (this is something new that started with Vista), it’s actually pretty intuitive. Between this and Sysprep, creating an automated install has become so much simpler than it was during the .ini file early days of Windows NT to XP. I’m starting to really like XML (eXtensible Markup Language).

To save from having to do a bunch of stuff by hand (I have some “geniuses” I work alongside that don’t follow written and verbal directions very well), the install calls some registry tweaks and does a few other things in the “post-install” phase. In the past, I accomplished this with another coworker via .cmd scripts. Now that the responsibility has fallen solely on me, I’m trying to broaden my horizons by leveraging more powerful and secure tools in the Windows environment. Most of the computer’s configuration settings are accomplished via Group Policy Objects (GPO’s) via our domain environment. I L-O-V-E GPO’s! However, GPO’s have their limitations and scripts are still required. Eh. Why can’t Windows be simpler like Linux? WSH and VBS are still the primary scripting languages in Windows with WMI and WinRM (Windows Remote Management) being the primary form of system management. However, Microsoft is highly touting and pushing the PowerShell environment. Now learning PowerShell is a pain. PowerShell a collection of Windows Scripting Host (WSH - Windows’ primary scripting language along with Visual Basic Scripting - VBS - and Javascript), Windows Management Interface (WMI) calls, and Command-line scripting (“BAT files”, for the old computer literates) all in one. It’s an extremely powerful tool to have in your management tool bag. Like learning any new “language”, it takes time. I’ve been cheating and modifying scripts off the web for my own usage. I’ll write my own and learn the contexts some other time.

Now that I’ve introduced you to my carefully crafted baby (and extreme headache), I’ll try to break down each of the parts in a tutorial, of sorts, for you to apply to your own environment. Hopefully this will allow you to have your install ready to test and push to production within a couple of days instead of the couple of weeks it took me. Stay tuned for the details.

l8rz!

Bayonetta…

2010-06-25T17:00:00.000-04:00

Is this porn? I thought I rented a video game.

So the premise is, you are Bayonetta, the supposed last surviving Umbra Witch who was outcast and has lost her memory. She’s taken up lot with the Hellspawn over the last 20 years, as she fights (and kicks some serious ass) the minions of heaven all the while popping in and out of Pergatory (everyday Earth) to harass some schmuck who’s chasing after her to get revenge for the death of his father.

The Applegeeks guys hit the hammer on the nail with their Lite strip:

Button punching. There are so many different combinations of buttons to push in this thing… My thumbs are sore. To be honest, I expected a whole lot more from this game based on marketing. Once I got into it, I wanted a whole lot less. Once again, this is one of those titles from Japan that leave me wondering, “what the hell is wrong with you people?” Anyone who watches anime is familiar with “fan service”. Well, this game is loaded with it, and I’ve never really cared for it. To give you a good example, think Najica Blitz Tactics.

Outside of the annoying ecchi (who in the hell would think up using your hair as a “uniform”?), the gameplay elements are pretty fun. You go around beating the snot of stuff and laying some serious smackdown. Graphics are awesome, and the sound effects are really cool assuming you have a DTS audio setup. If you can get past the retarded fan service, the story has some hilarity to its entertainment value and it’s worth the play. Give it a rent, at least.

l8rz.

Evolution of the RPG on 360.

2010-06-18T17:00:00.000-04:00

The Role-Playing Game (RPG) genre on the Xbox 360 has been weak since the release of the console. Over the last year or so, however, there have been some releases to help out this genre and, hopefully, give it new life.

One I just recently finished is Magna Carta 2. Now this is not the most advanced of RPGs, but it can have it’s place. It’s developed around the Unreal engine, but you can definitely tell this is a translation of a Japanese game. The thing that bothered me most is the dialog screens. The characters appear on each side of the screen (depending on who is talking), move their arm up and down or bow their head and the mouth moves. Not much for a cut scene. The game did have a few full-motion video (FMV) sequences, however; and the story eventually progresses enough to keep you entertained. Overall, I wasn’t disappointed. I just realized I can’t put that much time into RPGs any more.

One major disappointment has been Final Fantasy XIII. I never got very far with XII on the PS2, but I loved the game. It was leaps and bounds past its siblings. For XIII, I can understand that Square Enix was trying to put a new spin on their fortune flagship franchise, but I’m gonna have to say they “facepalmed” with this one. I’m not even sure I would classify it as an RPG as much as I would an adventure with a LOT of frikin movie sequences. You play for 15 minutes, then you have to go through a 5-10 min movie. To be honest, I felt the only things that classified it as a RPG are the character upgrade enhancements and their battle system, of which you control one of the 3 characters in your party (and you don’t get to choose who you want as your party leader until disc 3). Now Square Enix lived up to their reputation of awe-gaping graphics and sensually melodious soundtrack. I’ll give them that part. No one else has ever managed to rival them in those departments, so far. I still haven’t finished the game (I am on disc 3), and probably won’t for a while. I’ll get back to it eventually.

There are some other decent titles out there for the 360 in this arena if you’ve got the time for them: Mass Effect, Dragon Age: Origins, Infinite Undiscovery. You just have to be careful when picking from this genre these days. You don’t get the development put into these like before. Players scream for online multiplayer venues like Halo and Gears. Most of the time, these RPGs just end up with as a translate from the East. And nothing personal against the Japanese, but there are some weirdasses over there producing games. There are just certain things about that culture I will never understand.

I’m sticking to shooters for a while. l8rz.

Google random funniness (via The Chive)

2010-06-17T00:10:00.001-04:00

Being a computer geek, I felt this was worth a repost:

l8rz.

Looking forward

2010-05-28T17:00:00.000-04:00

Since we are only a couple of weeks out from E3, let’s go over some of the few new releases coming up that have already been announced.

I’ve been griping about not having any games just jump out at me and totally enthrall my senses since the beginning of the year. Final Fantasy XIII has turned out to be a bit of flop (more on that in another post), and I’ve been bored out of my mind trying to find a game that just really hits home as a full out winner. Of course, I still haven’t played anything more than the demo for Dante’s Inferno, either. ;) I was piddling around on the Xbox Dashboard last night and found a couple of release trailers that made my fanboy giddy with oodles of excitement.

Crackdown 2. I wasn’t a huge fan of the first game. Like many, the only reason I bought it was to have my in to the Halo 3 Beta testing (*facepalm*: “Sucker!”). I don’t know if they are basing the game’s popularity on sales (uh, duh. Halo 3 Beta was included) or actual documented playing. Now, I will admit that I eventually got in and played for a little while, but it wasn’t something I would call a headliner as far as most awesome games are concerned. But, apparently, a new Aussie company has given this release a work over with a new story, better graphics, even more stuff to just destroy and blow up, and a hugomongus multiplayer experience. Sheer curiosity will have me adding this one to my rental queue in just over a month (July 6). Eh, who knows. I may even pull my old copy back off the shelf and play it a little more.

Laura Croft and the Guardian of Light. As I mentioned Tuesday, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix (Eidos’ new parent) are bringing Laura back for some XBLA action. No release date yet, but keep an eye on Xbox Live Arcade this Summer.

Halo Reach. After Monday’s post, you already know my feelings for Halo (probably more than you care to know). The release date has been announced. Get ready to drop September 14. I’ll be in line at midnight waiting on my copy. Work will just have to get over the fact that I won’t be in that day. ;)

Call of Duty Black Ops. I had no idea a new game was even in the works. Well, if this was a real analytical blog, I would be doing more reading keeping up with the gaming world. ;) Based on the trailer (uncut version available on their website), which is mostly FMV sequences, this one has received a huge overhaul in the graphics department. I’m wowed… impressed… no, flabbergasted! This looks awesome!! The Call of Duty series has pretty much controlled the World War era and set the standard for the historical (mostly fictional) FPS. I think I might actually be ordering this one without doubt. I’ve always waited on these, but as I’ve played through the series (and am in love with each one), I’ve slowly added them to my collection. I’m still working my way to the Modern Warfare series (don’t kill me). November 9th. Keep your eye on this one! ;D

Castlevania Lords of Shadow. The Belmonts are back! The Castlevania series has to be one of the longest running storylines in gaming rivaling even Mario’s plethora of adventures. I’d even be willing to bet that it’s cultish fan base even rivals the Browncoats (Joss Whedon’s Firefly/Serenity TV/Movie for all you non Sci-Fi-nerds). On the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) in the 80s, Simon Belmont first appeared with his trusty whip to battle the menace you all know so well, Dracula. Yes, THE Dracula. Ever since then, the Belmont name has been cursed throughout time to ever be haunted by the vampiric pain in the butt. Castlevania has been one of Konami’s major cash cows ever since. Stories have split, moved forward and backward in time, and taken on alternate timelines. This will be the first entry into “next-gen” graphics. And from what I saw in the trailer (yes, they did show gameplay!), this is going to blow your mind! Konami’s not releasing a whole lot of info on the the promo site, so I can’t tell you too much about the game other than the Belmont this time is Gabriel. Just go watch the trailer and mark your calendars for this November 13 release. If you need some catching up, check out the Shopping Channel on your Wii for WiiWare and NES Castlevania classics.

Now of course, Cliffy B’s announcement of Gears of War 3 on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last month had me checking my pants for puddles, but it’s another year away. Watch next April for that one.

Although E3 is not the presentation spectacular it used to be, tune in to G4TV June 15-17 for updates from the Expo floor and get ready for a wild ride.

l8rz!

Zombies… phttt….

2010-05-26T17:00:00.000-04:00

Nothing provides as good of an enemy as a Zombie. Well, maybe a Nazi Zombie, but Zombies nonetheless. The Left 4 Dead series has earned a happy place of instantaneous love in my heart. But, it annoys the hell out of me.

“Dude, you’re in your 30’s. Why do you still play video games?” For this one reason: stress relief. Pure, unadulterated, bloodsplatteringly, and fantastically violent stress relief. And, yes. Be glad I don’t work for the post office. ;) Left 4 Dead 2 is my most recent pixilated enjoyment that’s become extremely difficult to put down. As Valve’s credit is due, they have created a masterpiece of a game… assuming you have friends to play it with. It presents a masterful play control and amazing ability to track your teammates. If you get lost, you can easily find and catch up with them again. OK, so what about those of us who don’t want to stay up all night playing games with twelve-year olds? The game’s single player mode isn’t so forgiving. Your CPU teammates never (and I mean, NEVER) take the lead. They’ll cover your butt and rescue you all day long, but trying to get the three of them through a campaign is like dragging along a 500 lb sledge hammer. Hello?! The zombie AI shouldn’t be smarter than they are. I’d like to be able to use the sniper rifle occasionally. And, it’d be nice if one of you jokers would throw a pipe bomb every once and a while, too. ;)

The character development, environments, graphics, soundtrack… it’s all astounding. Grab some buddies and at least go rent this game for nothing else if just to listen to Ellis’ redneck twang and quips:

”Did I teell yew abat dis time my kusin Keith drown’d in the Tunnel of Luuve?”

Hilarious!

Well, Excuse me for now. I have an undead clown that requires my assistance with a chainsaw…

l8rz!

Laura’s Back!

2010-05-25T17:00:00.000-04:00

Oh, hell. More money for me to spend…

Red vs. Blue

2010-05-24T14:20:00.001-04:00

It’s been almost a week since the end of the Halo Reach Multiplayer Beta. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a whole lot of time to play with it. I did spend long enough to acclimate myself with the new “loadouts” and weapons, though, so here’s my take:

1. Multiplayers are not for me. I don’t spend hours upon hours on Xbox Live looking for my next human sacrifice. I want story. But we know this already.

2. The grenades have become waaaaay too powerful. Now I get that Master Chief (Spartan 117 – John Smith) was the last of the Mark III Spartans. I get that Reach takes place before those upgrades with the Spartan II series. But what the hell? The Spartan’s are still supposed to be a bunch of bad-asses that make the ODST human soldiers look like child’s play. A well placed grenade in a tunnel or room still shouldn’t KIA you instantly. From what I understand, this was a well known complaint around the Beta.

3. Armor Abilities and Loadouts.

Ok, this is the newest feature that seems to delve further into the Halo universe and what the Spartans were truly capable of. Of the 4, I thought the Sprint was the most tacky ability, but it did provide all those run-and-gunners the ability to move in for some quick kills. And I mean quick. I had my butt handed to me several times by one of these. Cloaking is back. This time the Elites aren’t the only ones hiding in the shadows. This is extremely useful for sneak and slash with the energy sword. Jet packs are… well… jet packs. You get the idea. Burst jumps, limited flight, etc. IMO, they just leave you a really good slow target for snipers. The last was my favorite. Armor Lock. I am the king of getting myself in over my head in battle scenarios. This is why I won’t last a zombie invasion very long. Well, now, when you see that sticky grenade headed for your face, engage the shield, and you may have just saved your hide long enough to prevent a respawn. :) Note, that each of these abilities are limited, as Bungie explains it. They require a “cooling off period” after you use them. Being the non-manual reader, I had to figure that one out the hard way. My own personal speculation and interpretation of the Reach storyline is saying similar to ODST. Your 4/5 advertised Spartans are each going to be specialized with their own favorite weapons (remember, Romeo likes sniping and Dutch likes heavy weapons?). This is where the Loadouts will probably come into play. Your standards are back with a new look: assault rifles, pistols, sniper rifles, etc. The new Elite weapons are always my faves. Pink Mist of Death has been my all-time favorite achievement in the series (i.e., Halo 3 - the Needler). To see the new Needle Rifle…

oh, it’s on now! Also, there are two new grenade launchers with the Covenant version popping out 4 stickies that will track your butt down and launch you into Reach’s stratosphere. Beware this handful instant death. Even the Armor Lock can’t save you. Especially if Bungie doesn’t do something about that grenade power issue.

So until this Fall (or Bungie’s next round of press releases), we’re left with a taste of the new gooeyness that is Halo. We can only wonder, “who is the ‘Lone Wolf’?”

On another note, I finally downloaded the Grifball maps! Anyone up for a game? ;)

l8s!

(images courtesy of Bungie.net)

The direction of gaming?

2010-03-19T17:00:00.000-04:00

This speech from DICE 2010 hit the interweb about a month ago and stirred up a bit of a buzz among some of my gaming kinsfolk. Now, with ever-growing advent of online browser games like Facebook offers, more and more people are getting into gaming in general. Ads across webpages like Google’s AdSense are becoming more acceptable. Combine these two aspects and, yes, I could see life and “gaming” going the direction the speaker suggests. However, my outlook on gaming still centers around entertainment and, mostly, console gaming. I either own or have owned in my time the following consoles (do the math as I’m about to disclose my age generation, here): Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Nintendo Gameboy, Playstation, Sega Dreamcast, Playstation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, and Wii. Now, I’ve played on a whole lot more consoles than I’ve owned like the Neo Geo, Atari Jaguar, Sega Super System, Sega CD, Nintendo 64, Nintendo Game Cube, Playstation 3 and the list could go on. Keep in mind, my writings just refer to console gaming. I don’t get into PC gaming like I used to (including the new browser-based generation), which is much older.

As I’m writing these reviews more frequently, I’m noticing more and more of a pattern in console game development these days. Originality doesn’t exist quite like it did in the earlier days of the “third generation” consoles (Xbox 360 / Playstation 3 / Wii). Also, the genres have bled together even more. It’s all about TPS (third person shooter) massive environments, or FPS (first person shooter) run-and-gun, or RPG (roll playing game) and TBS (turn-based strategy) thought-provokers. I think the only genres that haven’t changed are MMO (massive multiplayer online), Sports, Fighting (like Street Fighter) and Racing. The old days of Adventure vs Shooter vs Action vs Challenge is slowly dying. The Strategy genre is something that derived from the early days of Command and Conquer and Warcraft (not to be confused with the MMO World of Warcraft). Over time, this genre has lead way to the release of modern wonders like Halo Wars and Battlestations Midway or the re-release or continuation of Command and Conquer and Tropico. MMO and Strategy are still new in the overall age of gaming, so they tend to be more “cult-driven” genres, so to speak.

Now, keep in mind, this is only my perception of the evolution of gaming as I’ve experienced it over the last 25 or so years. I’d love to hear any of your comments on this and where you think gaming has been and will go.

l8rz

Erin go Braugh(less)!

2010-03-17T00:00:00.000-04:00

Happy St Paddy’s Day, all. This is the day in which we lift a pint of Guinness (or Harp, if you so choose) in honor of the Irish. As part of what a dear friend says before each round of shots, “Sláinte!” (I can’t ever remember the second half.)

Cheers!

Test drive the Prototype.

2010-03-15T17:00:00.000-04:00

Yes, being the fanboy I am, I did buy Final Fantasy XIII, however, being this is the first 3-disc game I’ve played since VII on the PS2, it’s going to be a while before I get into the write-up on it. So, instead, I give you Prototype.

Within an hour, I immediately felt like I was playing Crackdown, again. Now Crackdown I would have never purchased had it not been for the Halo 3 beta invitation that was included with it. I’ve hardly even played the game. Prototype is basically Crackdown on crack. Leaping and gliding from rooftop to rooftop, running up the sides of buildings, jumping and running at superhuman capabilities. The added bonus, your body is a weapon. You have the ability to absorb your enemies and morph into them. Your hands and arms turn into blades and boulders for massive hand-to-hand damage against militia, tanks, and even buildings. The blood, gore, and language are prolific. Yes, this game is rated M for Mature. The graphics are done fairly well however, I haven’t noticed much of a soundtrack. In defense, I haven’t been able to turn the volume up very loud, either. In all, not a bad rent. I’ve actually played it more than one day. And, now that you can find a used copy for around $30, not a bad buy, either. With all the side quests alongside the story, there’s plenty of game play. Although the landscape is the city of Manhattan, it’s still expansive enough to give you plenty of room to roam. And you can go from north side to south side to east side to west side with no lagging load times. Awesome! If nothing else, give it a rent to quell the need of some serious bloodshed and destruction.

l8rz

Rocking out, again.

2010-03-02T19:21:00.001-05:00

In all the political turmoil, I have to do something to keep my already stressed mind off the latest governmental issues. So, I’m still renting and playing games.

This week, Guitar Hero 5 for the 360. I’m not so impressed this go ‘round. I’m guessing Activision wanted to get in on the younger generation with their latest in this extremely drawn out series. It’s not really geared around a single player experience. The new features in this one differing from World Tour is the ability to customize your own band with characters of your choosing from the Rockstar Creator (from World Tour), and you can play with your Xbox Live Avatar. The scoring system has also been improved to add additional challenges. Depending on the song, you are required to try a different instrument to get the extra 3 stars. Oh, and you can now get 6 stars if you complete a song without missing a note. Since it’s focused more on the younger gamers, the screen real estate is mostly occupied by the instrument “highway”. This makes it even more difficult to see the actual characters performing in the background. Overall, if you just really love the Guitar Hero series, and have to have every one, then, by all means, add it to your collection. Me? I’m going to leave it at a rental until I either have kids or can get my GF more interested in playing for the score and achievements… neither of which I foresee in my immediate future. :)

Metroid Prime Trilogy for the Wii is next on the list. I’m a huge Metroid fan from the Nintendo era, but skipped over the Gamecube. I’m looking forward into getting into this latest release (and remastering) in the Metroid line. I’ll let you know next week (or later this week if it sux).

l8rz.

Ramblings from the barstool.

2010-02-22T20:28:00.001-05:00

I’m back again this week from my favorite wing joint, Taco Mac Metropolis. I’m still getting the hang of my fairly new Windows 7 Starter Edition Netbook. There’s a few quirks to still work out, but it’s getting there. This week’s game reviews are BioShock 2 and Borderlands.

BioShock. I’m not really sure why the original FPS bagged my attention. Maybe it was the graphics. Maybe it was the environmentally haunting musical score. Maybe it was the idea that a modern-day Atlantis could have been constructed in the 1940/1950s. BioShock 2 picks up 10 years after the original with a whole new story where you play as one of the complexly unknown Big Daddy characters designated as “Delta”. The way 2K Games constructed this edition of the series was very intuitive. By slyly mentioning events and characters from the original, you don’t miss anything if you didn’t play the first, but you can’t help but snicker with laughter every time you run across a reminder if you did. Continuing with the use of the Unreal engine (Gears of War, Unreal Tournament, etc.), the graphical detail and response speed are as awesome as with the first. The new multiplayer feature seems to have real potential, but I haven’t really tried it out (I’m the story player, remember?). I completed the game on the middle difficulty in about 4 days with a good collection of the achievements. I’ll need another go ‘round to get more of the achievements, but it’s definitely worth the play. I’m happy with spending the full $60 on this one.

Borderlands is the most addictive game I have played in quite a while. The graphics and game mechanics play out like a comic book, which I’ve always found to be a really cool way of presenting a game. The world is massive. Unfortunately, like Red Faction, the quests get a bit monotonous; however, they are much more challenging and varied. From first inserting the disc into the tray to finally looking at the time before bed, I had spent the better part of 8 hours behind the controller. Woah. I haven’t had a game trap me in that hard in a while. But, I’ve gotten my fill as I don’t have that sort of time to devote to games these days, with having a GF and a house and all. ;) If you do, go for it!

Well, I’m out till next round. Besides, I’m completely fascinated with Olympic Curling at the moment, and I don’t know why…

l8rz!

Returning to the depths of Rapture…

2010-02-09T17:00:00.000-05:00

Yay! Bioshock 2 is in the mail on its way! I’ve been in full anticipation for its release ever since the first announcement 2 E3s ago (that’s Electronic Entertainment Expo for the uninformed). I hope to have some extended time with it this weekend, but V-Day has already been claimed by my GF. I seriously doubt I’ll finish it in 2 days, but I should at least have a write-up next week for ya.

Guitar Hero World Tour. Yes, I’m finally at the 4th release in this really long series. Having played II, III, and Aerosmith, it was time I finally delved into the band aspect of Guitar Hero. My response? I SO WANT THE DRUMKIT!! I’ve only had time to work my way through the “life as a guitarist” story, but this will be another game I’ll be adding to my library soon… as soon as I spend next month’s game budget on Final Fantasy XIII. ;) I will have to say, nothing is quite as entertainingly screwed up as watching a digital recreation of Ozzy Osborn singing “La Bamba” (with Sting as your bass player and Travis Barker from Blink-182 on the skins). My GF told me a hilarious conversation she had with a coworker about guitar gaming:

Coworker: We were playing Rock Band the other night. I was all hyped up and thinking I was cool. As soon as I started playing, I couldn’t hit a single note. I failed us out in no time. Guitarist are gods. A couple chords on a guitar and the panties drop. No one ever got laid by playing a guitar game.

GF: Keith did.

LOL! That’s awesome! And the best I can do is 5-staring the “Medium” setting. She loves her dork. ;p~

l8rz!

But, I’m with the band… (parte duex)

2010-02-04T12:00:00.000-05:00

Where did I leave off? A yes, the Artist pass. We did not realize the true power of this simple laminated card until the second day. My GF has a bad habit of overstepping defined lines of security; mostly out of absentmindedness. OK, well, I’ve seen her do it twice. Anyway, she noticed a friend of hers working for the sound crew that we did not anticipate to be on the cruise. She hopped into the “secure” area behind the stage to say hello, not thinking about the fact that cruise goers were not supposed to be back there. Apparently, the security detail lurched for her, but quickly stopped once he saw the pass around her neck. Heather neglected to tell us that as long as we wore that pass, we could go behind stages and sit in the artist listening area for the Skynyrd show. To be honest, we didn’t take advantage of the pass’ power except for the Skynyrd show. I sat next to Kevin Kenny of Drivin’ and Cryin’. I didn’t want to bother him as he was there to listen to Skynyrd with the woman on his other side (his wife/gf/lady friend I would assume), so I never actually talked to him. But I sat next to Kevin Kenny…. Heh. Surprisingly, most of the artists, other than Skynyrd, walked out and about in the crowd while they weren’t playing. Over the course of the cruise, we talked with Dan, lead singer of Hill Country Revue, at one of the bars (he told me he had a huge crush on Heather once I said we were her friends), Phil from Molly Hatchet, Paul from Hightide Blues, Tom Hambridge and his agent, Richard Turner (he was pretty quiet) from Blackberry Smoke and his wife Mary-Anne (sp?) (who sat with us late night), along with others I can’t really remember. My brain suffered a social overload at some point. Heather introduced us to the rest of Oakhurst (AP, Kruller (the happiest man alive), Max, John, and Loomis), of which I think it’s safe to say they befriended us. Zach came to Atlanta to play for Heather’s live CD, so we partied with him, his wife, and Heather after the show. There was always a late night show where Francisco Vidal or Scott Munn (or both) would perform covers joined by various people from the different smaller bands. Zach seemed to play with everyone. By the second evening, we kept asking, “Where’s Zach? Oh, he’s on stage.” Heather aptly titled him the “banj-ho”. Since my GF wore her “I <heart> my dork” T (it received a lot of good comments), we decided that Zach’s wife is getting a “I <heart> my banj-ho” T for her birthday later this year.

On our third day (second full day), we docked in Cozumel for 8 hours. Heather, Ralph, Zach, Loomis, Kruller, John, my GF, and I rented scooters to tour the coastline outside the city for the afternoon. AP originally joined us, but ended up staying in town due to a pretty rough night before (it was his birthday). Our first stop was a Mexican cantina for real fish tacos (corn tortillas and fresh fish), tequila shots, and Mexican beer (I was happy to see they had Sol). You can tell this place was used to catering to Americans. English was spoken better than some places in Atlanta, and they had running water. I will tell you, however, taking a dump in Mexico is odd. They won’t let you put the TP in the toilet. There’s a trashcan next to you lined in a plastic garbage bag. They must change it regularly since there was no stench in there. Anyway, as we walked in looking for a place to sit, Scott, Nick, Kenny, and Ron from BonePony invited us all to join them and pulled up tables. They had rented a Jeep instead of scooters. After food, we toured the coastline more working our way around the west outside the city. I’ve seen the clear water of the Keys and grew up in the muddy waters of the southeastern seaboard, but I’ve never seen water as blue as I saw in Cozumel. It was like living in a postcard. Our next stop put us at a tiki-mexi-Rastafarian-type bar. As we parked the bikes, sitting there was none other than BonePony, again, and Hightide Blues. Jokes and stories ensued. I found a hammock next to Kruller and Loomis. With my $2 Sol, I felt like every George Strait, Kenny Chesney, and Zac Brown song I’ve ever heard about Mexico. No wonder they never want to leave. The temperature was beautifully near 90 with a cool breeze. And this is in January! I didn’t move for almost an hour. Unfortunately, our time was limited, so we continued our bar-hopping for one more stop, then returned to town and the boat.

We made a lot of new acquaintances that week; many we hope to see again next year. Oh, yes. We will be going, again. Heather said she is even going to try to get us officially registered as her crew this time. Might as well since she kept introducing us as her entourage. ;) Our first vacation together, and a first real vacation for both of us in many years. It’s something this gaming techogeek definitely needed.

So how did we get home? Ha! Here’s the funny part. The rattletrap said it’s final farewell about an hour and a half from home (almost 30 minutes from where we blew the tire on the way down). A blown head gasket. I wasn’t all that worried as my GF has family not from from that location. Ralph had family not far as well, so we had a place to stay if needed. But, it was getting dark, we were not used to the cold since we had been in warmer climates all week, and we were sitting on the side of the road with hangovers and lack of sleep. Luckily, 3 of the bands Heather had befriended were not far behind us on their way back home. In twos we loaded up with each of our rescuers. John and Charlie with Hightide Blues, Heather and Ralph with Blackberry Smoke, and us with BonePony. I cannot begin to express my gratitude to these guys for taking time out of their trips to accommodate us. Scott, Nick, Kenny, and Ron are a great bunch of guys. They took on almost complete strangers (other than our quick meeting at lunch on Cozumel) to help us home. Thank you so much for your help and goodwill. You are more than welcome in our home if you ever need a place to stay while in Atlanta.

Whew. What a story. What a week. Memories that will last forever; or, at least, until next year! :p~ Thank you Sixthman! Thank you Heather!

w00+!

But, I’m with the band… (part 1)

2010-02-03T14:39:00.001-05:00

It has been a little over a week since my return from Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Simple Man Cruise 2010. It’s taken me that long to recover. 4 days of music on open water (minus the 8 hours we spent on Cozumel). One of the most defining comments I heard on the boat describes the whole cruise. “Nowhere else will you see this many drunk rednecks and no fights.” I felt sorry for the Carnival crew as they are probably more used to serving calmer and non-riotous customers. By the last evening, I noticed the staff behind the bar was singing and dancing with the music of the late night “super-band” of Scott Munn, Francisco Vidal, Zach Daniels from “Oakhurst”, Heather Luttrell, Walter Ray, and Paul McDonald from “Hightide Blues”. I’m pretty sure they were just celebrating the fact that all of us crazies were getting off the boat the next morning, but it was at least good to see them loosening up. :)

So where to begin. Well, I had been trying to find the funding to go on a Sixthman cruise since the first Rock Boat back in 2000. Last year, along with Heather’s convincing, I was able to talk my GF into booking. Little did we know what was in store for us over those 4 days. As I’ve mentioned before, we’ve become pretty good friends with Heather Luttrell and her band which consists of Ralph Luttrell (her father), Charlie Wooten, and Hoffa. John McKnight sat in as drummer for Hoffa since he couldn’t make it. Our trip began bright and early Wed morning before sendoff as Heather and boys picked us up in a rattletrap 1991 Ford passenger van borrowed from a friend. Now when I say rattletrap, did this thing ever rattle. You had to slam the doors with the force of a small elephant just to get them to securely close. At it’s top speed of 65mph, when you open or close all the windows, the roof would make a popping sound as the aerodynamics and pressure changed around it. I still think there was an automatic airfoil (like on the Porsche or Audi cars) up there just readjusting. ;) Anyway, about an hour into our trip, the poor thing blew a tire. An hour and a half, a call to AAA (since we couldn’t find the jack), and a stop at the nearest Wal-Mart for 2 new tires (the spare was bald), we were back on the road. Aside from John’s hysterical sense of humor and constant jokes, the rest of the 6 hours went by pretty uneventful as most of us caught up on our sleep. Sixthman sponsored a “send-off” party at a bar in Tampa, which we attended. We had never been on a cruise before, so we didn’t really meet a whole lot of people there. The beer was cheaper than what I’m used to paying, so I was happy.

The next morning, we all piled down into the lobby of the hotel with the other bands for our VIP shuttle to the port. Now Heather had worked it out with Sixthman about a month before the trip that my GF and I would be boarding as her “staff”. We just thought that just meant we got to avoid all the lines getting on and off the boat and that was it. I will say, avoiding that waiting line was one of the biggest treats I could ever be thankful for. I later heard there was up to a 2 hour wait in that thing. After boarding, Heather and Ralph dragged us to the nearest bar on the deck for their traditional “frozen fruity rum drink”. Afterwards we split off to our cabins to claim our luggage. At this point, we pretty much assumed we probably wouldn’t see Heather again except at her shows, which we were fine with. So after 2 hours of orientating ourselves with the layout of the boat and music stages, we headed to the nearest bar for drinks and listened to Molly Hatchet performing on the deck stage. Amazingly enough, even with 2200 people on the Carnival Inspiration, there was so much room. In some sections, you would hardly see anyone. I will say, the deck did stay pretty packed, but there was still plenty of room to move around without having to bump into people. On our way to the next show Heather flagged us down. As she handed us our “Artist” passes, she added, “Let’s go eat. I’m starving.” If you’ve ever been on a cruise, you know how it works. The food is 24/7 (or 24/4, in our case). I did discover that the bars close at midnight with one remaining open until 4am, however. This pretty much was the case for the rest of the trip. Our day would begin once we finally got up (usually from me waking up around 10a or 11a). I’d beeline for the nearest coffee pot, we’d grab a small breakfast (or whatever they were serving), then head off for our hair-of-the-dog. I finally learned that a bloody mary breakfast really works. After a couple of hours, Heather would find us or we’d find her. We’d travel around between shows together for the rest of the afternoon and evening except when she had to perform (which we’d watch from the crowd). Now by travel, I mean at a snail’s pace. It would take her 45 minutes just to go 100 yards. I found it quite entertaining to watch her get stopped by people asking for pictures, autographs, and some regular conversation. Heather obliged them all, of which I am very proud of her. She really appreciates her fans. I’ve also never seen her revered in this sense before. She and Ralph are “gods on the water,” and it showed in both of them. They both performed with enthusiasm I have never seen from either of them in their regular hometown performances.

I feel like I’m writing a novel here. Since this is getting retartedly long for a blog, I’m breaking it up into multiple posts. Come back tomorrow for the power of the Artist Pass, the banj-ho, partying like a rock start, and scootering Cozumel, along with the grand finale.

l8rz

I <3 Deadpool.

2010-01-15T14:26:00.001-05:00

He’s such a crackup! Click the pic for a larger image.

Coming back around.

2010-01-13T12:15:00.001-05:00

Staying on top of this social networking thing is becoming more and more difficult. My resolution for the year wasn’t to spend less time on Facecrack, although it should have been. Work has been keeping me pretty busy with the new year, and by the time I get home, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of a computer. I finally caught up on all my webcomics yesterday. My RSS reader is still full of feeds left to read, though. However, despite my lack of free time, for all you interwebers out there I’m back with 4 quick reviews. I have been gaming a little too much, lately. Of course, being furloughed for a week and having a week holiday (tallying to two weeks off) during the cold winter season didn’t help. :) I’ve Gamefly’d my way through 3 titles, plus, I bought ODST the next day after my last post.

I had to try out G.I. Joe. I was a fan of the cartoon as a kid and loved the new movie. Unfortunately, the game was designed more for kids. It was fun, but not my usual bag. I do have one thing to say about it: there should be requirements for games if they’re going to start them out at $60. I mean, G.I. Joe should have sold for a LOT less as its opening price. There were no efforts put in to make the characters look humanly realistic. The landscape was expansive, but there were limits to where you could roam. The play control was sluggish as well. All of this I would expect from a game targeted at kids, but not worth $60. Gears of War is well worth the $60 price tag.

I’ve been slowly getting back into our Wii. My GF got it from her parent’s last Christmas mainly for the Wii Fit. Turns out, she’s more hard core about her workout, so the Fit wasn’t enough for her. That just means more Xbox time for me. :D At least, until she found out about Super Mario Wii… So Gamefly shipped me London Rush Hour Taxi. Not a bad game. Getting used to driving with the Wii controller was a bit difficult to start with, but once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty fun. However, my desire for a challenge and difficult puzzles goes beyond a driving game these days. I can’t even get into the Project Gotham and Forza series any longer than one evening. Taxi went back the next day.

Red Faction Guerilla. Here’s another “meh” I ran across. The graphics are well done and the landscape is massive! However, after a couple hours of gameplay and knocking out the first section, I was bored to tears. The monotony of the demolitions and guerilla-type “missions” you undertake gets old, fast. It’s worth a rent if you have some time. However, I wouldn’t recommend buying it until Gamestop drops the price to $20 on the “Previously Owned” list.

OK. Here’s one that’s been going around and around on the net. What is your take on Halo: ODST? To be honest, I love the Halo story. So to me, getting ODST was like buying the next in a series of books. Now, as far as the difficulty, I was quite disappointed. You start out the game as the “Rookie” (isn’t that typical). You’ve been passed out in your drop ship for the last 8 hours and wake up to Mombasa in shambles in the late evening. If you haven’t played yet, I’m not sploitzing here; this is all shown in the promo videos. You’re wandering around the city trying to catch up with your other ODST buddies (i.e., the rest of your 5 man and one bitchy ranking officer woman squad). As the Rook finds the remains from where his other teammates were, you run through their story as them. I found this to be a quite intuitive method for telling the story. But, like I said, the difficulty of the game is not like playing Legendary in Halo 2 or 3. I finished ODST on Hard the first go ‘round fairly easily. Normally, it takes me quite a while to tackle Hard without help. I even managed to rack up a good bit of the achievements along the way. Of course, the ODST's are human. They can’t take the beating that cyborg Master Chief can. You get shot in the head once, you’re dead. The ending is not something I have come to expect from the crew at Bungie. It was quite weak and more like one of those sappy “Hollywood endings.” This is probably why the game has gotten so much flack. My guess is Microsoft (or whichever execs are signing Bungie’s checks) forced them into a quick release for the series. That always equals some sort of bad result. Sadly, I haven’t had the calling to pick ODST back up and try out Firefight mode. I don’t play online that often, and most of my “Friends” are not Halo aficionados. I’ve been mesmerized by Soul Calibur IV lately, for some reason. And I’m not that big into fighting games (although I do own a few).

Oh, I almost forgot. I got Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 for Christmas. I got stuck in one spot, so I quit playing. I’ll probably end up starting over. Quickly, I have likes and dislikes over the first (Marvel Ultimate Alliance), but I’ll tell you more about them later. If you’re a Marvel comic fan like I am, you’ll like it either way.

I had a good rant thought up about how gaming has changed (even with me) since Microsoft introduced the Gamer Achievement system, but I’ll save that for another time since this is already too long. BTW, according to Sakusen, “…2010 is not the start of a new decade…”. “It’s the end of the decade.” Just saying. :)

l8rz

Soggy review.

2009-11-28T00:01:00.000-05:00

So I mentioned that I rented “Wet”. Yeah, the demo may have reeled me in, but the over all game was not quite as reeling as I expected. The “bullet time” (ala Max Payne) or “tequila time” (John Woo’s Stranglehold), or whatever you want to call it, is pretty frikin’ (hah hah… my spell check suggests firkin’) awesome; but… It gets really old, really fast. I like the game. I just wouldn’t put it at the top of my “loved it” list. The graphics were very well done, and I’m extremely impressed with the soundtrack. To be honest, if there were actually a CD Soundtrack for the game, I’d buy it. The thing I was most impressed with is that the game plays out like an actual movie. This is a concept I haven’t seen much of in quite a while. My best example is “7th Guest” era and that one that came out for the Playstation (that’s PSOne, for you younglings) in its early days (“D” or something like that). I’m not talking a movie adaption game here, either. This is a story exclusive to the game… I could even see this becoming a movie someday (hell, Max Payne did it). Well, so long as Ewe Boll doesn’t direct it. To be honest, he’s not a bad B-Movie director, but that’s for a-whole-nother rant (and I do mean rant). The characters are well developed. Even Eliza Dushku voices the main character, Rubi. Eliza made her breakout in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel” as well as rolls in miscellaneous movies along with more recent TV series like “Tru Calling” and, the currently running, ”Dollhouse”. She seems to work with Joss Whedon a lot. ;) Whoa… according to IMDB, her starlet debut was a voiceover part in 2 episodes of the the “Jem” cartoon series in 1986. Now that takes me back. :p~

So overall? Not a bad renter for solo players, like myself. The gameplay gets monotonous pretty fast, but if you can keep interested with the storyline, you’re good till the end. Unfortunately, I lost interest after two levels. Probably because I had just finished Batman before this (it is now on my “to buy” list). I rated “Wet” 6 out of 10 at Gamefly. It has an average rating of 6.5.

“Borderlands” is next on the list, but the availability is low so we’ll see what comes next. I still haven’t picked up “Halo: ODST”, yet. What is wrong with me?!? I’m not that broke.

l8rz.

A thankful day, and a reminder…

2009-11-27T00:56:00.001-05:00

Yes. Like most everyone else, I’m going to post my Thankful Day givings and what I’m reminded of this one day out of the year. I find it completely tacky that it takes a simple holiday celebrating the founding of my Country to remind me of all the things I’m grateful for. This is something we should all do on a daily basis; however, we get so wrapped up in our societal misgivings and day to day transgressions. This wholeheartedly sucks, but it’s better than not remembering at all…

I can never make myself fully appreciate the love of my immediate family. They have supported, assisted and encouraged my trip through life in more ways than I can ever repay. Along with the creation of a family of my own, I have recently been adopted by a new “family” that has also accepted me (thanks to the love of my life) as a new member over the last year. You have all shown the unconditional respect and caring that I can only hope to return at some point in my life (if I haven’t already tried).

Even as I grow more irritated with the political stupidity of the masses that I must coexist around, I can still never fully express the respect I have for our militia and public service (law enforcement, fire department, emergency medical technicians, etc): the young and old of our men and women that give or have given their lives to unconditionally serving country and community (whether I fully agree with the reasoning or not). Your service has provided me with the ability to sit here and rant, celebrate, and/or complain about whatever I want without restriction. THANK YOU for doing what I’m not sure I could nor would do!

Last, I am thankful for video games. Without you I would be a completely unmanageable ball of stress that my love would never be able to handle. You provide me with a virtual release to mutilate enemies, rescue those in distress (mostly, damsels), and explore worlds I can only barely imagine. I am also thankful for computers. Without you, I would not have a career, a form of income for which to afford my video game addictions, nor this blog. ;)

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

l8rz.

Time for a little catch up.

2009-11-17T21:18:00.001-05:00

After a loooong day of fixing computer issues, I’ve plopped me arse in a stool at Taco Mac. Nothing beats TM for their beer selections and TMI wings. The ultimate “come down” after a hard day at the office. I don’t know how long my battery will last, so let’s go with it.

Yeah, considering this is the “Ramblings of an IT” yadda, yadda, I’ve never actually posted anything relating to computers. Mostly gaming stuff. I spent an exuberant amount of time today trying to find a way to parse through a txt file, remove all the “newline” (EOL, CRLF, \n, etc) entries, and replace them with a space to put all the text on one line. I thought this would have been an easy task with sed or awk (I’ve been scripting in UNIX waaay too much lately), but it didn’t turn out as simple as I thought. If anyone has any insight on this, please fill me in. Also, I’m psyching myself up for learning PowerShell, WinRM, and WMI scripting for remote management of Server 2008 Core systems. Unfortunately, the other rigormaroo of day to day tasks just keeps getting in the way. As I find simpler ways to script things, I’m might be so inclined to start posting them here… if the answer isn’t already all over the interweb via Google. I will fill you in on a little secret. My newest Windows command line tool friend is ‘dsquery’. You can pull all kinds of info out of AD (that’s Microsoft Active Directory, for the computer illiterate) with this thing. And fast, too. Must faster than using the Active Directory Users and Computers MMC (dsa.msc) plug-in.

Ok, ‘nuff ‘puter talk. On to games (as usual). I’ve been moving through my Gamefly queue a little more now that life has settled down (sic stat: the new house is in a livable state). Don’t kill me on this one, but I actually rented Onechanbara. Yes. It was completely horrible; hence, the reason I added it to my rent queue instead of buying it. Graphics, soundtrack, cut scenes: it all sucked. The only plus? Gore. Tons and tons of bloody zombie splatter. I like to call it “stress relief”. Next! “Batman Arkham Asylum”. Now this one does not sux0rz. I’ll admit the Riddler challenges are annoying, but once you get used to how they are presented, they get pretty predictable and easy. If there weren’t so many, it’d be a Joke. Ha! Get it? Joke? … Nevermind. Just play the game. The voice actors do an astounding job (including Steven Blum, aka, Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Beebop). The graphics are schweet. Play control is… eh… But over all? R0x0rz! Oh, and Harley… H O T!! I have “Wet” as well, but it’s been sitting on the TV until I finish the Batman story mode. The demo was awesome. It was a little to reminiscent of Max Payne, but I’ll give more detail after I’ve played the full game.

Oh, and Gordon Biersch Marzen for the win! w00+!!

l8rz.

Site layout addition.

2009-08-21T17:23:00.005-04:00

So I decided to add something new to the blogsite >>>>>>>>>>

(*** EDIT: I'm an idiot who doesn't even know my own page. ;) Link fixed below ***)
(oh, for those reading this through feeds, links, etc, go to http://foundprophet.blogspot.com/ to see what I'm talking about)

Well, it's not a dancing hamster, but at least you have something to do while you're rambling through the old posts. Heather Luttrell. My bartender, my GF's good friend, and one hell of a "Soul Honkey" (as she so entertainingly put it). Next time you're trolling the Atlanta area for some blues and jam, you can catch her at Blind Willies on N Highland about one Tuesday a month, regularly at Vinocity on Fri or Sat, or in her home bar at the East Point Corner Tavern.

Wow. That was a completely shameless plug, but... she's awesome, dude!

l8rz!

Coming around...

2009-08-19T22:08:00.004-04:00

Two months of finally settling down, and who knows how many since the last time I was here...

Yeah, so the wiles of buying a house will send you down a new path of confusion and excitement all at the same time. And exhaustion... tons of exhaustion. So I find myself sitting in my bar in the corner for the first time in a while. It's interesting watching everyone I know carry on in their usual wild (translated: loud) manner and listening in on conversations I really don't need to be hearing. But this is who I am. The fly in the corner. ;) It's actually relaxing compared to the usual hustle and bustle; not to mention, the crazyiness I've been involved in for the last two months. So in my moment of "zen" and separation, I think it's time for a game review. Too, this is to get myself back into the gaming world. I've only been able to play once since the middle of July between moving and loosing the bulb to my projector.

Fear 2: Project Origin
Yeah, this one's been out for a while, but It's my latest on the Gamefly list. And, I was in the middle of playing it before the move. I really like the Fear series. I purchased the first one (later, used, on discount, of course) with the anticipation of the shock factor the commercials advertised. Project Origin continues the story as a prequel to the first game. The storyline keeps you wrapped in, but like the first game, there's a good deal of "run and gun" you have to go through to actually make it to cut scene. This is my one disappointment with the series. It's literally just a "shoot 'em up" designed primarily for the multi-player action. They spend too much time in between AMV sequences, where I get bored and just turn the game off. I'm one of those weirdos that love TPS (third person shooters, for the uneducated) purely for the one player action. I don't get involved in Xbox Live! that often, so my primary concern with a game is not the multiplayer capabilities. The upside is I can't make myself send the game back, yet. There's just enough of the infrequent, make you crap your pants because of something jumping out of nowhere moments that I just have to keep playing. It's a sick obsession, I know. ;) But, if you get a chance, give the game a go. The graphics and audio tracks are astounding. Not to mention, the gameplay is extremely fluid. I'm completely enthralled with the exploding enemies at close range with the shotgun. :p Would you expect any less from a Halo and Gears enthusiast?

So that's it from the bartop for tonight. Hopefully, in the next month, I'll be ranting from the "Batcave".

l8rz!

Support law enforcement families this Sat!

2009-04-24T12:08:00.001-04:00

Afternoon all! Just a quick note then back to my weekend… errr, I mean… work. ;)

MJ’s supporting a blogathon this weekend for Police Wives Online:

Note to Self: Note to Readers: HELP!

Her fiancé, and my GF's brother is a patrolman. From the blog site: "Donations will benefit the many programs at Police Wives Online including the H.U.G.S. (Helping Uplift Grieving Survivors) program and a newly created scholarship fund for law enforcement families." Stop on by and show 'em how much you appreciate your officers, and their wives (no, not in that manner, you sicko!). The goal for this year is $1k.

Meanwhile, my 360 came back Wed, so I'm a little preoccupied at the moment. Get back to you. ;)

l8rz!

Nerdiness

2009-04-16T18:17:00.001-04:00

I don’t really care much for Ubuntu, but they have made huge strides in introducing Linux to the not-so-technical home users. Countdown to the new version:

l8rz.

So much for weekly…

2009-04-13T17:37:00.001-04:00

But, I’m still getting back into this, at least. ;)

Newayz. The weather as of late in the ATL (and most of the South, for that matter) has been cool and damp. I know, you’re thinking, “Yeah. So?” This is fairly unnatural for the Southern region of the States this time of year. Or, so it seems unnatural from the weather patterns that we’re used to experiencing when it’s not an el Niño or la Niña season. (From the little bit of “Es-pan-yol” that I remember, I really don’t get using son and daughter to define a season, but that’s for another rant. Regressing….) This cool dampness is non-so helping towards my aged ailments of sinuses and joints. Also, with the teasing weekends of warm sunshiney (did I just type, “sunshiney”?) days, I’m ready to get out of the house and enjoy the comforts of nature’s warmth (i.e., I’m ready to lay out in the sun).

On another note, last Fri, I finally set my poor 360 on its trip to Seattle for repair. I’m hoping it won’t take any more than 2 weeks. I’m jonesing to play my GameFly rentals, X Blades and Golden Axe: Beast Rider. I’ve already had them 3 weeks and not been able to play.

Oh. I need to clarify this, as I’ve made some changes. For those of your Facebook’ers and Multiply’ers, the origination of Beware the Tourists is at Blogger. For the lazy (like me), there are RSS (definition here if you have no idea what RSS is) links off to the top right. I finally upgraded to the newer templates not long ago; hence, the layout has changed ever so slightly.

l8rz.

Continuation from this AM

2009-03-27T17:22:00.001-04:00

Caffeine assimilated. Insanity adverted.

So the main problem is the fact that once again, I am shipping my 360 back to Microsoft for repair. For those of you that don’t remember, the DVD drive died a while back. Luckily, I’m still under that 3 year window for the flashing red lights problem. I’m going to give props to Xbox Support today. As mentioned above, I came home to the “3 Light Red Ring of Death” last night on my 360. Once the grouch beast was tamed this morning, I attempted to submit my repair online. This became difficult as I’ve changed email addresses on my Live! account since I last registered the system. Long story short (and a 20 minute phone call to Xbox Support, mostly spent because of me trying to track down my old mailing address), the girl very easily transitioned my registered email address. That was pretty frikin’ cool. I figured I would be on the phone for hours trying to track down the right person who would know how to do that. As if you can’t tell, I prefer talking to computers instead of people for support. So, now I wait for the shipping box to show up and Microsoft to ship me out a new system, just like last time. Whoopee. The rest of my “numbered list” was just annoyances of little things you hate having to wake up to. My Comcast internet connection has always been flakey, at best. Sometimes I wonder, with all the environmental factors that set it off, would I have been better off with satellite? ;)

So, yup. I’m back in the fold. My goal at this point is to post something weekly. Now, I could sit her like other bloggers and rant about the economy, or the government, or what some other blogger has posted. But, I tend to avoid all that here. I’ll give my opinion, and occasionally a link, but don’t expect anything too personal. Also, being that I have the potential for a whole new class of readers, I’ll try to keep it much tamer this go round.

BTW, I now respond to "Bubbles”, and I’m pretty good at juggling chainsaws… naked. ThX, MJ! ;)

l8rz!

Wonderful morning…

2009-03-27T09:28:00.001-04:00

This has turned out to be a pretty crappy morning so far… Because I’ve barely had enough coffee to even start going, I’m borrowing a friend’s “bulleted list” idea and will give more on these topics later:

I come home last night to find my 360 has the dreaded “red ring of death”.
It’s been raining consistently here for 2 days.
The toilet decides to stop up because of all the rain.
The cable internet fritzes out because of all the rain (that or the recent work siding being done on the house).

As I said, not enough coffee, and I’m still grouchy at the world; more later.

Oh, yeah. Welcome back to “Beware the Tourists”. :)

l8rz.

Test Post

2009-03-03T14:27:00.001-05:00

Lookie! I’m updating. ;) This is just a test to see how the API integrates with other apps/sites. I’m getting back around to this, so stay tuned (same bat channel, same… oh you get the idea).

l8rz.

Gathering of thoughts...

2008-02-21T23:45:00.001-05:00

This blog has been long neglected and in much need of return. However, due to a rather random chain of events this afternoon, my mind is still a muddled mess of thought and contemplation. This means that I am delaying the inevitable yet one more evening. Luckily, tomorrow is a Friday; and, for once in quite a while, I'm actually free of any social obligations leaving me open to utilize the blog client on my newly re-installed laptop (I'll have more on that, tomorrow, too). For now, I should get some sleep.

l8rz.

wah hoo...

2008-01-22T21:18:00.000-05:00

Wah hoo biotches... I'm going to keep this short as even tho I'm in the mood to rant, but I've nigh the coordination skills at the moment. All I'm going to say is, "I loves me some sake." Besides, I'm in jabber mode and last thing I need to do is start drunk txt'ing my friends. :D

OK, so I'm not dead, nor have I given up on ranting. There has been much in the personal (mostly work) life that has kept me from here. Promotions abound and friendships rekindled have pre-occupied me since pre-Thanksgiving. I know everyone has done their whole New Year's resolutions, and I was going to do mine; but, screw it. I have the tasks I intend to complete before the end of the year written down on a piece of paper and magneted to the fridge.

Game-wise, not many changes. Honestly, up until last night, I haven't been on the gaming front much. Too many nights of getting plastered, or staying out late. One thing I must note is that I'm getting too damn old to "go out" on a "school night". With the work promotions, I'm hell bound and determined to start showing up during "normal hours", so I've been crashing well before my usual all-nighters and even midnight. Scary, I know. Maybe I'm finally growing up... Ha! Yeah, right. That be the case, I wouldn't have downed all that sake tonight. ;) Also, since I've canceled cable (haven't hardly watched TV since I moved back in August), I'm out of the Anime loop. Blockbuster Online is starting to irritate me, so I'll probably be changing or getting rid of that soon, too. I will admit, barring the cold, I've been very impressed with myself as far as getting out of the house. Normally, this time of year, it takes near an act of divinity to get me out into this 30 or less degree weather. The Atl saw it's first snow flurries in several years this past week, so maybe that has some motivation to it.

...Damn, the thought train just ran off the tracks. Ok, guess that means it's time to call it a night (all 9p and all). Oh, one last gripe. Dammit, Farve! ...Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that little Manning can rub it in big bro's face, but I wanted Green Bay in the Super Bowl!

l8rz, g8rz!!

Post addition:

I just found out that Heath Ledger passed yesterday. Dude, he was an awesome actor! I've been nothing but impressed with any role he's fulfilled. I can only say, with great sadness, that Hollywood has lost a magnificent talent. "Batman: The Dark Night" will definately be viewed opening night in his honor once it's released.

Yes. I am still alive...

2007-11-26T09:42:00.001-05:00

... just been lazy. It's not that I haven't had a desire to post. Ok, well, maybe I haven't really been in the mood to post anything, but there has been plenty of little quips that have come to mind worth sharing. Firing up the laptop when I get home just hasn't been worth it. That, and I've been playing video games a bit much. :D Between the release of Halo 3, Guitar Hero III, and Bioshock, I've been preoccupied, so to speak. Sad thing is, I can say I'm getting pretty good at Guitar Hero. I've 5 starred the Easy and Medium settings in both II and III (well, all except one song in II), and I'm on to Hard. I was joking with my dad on the phone the other day. I can start telling people, "Yeah. I rock at Guitar Hero. What? No I'm not a musician. I just have no life." ;) I've started holing myself up in the house, again (the cold weather isn't helping), playing games all the time. I'm determined not to return to that form of hermit-ism. Oh, I'm not giving up gaming. I just need to put the guitar down for a while. Rock Band is on my list of to get games, but I'm going to hold off for a while on that one. These things are just a bit too addictive. ;)

I keep looking at my GamerCard and laughing:

It's hard to believe, that in a little over a year, I've managed to acquire almost 5000 points. That's just insane (well, for me, anyway). So, time to put the controller down (for a couple of days, at least). Besides, I now have a PS3 on my desk at work (for research, of course) that needs some "hacking" done to it. That, and I'm determined not to stay indoors all winter. Did I mention I hate cold weather?

How much longer till Spring? ;)

l8rz!

Visual DNA.

2007-10-26T01:55:00.001-04:00

Courtesy of Imagini™:

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

l8rs.

Rush gone Emo.

2007-10-23T19:10:00.001-04:00

I was listening to Rush's latest album, "Snakes and Arrows" again for the first time in a while. I was noticing that minus the first few songs, the album doesn't really rock like their older stuff. The songs are mopey or bluesy. WTF?! I've always loved Rush's stuff. All the way up to their "Counterparts" album was good. "Vapor Trails" was OK, but this last one is just... blah. It's like they've all become tired old farts that aren't putting any more enthusiasm into their music. It's still beautifully composed, but, just so... blah. Guess this one will go back on the shelf and I'll listen to their old stuff instead. "Power Windows" r0x0rZ!!!1!1!

l8rZ.

Bored.

2007-10-21T01:24:00.001-04:00

I'm so frikin bored right now. I've been pretty lazy all day. I didn't go out any other than just to run a few errands. The good news is, I can now watch TV and get on the internet at the same time, now. ;) That's about the only productive thing I've done all day. Tomorrow is laundry, cut the grass, weed, and drop off the recyclables. It's actually been kinda nice not having to rush to go anywhere or do anything. I've been wrapped in a mixture of relaxation and exhaustion, today. The sad part is, I haven't done anything, so I shouldn't be tired. I fell asleep in the papasan for an hour and a half earlier this evening.

An assumed change of events with a friend is leaving me to believe that my life is about to take an interesting turn in the near future. Since it's only my assumption, I'm not jumping the gun nor do I plan on rushing any decisions. Needless to say, my social calendar my be getting a few more additions to it here soon. What can I say? I'm a ladies man (*cough*... yeah, right). ;)

l8rs.

Decisions. Decisions.

2007-10-18T21:46:00.001-04:00

W00+! Man, there is so much going on! I just can't decide where to go or what to do next. LOL! My social calendar has not only exploded, it's imploding and becoming a siphoning black hole. There has to be some sort of cosmic disturbance somewhere else, al la chaos theory. I can't seem to get a break. And, there are some friends I've been needing to hang out with for the better part of the last month. I mean, don't get me wrong, this totally beats sitting in front of the Xbox playing Halo all weekend. Of course, I've still been getting my game time in. I can't totally give that up.

Now what's the irony behind this? I've finally gotten all the issues worked out with Comcast, but I'm sitting here watching a DiVX anime on my desktop. Geeze. I should probably think about canceling or cutting back the cable. I haven't watched TV in over a month. Sad thing is, I don't feel like I'm even missing anything.

OK, I'm going to finish this up and start getting settled for bed. I've got an early meeting in the morning since I skipped out on one this afternoon.

l8rs.

Frikin' hell. It's Fall, again.

2007-10-12T19:01:00.001-04:00

I am NOT a fan of cold weather. Atlanta's well known for its drastic differences in temperature between day and night during the Fall. I always hat the first cold night of the season where the temperature drops about 30 degrees from what I'm used to. I end up cuddled up in front of a space heater for about 45 minutes trying to get rid of a bone rattling chill that won't go away. I HATE being cold. Give me the blistering hot sun of a sultry Summer afternoon any day. If I'm going to be suffering from constant episodes of chills, I better be standing in at least ankle deep powder with skis or a snowboard strapped to my feet. Of course, I refuse to admit it's fall. My Jeep top is still down (but I do have the doors on). I also won't turn the heater on until November. I'm just stubborn like that. I'll just stick to my sweatshirt and space heater, for now. And to think I was running the fans at full speed the other night trying to keep cool. Cold weather sux0rz...

So where have I been for the last 2 1/2 weeks? Heh. Well, if I'd quit going out so much, I wouldn't be so broke, right now. My social calendar has exploded. Seems like I'm out doing something or other at least 4 nights a week. Also, temporarily, due to some personal issues I've had to deal with, I've found another outlet through that old fashioned method of putting pen to paper. Yes, ink and a legal pad. I know. Who physically "writes" anymore? ;) Now, I've dealt with those issues, I've vented, and I'm back to spouting BS here, again. **Aren't you so happy?** (note sense of sarcasm in that last statement...)

So what have I missed? Or, the bigger question, I guess, is, "What have *you* missed?"

Gamer News:

Halo 3 - I've finished it twice already and haven't played it much since then. No, I haven't lost interest. I just have a new game to play that came out at the same time. :)
.hack//G.U. Vol. 3 - 'Nuff said. Hasao and the other Avatar users (G.U.) are back in the third and final installment of the latest .hack game. This one seems to be longer than the other two. I've already put in about 24 hrs of game time and don't feel like I'm even half-way thru, yet. It's time to crack open that can of "Ren Geki", again! LOL.

TV Shows for the new Fall Season:

Don't ask me. I've been fighting Comcast since I moved (yes, a whole month!) to get my service reconnected. I finally got a tech today that showed up and called everyone at the call center a bunch of idiots. LOL. He made a couple of phone calls; 30 minutes later, voila! I have TV! Go figure.... Guess that means I can start catching up on Heroes, now.

Anime:

Like I said, no TV; and, I've been holding on to my Blockbuster DVDs since I moved. Just finally mailed them back. So haven't gotten anything new in a while. My Newtype USA subscription lapsed just before I moved, also. I haven't renewed it yet. Don't know that I will, either.
Oh, Dawn, go read this post. It should answer that question you asked me about a month back.

Anything else? No, that should be it.

In preparation for some changes at work, I've re-installed my laptop, again. I've gone back to XP (screw Vista). I may be going back to doing more Active Directory support in the future. I can't exactly do that very efficiently from Red Hat; hence, the re-install. In that process, I'm back to using the Windows Live Writer to compose my blog. I've normally just written out the code, then just previewed it in previous versions. With this latest revision, I'm beginning to like the WYSIWYG interface. It kinda reminds me of WordPress. I just might keep using it.

I've got some other things I can comment on, but they can wait till a later post. I've got cleaning to do. The 'rents, my sister, and her new boyfriend are crashing for the weekend. This place looks like I haven't cleaned since I moved in. Well... actually... I haven't.... Like I said, I've been busy. :D

l8rs.

Halo 3. 'Nuff said.

2007-09-25T12:33:00.000-04:00

So I never reserved my copy. I went with a friend and her husband last night at midnight to pick up his copy. I figured if the store had any extras, maybe I could get one. Well, an hour after the doors were opened, I walked out with my own copy. Schweet. I am now doped up on a full pot of coffee and dozing off at my desk because I just had to pull an all nighter to see how far I could get. ;) After about 5 hours of gameplay on my own (plus 2 or so in co-op), I think I'm down to the last level in the storyline. I had to play it on the Easy setting. I want to know how the fight ends. If I can managed to stay awake long enough to get through Trivia Nite, I'm going back home to finish tonight.

Bungie has really stepped up on the engine. I am impressed! The in-game movies are astounding; the fully-functional environments are beautiful (you can smack the plants now, and they move!); and, the soundtrack is impressively complementary, as always. The gameplay on the new controller took some getting used to (I keep throwing out the "items" because I'm still used to reloading with that button), but the controller is well mapped and basically the same. It's customizable, of course, in case you don't like the new layout. I will definately be playing this one over, and over, and over.... and over, and over, and over... LOL. Now I just need to set up a way to do the whole trilogy one right after the other (it still takes me almost a whole weekend to get through just one game on the Easy setting).

K. Need the rest of my lunch break to eat somthing... I'm jittery. :)

l8rs.

AWA-Con 2007 pics are up.

2007-09-24T01:58:00.000-04:00

Paruse at your lesiure:

flickr

l8rs.

Runner's Bliss.

2007-09-24T00:59:00.001-04:00

I've rediscovered that bit of euphoria most runners experience:

Above the small stitch in your side that is a reminder of you're not a young as you used to be.... Above the cramp developing behind your left knee screaming, "You didn't stretch enough"... Above the burning in your lungs caused by years of carbon monoxide damage, there is that amazing sensation caused by the over-firing of synapsees. There is that sensation of pins and needles against your skin as the cool wind whips against your sweat drenched arms, legs, and cheeks. You pick up your pace to enhance the sting. You ignore everything else around you. You block out all thoughts. In that single moment of bliss and adrenaline, you are reminded that you are alive. Then you grin... because you have just found your true peak.

*THAT*, my friends, is "Runner's Bliss," the euphoria that drags us out in the middle of the day in these sultry late summer afternoons.

l8rs.

Going for the gold... and getting the silver.

2007-09-17T23:32:00.000-04:00

See, now this is why I don't like posting about the deep speculations of my personal life. I end up getting way too many questions about the situation which I should have just kept to myself. Either way, I'm done being "mopey and lame" about the whole thing. I'm done "walkin' off the w33pies" (as Largo calls it). And, I'm accepting the course of lives that are, in half, my choice and agreeance. Unfortunately for me, I can be a deeply emotional person. There are times when the initial situation will go fine and everything is cool. Later, I'll begin to over-anaylze. My thought process will drive me absolutely batty until I can work everything out in my head. I then end up apologizing to friends (and family) for being such a dumbass and worrying too much. So, I'm done over-analying. I'm back to having a smile on my face. And, I'm happy-go-lucky, again, because life is too short to sweat the little stuff.

And, this is the last Emo post you will ever get out of me. ;)

Now, in all honesty, there must be something really wrong with me. I still haven't ordered my copy of Halo 3. No, it's not because I'm still trying to choose which of the 3 different versions I want. It's actually not because of finances; I put that money away a long time ago. ;) I guess I'm just assuming that if I order it online, I'll still get it shipped the day of release. You know, I should probably make sure there's a Best Buy or GameStop near me, now, so I can go pick it up that morning before work. ;) I finally just found a Blockbuster the other day. How long have I been living here? 3 weeks? Slack-ass....

Oh, another personal w00+! In less than a week, I've already managed to shave 5 minutes off my run. The hardest part about getting back into running is that I really shouldn't be doing this for time but for the sheer exhilaration of it. Running, when I was younger, had a side effect of being mentally relaxing. Reprogramming myself is going to be the most difficult part. Well, I guess I can just use the time to help with the traning for my two goals:

I want to make it up all 4 flights of stairs at work without getting winded. I came pretty close today, but normally, somewhere between the 3 and 3 1/2 mark, I have to take a deep breath. I'll recover by the time I get into my office, but it's still been an annoyance to me.
By the end of the year, I want to be able to run 6 miles without having to stop.

I've had no problems going non-stop with my current 2 miles since my second day out. I just had to find a new pace. My mind was still running at my old pace from high school my first time out, but my aging decrepid body's not quite ready to keep up with it. :p

Well, it's getting pretty late, and I have to get up early these days if I want to get a parking spot at the train station. I'm outtie.

l8rs.

You know you've been going to a club too often when...

2007-09-14T10:59:00.000-04:00

... not only do you know the dances, you are the one starting them. I never thought it would come to the day that I would be leading the lines at Cowboys. The place was actually quite dead last night for a Thurs. Must have been the rain. ;) Most of the usual "regulars" (i.e., my sister's friends) never even showed up.

While I'm on my bar-scene rant, I came to an interesting realization last night. Why is it I always flirt with the bride-to-be and her little troup of friends every time I go? Is it that I'm that self-concious about the whole no ties deal? I mean, yeah. I just go there to dance. But am I that worried (or too chicken shit) about asking a girl to dance? Either way, I had fun and that's all that matters. :p~ The only thing that sucks is that drive back home. It's even worse now that I've moved to the south side of town. It's too bad there's not any other decent country clubs closer (that I've found, so far). I guess I could try further south, but that would be just as far of a drive.

BTW, I've started running, again. Not too happy with the fact that on my second day out, it took me a little less than 25 minutes to run 2 miles. I don't think I ever ran that slow even when I was in the yearly mile road race as a kid. This is embarassing. (For those of you who don't know, I ran for the cross-country team in high school.) The good side is I'm not quite as out of shape as I thought. The last 7 (well, actually, I guess I should say 14) years of smoking hasn't hurt me too bad.

...

I should have slept in instead of rushing out the door so quick to make it here on time. It's pretty dead at work for a Fri. Of course, now that I say that, people are going to swarm into my office at 4:45 this afternoon wanting me to fix complicated stuff or something really important is going to blow up.

Awite, The other stuff I need to work on isn't supposed to happen until this afternoon. Guess I'll go txt msg my friend and annoy her while she's on her lunch break. ;p~

l8rs.

Football mania.

2007-09-10T16:04:00.000-04:00

Now what's the irony in all this. Usually about this time every year, I'm balls to the wall, gotta watch my Jackets, strapped to the couch on Saturdays. This year, the only thing I seem to really want to do that has any relation to football is attend a local Packer tailgate party. Huh. Weird. Well, I do have my moods.

This is probably influcened by my recent return from the beach, but I'd rather just play sand volleyball. ;)

l8rs.

Grab a hold and white-knuckle it all the way.

2007-09-09T23:31:00.000-04:00

I guess it's time for an update.

I feel like an eternity has passed, even though it's only been a month. Not in posting terms, but life in general. As I mentioned in my last post, I met someone. Also, in that time frame, I've moved, started a new semester at work, and generally just tried to keep my shit together. Things went from simple and boring to wild and extremely interesting (to say the least).

I can tell the summer is over. Today was the first pretty warm day we've seen since last month's heat wave. Too bad I was way too hungover to enjoy it. One of these days I'll learn that Jager and I must operate in small doses. ;) Now I'm sitting outside in a sweatshirt with the laptop. The cool evenings of the Fall are approaching. I love this time of year, but it only reminds me that old man Winter will be trailing soon after with his chilly breath. The cold and I don't get along, in case you didn't already know that. Even though I haven't been settled in long enough to really enjoy it, living in a house has it's advantages. Not just for the fact that the Fat Dog has so much more room (and a yard), but for times like now. I'm on the back deck looking at the stars (what 3 I can see being so close to the city), typing this. I just don't get any better than this. Well... yea it can get a whole hell of a lot better, actually. But you get my point. It's better than still being cramped up in that apartment.

Alright, alright. Here's the nitty gritty you've all been bugging me about. I met a girl. Crazy thing, at my age, you don't just meet a girl anymore. Yeah, there are those that turn your head, catch your attention, or even your digits. But then there's that one. The one that thinks and says and does everything that makes your heart skip a beat in excitement. The one that makes you start going down that mental list of what it is you are looking for in forever. The one that puts a check next to every item on that list. The one that makes you keep telling yourself over and over "There is no way. This can't be real." The one you can share chugging a beer, having an intelligently thought provoking conversation, discussing your emotions, and then non-chalantly asking and answering what your ideal wedding looks like in your head. All in the course of about 2 weeks. This all seems so surreal everytime I think about it. Also, it seems so much longer than just 2 weeks. It's like we've known each other for years. OK... don't get so worked up. Fairytales do happen (tho, rarely, from what I've seen). This could be real. This could be it. She could be the one. "You are the one, Neo." LOL!

So that's my nutshell right now. I'm dealing with emotions I boxed away those oh so many years ago. My hard-core badass composure is crumbling. I feel like a putz. And I'm doing my damnedness not to do anything stupid to scare her off. There is one thing that I'm not quite sure about (or I've just forgotten over the years of self-induced separation). Is it normal for your stomach to fill up with butterflies just because you look at a picture of someone?

I am turning into such a damn pansy....

l8rs

Holy crap I'm tired....

2007-08-30T10:58:00.001-04:00

A little over three weeks ago, all I was concerned with was trying to show up to work on time and the next video game that would preoccupy my boredom. Since then, my world has turned upside down.

A week and a half ago, I burnt the midnight oil (so to speak) so hard that I crashed after 4 days. I'm getting to old to do that during the week. This past week, I've been running on nothing short of adrenaline and caffeine. Sleep, unfortunately, has not been much of an option between the multiple runs both days over the weekend (good 12 hour days that I haven't pulled off in a long time) for the big stuff and two days of late night cleaning and cramming the remaining miscellaneous junk in the Jeep after work. I barely have anything unpacked. Last night was supposed to be something of a relaxing evening with someone I first met three weeks ago. The evening was perfect, everything went great, and it was relaxing. But you know how it is when your sleeping arrangements change.... I haven't slept next to someone in about 5 years. Needless to say, I'm lucky if I got any more than 45 minutes of snoozing in at a time. It's not her fault, she slept like a rock. Since I burnt out the last of my adrenaline on Tues, I'm left with just caffeine to keep me going today. Thank goodness there's only two more days left in this week. I am definately looking forward to my 3 day vacation this weekend. ;)

So, I know some of you are asking, "Someone?" Yes. Someone. :) I'm going to leave it at that for now because I don't want to jinx anything.

BTW, It's about that time... less than a month left:

Schweet!

l8rs.

Somebody put Vick in the pit!

2007-08-29T17:10:00.001-04:00

I was soooo going to aviod this as it really chaps my ass.

I just finished reading Eric's blog on the whole Michael Vick trial, and I couldn't hold back any more. Celebs really piss me off when they do something so stupid and inhumane then expect us, the reason for their idolization, for a slap on the wrist and no supper. I say fsck that! Put his ass down there in the fighting pit and let him survive. If he doesn't, string him up out back and see if he survives. He needs to be somebody's biotch for a little while.

There. I said it. Vick, how could you be so damned stupid and inhumane. I'm ashamed to call you our QB.... Know this: karma's a bitch. I hope you get yours.

l8rs.

This is just.... wrong.

2007-08-22T03:12:00.001-04:00

Hey, I love video games, too. I like to think I have a life outside of them, tho. Apparently, this guy is very confident in his geekiness.

Yes, that is a SEGA tatoo on a leg.

Speaking of lives... I have one right now, so my posting is probably going to dwindle away to nothing for a while. Yay me! :)

l8rs.

BTW, I have a little more than 2 months to make my launch date for the webcomic I set last year. Think I'll make it? Guess we'll have to see. ;)

Rumors abound...

2007-08-11T12:31:00.000-04:00

I'm going through my blog subscriptions from the last week to kill time before my road trip. The guys over at the Xbox 360 Rally have been eating up the rumor-mill, and I just have to throw in my $0.02 worth (because it's not worth $0.10).

To start off, I'm peeved that Sony is discontinuing the 60G PS3 model. Not that I plan on getting a PS3 any time soon, but in addition to that statement, they will no longer be using the "Emotion" hardware chip for games backwards compatibility (in favor of a software solution, al la 360). This was the primary selling point for me with Playstation in the past, and an extremely pisser point when I bought my 360. Now I'm going to have to scour eBay for a 60G model once the new Ratchet and Clank and Final Fantasy games are released. The point? Is Microsoft ditching the Core? For their sake, I hope not. This next-gen (if you can still call it that) console war between MS and Sony is getting ridiculous. It's starting to sound a lot like the HD-DVD and Blue-Ray competition. Meanwhile, Nintendo is sitting back in their corner laughing.

Next on the list, the 360 price drops are getting insane. The Premium went from $399 to $349 and, now, to $329? Talk about trying to make up for bad blood with the "red ring of death" problem. To top it off, come September (just in time for Halo 3), the Premium consoles should be having their own little HDMI ports! Now the question begs, is it really worth an extra $170 for a 100G more and a black exterior (as apposed to white)? Sounds like MS is up to something devious... but what? ;)

Ok, so my ranting is done. I need to get on the road. A 4hr road trip awaits me, and I need to hit my destination before 6:30p. 3nj0i mulling over those rumors and keep an eye on the Rally for more detailed coverage than I'll ever give. :)

l8rs.

Totally stoked!!

2007-08-07T22:19:00.000-04:00

Ok, so remember how I said my 360 needed repairs? Well, it turns out, I got it back a whole lot faster than I had anticipated. To top it off, they just sent me a whole new unit. I'll have to post a scan of the letter, next time. It just needed a new DVD drive, sheesh. Well, I guess with all the changes to the support infrastructure and the 3 year extension on all systems, they're just canceling out any risks by making sure all systems meet the new internal hardware requirements. So, anyway, I'm totally stoked to have it back. I've been jonesing to play some Guitar Hero.

Well, after a completely unproductive post, I'm going to get back to cleaning my DVR off. It's at 99%, again.... You'd think I'd learn by now quit recording shows that I'm never going to watch.

l8rs.

The city stinks, today.

2007-07-16T15:46:00.000-04:00

I don't know what happened downtown this past weekend, but almost every block around my building reeks of garbage; the lobby of my building smells like a seafood processing plant; and, there are industrial size portable air filter units all over the floor. On my way back from grabbing lunch (yes, it's another late lunch as usual), I kept looking around for the garbage dumps but never found any. Now, City of Atlanta is well know for it's crappy sewage system (no pun intended), but it's never smelled this bad before. Pee-eww!

l8rs.

The E3 "Business Summit".

2007-07-11T22:21:00.000-04:00

It has begun. The once highly coveted mecha of all video gamers has now gone corporate media. My opinion of this transition is it's just another mass marketing ploy to get gamers all hyped up about hardware and or software they won't be seeing for probably another 6 months to a year. As you can tell, I'm all wrapped up in that hype. ;) Pretty much the only tracking point for us gamer lackeys is G4TV's and GameTrailer's coverage. Other than looking forward to the release of Halo 3 (and any media related to it), the Unreal engine v3, and the next-gen version of Ratchet & Clank, I don't really know if there's anything worth looking forward to. Hence, I have my eyes glued to G4's coverage.

I'm stuck playing my original Xbox and PS2 for the next month. My 360 has fallen victim to the gremlins that most have. No, not the red rings of death, just a simple dying DVD-rom. I don't see what all the biotchings have been about. I called their tech support; 15 minutes later, I had an RMA and a box on the way to ship it to them. Admittedly, I'm not to happy with the turnaround time (5 days shipping the box, 5 days returning 360, 7 days in the shop, and 5 more days returning it back to me). But, I can't complain too much if this 30% failure rate is true. There's no proof in that #, but Microsoft has bitten the bullet, and announced yet another extension of the warranty to 3 years. I need a bigger hard drive. Yes, there is a seemingly continuous price drop in hardware, lately, (including the console drops), but I still have no desire to drop that much for a 360 Elite. I don't have HDMI, and won't anytime soon.

Also, I'm still trying to convince myself of a good reason to get a PS3. The discounted price and Heavenly Sword (along with other seemingly empty promises) just haven't been enough to convince me to make that type of "investment". Sony probably would have done a whole lot better if they had taken their time and waited a year for the game producers to get some games made. ...Oh, this is new..... I just found out that all future PS3's will not have the emulation chips for backwards compatibility. They're using a software solution this time around (like the 360). That blows. I hope that all games are backwards compatible and not just a select few (like Xbox titles). That has been Sony's bonus, in my opinion.

Ok. I've been trying to type this for too long. Not to mention, I went link happy in this post. I'm gonna get back to the end of this E3 coverage, then go to bed drooling over the all the hopefuls I might get to see in my local store in about 5 months.

l8rs.

Did I mention how much I like sake?

2007-07-10T22:43:00.001-04:00

Mmmmm.... Nothing like taking the edge off with a bottle of sake. The sad thing is, I always end up drinking the whole bottle. Good thing I found one that's pretty cheap. ;) Speaking of Japanese influences, I won a contest! Now I just need to figure out what I'm going to spend my gift certificate on. I've always wanted one of those pvc figurines. Or, I could be nice and finish my sister's Madlax DVD set. My friend told me she wants Pocky. Either way, once I get home from work early enough, I'm sure I'll find enough to spend it on.

Speaking of, being on the patch (yes, I'm trying to quit smoking, again), I'm concentrating waaaay too hard when I sit in front of the 'puter. My usual mid-afternoon break no longer happens, so I catch myself leaving work between 7:30 and 8 the last 2 weeks. Oh, well. At least I'm finally concentrating on that project I've been devising over the last year.

Enuff of work. I've decided I need some sort of regimen in my spare time (and I need to try to keep up with this crazy blog), so I'm going to try to start commenting on specific genres during the week. One devoted to video games, one to computers, etc. Besides, I have a good list of other blogs I try to keep up with that I want to rant something or other about at least every couple of days. This should be the motivation to do that. Either this or I need to get off my arse and start working on the comic. Gotta pee.

....

Ahhh... better. I know; TMI. ;) Newayz, I'm gonna get back to my sake, and Outlaw Star (finally got it on DVD). This and Cowboy Beebop on the original Adult Swim many a years back is what turned me into the Anime fanatic that I am today.

l8rs.

Just because I refuse to let myself sleep.

2007-06-29T04:10:00.000-04:00

My sleeping habits are getting worse. It needs to be rectified, and soon. But since I'm still awake....

I haven't been too keen on constant blogging lately. It's even been suggested that I take on one of those blog for money kinda things. Pfeh... money. Offer beer and food then we might talk. It's not like there isn't always something happening in my day worth poking fun at or ranting about. It's just that by the time I get home, the motivation for putting fingers to keyboard just isn't there.... Kinda like now. I keep switching tabs in my browser looking for anything to attract my attention. Oh, well. This didn't work out quite as intelligently as I wanted it to. Too bad I don't have any beer. Hey, maybe that's been my problem; I haven't had any in the fridge for pretty much the last too weeks. Good thing pay day's tomorrow. ;)

I was considering spending some quality time with Lady Croft, but I do have to go to work tomorrow. Guess I'll call it a night.

l8rs.

Keep drinking... maybe it'll get better...

2007-06-24T02:01:00.000-04:00

You go to frikin' "Country" bar and you expect Country music and line dancing. Yeah... not tonight. Since I was in no mood to waste my evening playing video games, I got a wild hair up my butt and figured I've give Wild Bill's a chance so I didn't have to drive so far to Cowboys. That turned out to be a bust. I'll have to give props to the house band, however. They are very versatile in their set list. And good at it, too. I gotta get outta this city. I'm not a yuppie. I'm not country folk either, but still. I spent the last hour I was there sitting on the sideline drinking beer and praying for a line dance. I don't exactly consider Kennesaw a back-woods kinda town, but it's better than 5 miles outside the northeast side of the perimeter. The "perimeter" is Atlanta talk for "in town", BTW. I did score points with the 60+ some odd year old line dance teacher, and she gave me a half-price card to get in. Doubt I'll be going back, however. At least, I won't be going back by myself. It's definatly the older crowd that does the line dancing (which is the whole reason I go to "country" bars). Hell, other than that, the best I did was light some chick's smoke and buy her a beer. Didn't see her again for the rest of the evening (which didn't suprise me). Not like I really tried looking for her, either.

Being a white boy, you can't exactly drop your a$$ out on the floor and dance. You start looking like one of those desperate jokers similar to the Indian dude on the floor tonite. The poor sap didn't realize that everyone coming up to him was either giving him props for being so brave or making fun of him.

I gotta find some chick to go to dance clubs with me now that my sister is no longer in town. I miss having a bar/dance club crowd to hang with.

So, that was my waste of a Sat evening. How was yours? :(

l8rs.

Simple entertainment.

2007-06-16T00:02:00.001-04:00

Isn't it interesting to notice the simple and stupid things we do to keep ourselves entertained while we drink? I just noticed a group that strolled past my apartment that were headed to the pool. How did I know the pool? One of the chicks came back by wet in a towel. Rawr! ;) Newayz.... Me? I've only had a third of a bag of M&M's all day to eat, so three beers into the evening, I'm feeling pretty adventurous. My hair has finally started to grow back out, so I decided to see how much I could get it to stick up (too much hair goop left in it from today). For all you old schoolers, I look like Hair Bear. ;) w00+! K. Just felt like sharing. I'm going to play video games, now. :p~

l8rs.

Back in the fold.

2007-06-05T16:57:00.001-04:00

I can't decide what's worse: making up work or catching up on recorded tv after being on vacation. It's weird. I actually went for 8 days with no internet, and amazingly enough, there were no withdrawal symptoms. I've got pictures and a video from Bush Gardens, but I still need to pull them off the camera, so that'll have to be another post.

My gaming riduculousness has been crazy. The TV season is more-or-less over (minus one or 2 shows), so all I have left to do is watch cartoons and play video games. I wasted no time diving into G.U., Vol. 2. After a plethora of late nighters, I completed the storyline in about a week and a half (or 2). I've started watching the .Hack//Roots series to keep me occupied until Vol. 3 comes out this fall. I guess with all the TV shows over (and only 2 new ones to keep up with for the summer, I can finally start catching up on my Anime. Back to gaming. I picked up Guitar Hero II last week (you know I couldn't go a week without having the 360 with me). Let me tell you, that game R0X0RZ!!!1!1!! It's a bit tricky at first, but after a couple of hours and a hand cramp later, you've worked your way through the medium difficulty. Now I realize why I gave up on trying to learn guitar. My fingers weren't meant to bend in those weird-ass patterns. Either way, the game is extremely addictive. My goal, if nothing else, is to be able to play "Jessica" (Skynyrd), "YYZ" (Rush), and "Miserlou" (Dick Dale) perfectly on the expert difficulty. I better practice up. "YYZ" and "Miserlou" kick my ass on medium. ;) "Jessica", I almost have. So, today, Lady Croft resurfaces with the remake of the original Tomb Raider classic (newly titled "Tomb Raider Anniversary") using the "Tomb Raider Legend" engine. Needless to say, I'll be stopping by GameStop on my way home. ;) I've been lucky enough to dig a few hours into the Halo 3 Beta, and let me tell you, the graphics on the next-gen hardware are astounding. I'm a little dissappointed the the multiplayer is still nothing more than your typical multiplayer; but, Bungie has done a great job of improving the Matchmaking, Lobby, and post-game rollover into a new match. You can now veto a map (majority rule, of course). And... you are immediately kicked into a new match about 20-30 seconds after your previous one ends (you can, of course, cancel back out to the Lobby, if you prefer). That fact that you don't have to go back to the Lobby to find a new game, if you don't want to, is impressive, to me. The maps are beautifully designed. You can tell there's still some minor tweaking in the graphics left (I hope). This is a beta afterall. the re-emergance of the Assualt Rifle is the most impressive touch to the weapons. The Spartan Laser is "one shot, one kill" deadly, but you have to wait 5+ seconds for the damn thing to charge. Not very useful in an 8 man Rumble Pit grudge match. The new items (bubble shield, portable grav lift, etc.) are kinda cool, but I haven't really been able to survive long enough to figure out how to effectively use them. I do like the new grenades; 'specially the Brute spike grenade. Drops some serious damage if you can corner your enemy in a narrow tunnel (like the snow map).

... Well, I thought I was going to get wet. I dropped into Ribs and Blues for a late lunch/early dinner. Looks like I was a day late in anticipating that rain that been creeping up from Central Fla since last week. It was pouring a flood. Luckily, this is Georgia, and the old saying still holds true, "If you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes."

OK, enuff Halo drooling. I need to make a list of some hardware I need purchased. It'd probably be best if I get it done before I forget my "wish-list".

l8rs

Vacation!

2007-05-24T16:32:00.001-04:00

45 more minutes to go....

I'm eagerly awaiting, and trying to find BS to do while counting down the last few minutes. Hopefully, the requests will stay resolved, and nothing will break. Then it's off to the Oakley store to see if they have those flops I wanted last year. By this time tomorrow, I'll be half-way to my weekend destination of Bush Gardens. Next week, I'll be getting some much needed sun and relaxation on the east coast beaches. I swear I'm solar powered... and I've been in desperate need of a recharge for quite some time, now.

w00+!

BTW, if you listen to 'net radio, I'm sure you already know this, but visit SaveNetRadio.org. The RIAA's been at it again. They're backing this bill that went through Congress a little while back that ridicuously increased the royalty rates that "free" internet radio stations have to pay; most all stations will be put out of business if this bullshit gets finalized. So there's this "Internet Radio Equality Act" trying to debunk it. If you ever want to listen to something other than typical "airwaves" sanctioned radio stations on the internet, notify your Senate Representatives. Even if you don't listen to 'net radio, give your Senators something useful to do. ;) Besides, it's already passed in the House.

Ok, I'm outtie. That killed.... crap... only 14 minutes. *sigh*.... 31 to go....

l8rs.

BTW, Halo 3 R0X0RZ!!!!11!111!!

Virtual identity crisis.

2007-05-09T00:34:00.001-04:00

There are times when I'm note quite sure about continuing my virtual existance on the net. I mean, I can't decide if it's an extension of who I am in reality or if it's an escape from that reality. Other times I wonder if it's become nothing more than just a burden I've brought upon myself to continue to carry. What started almost 15 years ago as random appearances in an IRC chat room on a "Freenet" system has culminated into today's blogging and online commnunity memberships.

Maybe this existance and its transitions are just fads that I've eventually grown out of? Maybe I'm finally growing up into a more physically social person? Who knows?

All I do know is... I'm still here... and posting this.

On the lighter side, I will go ahead and admit, you won't see me again for at least a month. ;D .hack//GU Vol 2 was released today. I'll be picking up my copy tomorrow. Then, the Halo 3 Beta starts next week (May 16). Add that to my social obligations over the next couple of weekends and my vacation at the end of the month, I won't be posting again any time soon. But, hey, the next time you hear from me, I'll have experienced info on Halo 3. :D

l8rs

Return to virtuality.

2007-04-13T20:59:00.001-04:00

I guess after such a hiatus of ignoring my blogging rants, I should at least return here ocassionally and let you guys know I'm still alive. Work has been hectic. The weather is getting more tolerable (which means I want to get out more). Life in general is just busy. But that doesn't mean I've been neglecting my gaming; well, not too much at least. ;)

Since the end of the TV season is near and on temporary pause, I've been out of things to do during the week. As I've stated earlier this year, I try not to get too involved in gaming during the week so I can make it to work at least by a decent hour the next day. However, I've gotten really wrapped up in The Dresden Files on Sci-Fi. Guess I'm going to have to start reading the books, now. Speaking of books, I finally finished Harry Potter 4 (The Goblet of Fire) last night. Lemme tell you, that ending was quite a bit different from the movie. Before I get all wrapped up in the next one (The Half Blood Prince), I'm going to have to wait until I see the movie later this year. In the meantime, I need to catch up on some of Steve Berry's other novels (read The Templar Legacy earlier this year) and try out his latest, The Alexandria Link (saw it in the Bookstore window on the way home from work the other day). Also, I want to finish up The Vampire Chronicles (left off at book IV) and start up on The New Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice (in case you didn't already know that). Then there's the Eragon series that has peaked my interest since seeing the movie. Only problem with all this "need to do" reading is I only read on the train to and from work. After toting around HP4, I refuse to lug around those 400+ page hard-back novelettes, again. Guess that means it's back to reading Manga. ;) Might as well considering I haven't been keeping up with my Anime all that much lately (how shameful). But, I'm totally hooked on Avatar on Nicktoons. Still waiting on the last couple of episodes for the 2nd season. My new found friend (Comcast's DVR) has helped with that. Oh speaking of, remind me to look up .hack//Roots on Cartoon Network when I'm done here. I was thumbing through this month's Newtype USA, and I found out they're running it. Gotta get my fix until Vol.2 of GU comes out later this year. :D

Skipping around again and back to games. I will have to say that I've fulfilled my quota of pixilated boobies and jello physics. I picked up both Dead or Alive Xtreme Vollyball 2 and Rumble Roses XX last week. Obviously I've been playing them too much as I thought of a great script for the comic (Ch33zip00fz) comparing/contrasting these two last night while I was trying to fall asleep. Guess I better write it down before I forget, since I seem to be having serious motivational issues with getting around to drawing everything. :( But my next two new gaming targets are Guitar Hero II and Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix. I've decided that if I'm ever to get my friends to come over and game (since only one of them more than a recreational gammer like myself), I'll need something with a little more "party" pizazz. Besides, I got my dad hooked on Gears of War. He's played guitar for fun since he was in high-school (bought himself a G&L for Christmas a couple of years back), so I'm sure he'll be giddy as a school-girl with GH II.

That does it for this installment. It's Friday. I should be out partying, but I'm not. I know, I'm lame. All my friends are married or seriously dating. They have lives. I don't. LOL! Looks like I'm sitting down with TMNT and Crackdown tonight. Oh, yeah. I broke down and dropped the $60 so I could have the Halo 3 Beta. I'm sad, I know. I'm still torn about the whopping $130 for the Halo 3 Legendary Edition, but I'll probably end up eventually reserving it instead of just the game, anyway. I need therapy... that or a girlfriend. But therapy's too expensive and girls are nothing but trouble. LOL!

l8rs.

Another day older... a little more crustier.

2007-03-20T00:47:00.001-04:00

:D

So more crustier is not correct grammer, but screw it. It's my birthday. Well, it was. So how do I spend a Monday b-day? Hot wings and beer a one of my favorite eateries, Taco Mac. w00+! Plus, I've re-kindled some old friendships. They've been more like family to me in the past, so it's endaring to be in good terms again. It's not that we ever were on bad terms; I've just been a badly un-communicative friend.

Enuff of the sapiness. Today's was a good day. St Patties was a good weekend. I saw this really cool poster at a bar, but I can't find the image anywhere. It translated "I shamrock Guinness". :D Schweet! So I held up my yearly tradition of having a pint of Guinness. Didn't hit an Irish pub or anything. The big one in town is usually packed on a normal weekend; I couldn't imagine going down there for St Patties.

In all its old-age glory, that was my night (and weekend). I was thinking of working on God of War II a little more tonight (been playing it since last Thurs), but I do still need to be at work at a decent time tomorrow (even though it is Spring Break). There's just something so theraputic about beating a Harpie to death with its own arm after ripping it off. ;)

l8rs.

Nothing but re-runs...

2007-03-13T21:59:00.000-04:00

...and my Tuesdays have been replaced with what? Veronica Mars is not on, but Pussycat Dolls/the Next Doll, is? Yeah... no. Even Stargate SG-1 is a re-run. I'm done working (yes, I'm doing work this late, again). I was thinking of being productive (you know... those things called "cleaning" and "organization"?), but 2 glasses of wine changed that real fast. ;)

So... where did I leave off? Oh, yeah! .... wait... I just have to cringe everytime that damn Quizzno's commercial comes on. That ditzy chick at the end of the commercial with her shrilling... giggle, or whatever that is... just chills me to the bone. 15 minutes of stupidity fame. Gotta love this society. ....Anyway. Gamer's wish list for the summer (since I can't think of anything more practical to rant on):

DOAX 2 (360) (been out for a while)
- yes, I'm a sap for jello physics ;)
God Of War 2 (PS2) (tonight, so going to pick it up tomorrow)
Command and Conquer 3 (PC) (Mar 28)
Bioshock (360) (Spring 2007)
!!!!! .hack//G.U. Vol 2 !!!!! (PS2) (Q3 2007 <- what kind of stupid date is that; why don't they just say "for Christmas"?!)
!!!!! Halo 3 !!!!! (360) (not official, but October)
Halo Wars (?) (no frikin' clue; 2008?)
and, duh, Tomb Raider Anniversary (May 2007)

I know there are others; I just can't think right now. Need more whine. ;) Ok, going to practice my God of War sk1llz for tomorrow's continuation. :D BTW, I love my new DVR and HD!!! Now I can watch Avatar and Naruto! ;D

Summer bookworm list next (maybe). Since I don't have a PSP, yet, I gotta have something to do while I'm on "sMARTA".

l8rs.

I really should get out... less...

2007-03-07T22:04:00.001-05:00

It's been a month? Wow. Guess I've been having too much fun with my tax return. :) I went a little overboard with my purchases. Let's see. I went clothes shopping with my cousins on one of their birthdays... and actually had fun. I've increased my game stock... again. Hmmmm, what else? Been too lazy to go to the grocery store, so I've been eating out. ...and at this current moment in time, I have a giggling 5 year-old leaning over my laptop that is extremely fascinated with the blue touchpoint mouse. ;)

OK, all that's over. Everything's been a little nutters (my new fav word - from the Harry Potter series). Work has just been absolutely swamped. I'm now in charge of all internal network and security auditing and scanning. I've always wanted to do network security. Now? Not so much. It's depressing. All you do is spend all day finding out what's wrong with your environment, then you have to tell everyone else how to fix it. I definately won't be considering this as a future full time option anymore. Needless to say, I've just managed to start catching up on the last 3 weeks worth of work today. I'm hoping to be pretty close by Friday.

Either way, I'm taking vacation during Spring Break. 1. It begins St. Pattie's Day. 2. I'm in dire need for some warm weather. 3. My sanity is becoming very brittle. Funny thing is, my boss actually noticed it this time around.

So, what is happening in the gaming world? I know they say, "third time's a charm", but I gave up on the Halo Beta. Didn't feel like buying a game I didn't know much about. Instead, I'm back on my Final Fantasy kick. I started playing Dirge of Cerebus. Neat little storyline. Always wanted to know more about Vincent's past. FF XII is progressing nicely. Slowly, but nicely. I finished up Lost Planet. I so totally got my dad hooked on Gears of War. That was hilarious. He's now calling me, "What was the name of that game, again?" "When's the next time you're coming down? Can you bring the 360 with you?" :D LOL! Oh, and I've upgraded to HD, finally. Let me tell you... it makes a WHOLE world of difference.

My train of thought has now jumped tracks as I'm trying to watch Jericho (not like I need another new show to watch). Well, I now have DVR, too, so I've become one of those ppl. ;) At least I get to watch my Adult Swim, again. Oh, one last thought. Target movies and dvds for the spring and summer:

Casino Royale (now)

Bridge to Terabithia (now)

300 (now)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (3/23)

Meet the Robinsons (3/30)

.hack//ROOTS (4/3)

Spiderman 3 (5/4)

Pirates of the Carribean 3 (5/25)

Paprika (5/25)

Knocked Up (6/1)

Ocean's 13 (6/8)

Fantastic Four 2 (6/15)

Nancy Drew (6/15)

DOA: Dead or Alive (6/22)

Transformers (7/4)

Harry Potter 5 (7/13)

The Simpsons Movie (7/27)

The Bourne Ultimatum (8/3)

Resident Evil: Extinction (9/21)

The Eye (10/12)

I'll do a gamer's wish list next post.

l8rs.

Vista-rific? (part 2)

2007-02-09T21:24:00.001-05:00

So, yeah... I followed through with the re-install. But I waited till about 3:30p before I started. 3 hours later (not paying attention, mind you), I'm still at work. I finally left, and, over-all, I'm not all that dissapointed... so far. Of course, I haven't really started doing any of my typical administrative tasks. ;) There is one thing I didn't think about until I got home: how am I going to use GnuCash to balance my checkbook? Dumbass. Now I've got to bring my old laptop online so I can do this. Problem is, I left all the data backed up on a server at work. Yeah, I really shouldn't go out during the week. I'm killing way too many needed brain cells. :)

Awite, I'm gonna piddle around with this a little more (get the basic apps installed), then I'm off to play Final Fantasy XII for the rest of the night.

l8rs.

Vista-rific!

2007-02-09T10:51:00.001-05:00
It's funny. I've actually been running the same OS on my laptop for going on 4 months, now, without a re-install. Hang on... lemme thing about that.... Yeah, that's about right. This is a rather uncommon occurance for me, and I'm not quite sure how to handle that thought. Ever since the realease of Vista 2 weeks ago, I've considered, time and again, making it my main OS. I'm finding myself going back to my VMware'd Windows XP to do more things. Since I'm running Fedora, I can't exactly test compilations and applications for the systems at work (they run Red Hat Enterprise). Using Linux out of stubborness is becoming less and less worth it. I just refuse to dual boot; that's a pain in the ass. Besides, I miss my power management. And I won't have to boot a special kernel every time I want to use the wireless card.

Yes. I think today is the day I head down the path towards assimilation; at least, until Red Hat Enterprise 5 is released at the end of the month. ;) Besides, my concentration today is scattered, at best. That's what I get for going out to Cowboys last night.... and they had Bud Light half off. Ouch.

l8rs.

Don't feel like doing squat.

2007-02-05T16:48:00.001-05:00

You ever have one of those days where you just don't feel productive at all? Yeah. Today is that day for me. I came into work (an hour late, as usual), answered a few requests, then just started surfing the web. I totally forgot to check my email until a co-worker walked in my office asking about something they'd emailed me on Friday. Whoops. Good thing there was nothing important in my Inbox. :)

I've been peeved with Bungie all frikin' day. Remember how I was trying to get in on the Halo 3 beta? Yeah, today is the sign-up day. They've been pussyfooting around in getting the registration link up. I've been having to keep checking the site all day. I've been doing it since midnight last night. I've signed up; now, hopefully, I made the 13,333 list (missed a 2 hour window in checking). I had to cut my online play back unexpectedly due to an unscheduled trip back home this weekend. The fat dog has an ugly scab on her head that hasn't healed, yet. I'm a little worried, so I left her with my parents for the week to take to the vet (I have such awesome parents). She normally only goes to the vet for a checkup about once every year and a half, so I never bothered finding one here. Hopefully the "grandparents" won't spoil her too much. If I'm lucky, she'll only gain about 10 lbs while she's there. ;) Anyway, I think I got my 3hrs worth of online play in, but I'm not totally sure.

(2 hrs later)
Well... looks like I actually ended up finding something to keep me busy after all. Time to go home. ;)

l8rs.

Cleaning up my life.

2007-01-31T21:46:00.000-05:00
Dude, I am STOKED!!

All this dealing with hard times and suffering is starting to pay off. My life is finally starting to get back into check. I just payed off 2 credit cards, along with most of my bills, and there's still a good chunk of change left in my bank account. My yearly raise kicked in this month (which was better than I thought it would be). It's been close to 6 weeks since I've seen a paycheck, so it's nice to have money, again. I went to lunch yesterday not realizing I didn't get paid 'till midnight. Checking my balance enlightned me that I wouldn't be pulling anything out of the atm with my $1.31 balance. Good thing I had $4 in my pocket and generous friends with me. ;) What's even better is I filled out my tax return, and I'm getting a phat check from the IRS. Since I'm horrible with finances, I tend to let them keep my money throughout the year so I can buy cool toys after each filing. With the return, I should be able to pay off a 3rd card. That leaves me with one card (the home entertainment upgrade from last fall) and my Jeep loan (which is paid off in June). After that, I'll be pretty much debt free! Yes, folks, all those tv talkers are right: you too can be debt free! LOL! My way was probably harder than what any of them had in mind, but I don't believe in easy money. ;)

So part 2 of my stoke-ed-ness is midnight tonite marks the beginning of phase 2 for the Halo 3 beta eligibility. I have to play Halo 2 on Xbox Live! for 3 hours, then sign up. They're taking the first 13000 (it's open till midnight Sat, but I'm pretty sure it will fill up before then). What's even cooler is I cornered my boss yesterday to ask him if I could show up late because of the marathon... and he said YES! How many ppl working full-time "real world" jobs have a cool-ass boss that would let you do that. Admittedly, he was cracking jokes to my co-workers at my expense for the next hour, but it's still so frikin' cool!

Part 3: I'm finally "officially" calling it quits with smoking. I'm slowly weening my way off the habit. I've found I can go without the nicotine for extremely long periods; it's just the act of smoking I'm having issues with. Of course, I just finished one (my second for the day), and it made me sick to my stomach. bleauck. ... uh, brainfart. Hmmm... it's hard to type and try to carry a conversation on the phone at the same time. ;)

Well, on that note, I'm gonna go be more stoked (LOL) for the next hour before I start gaming. :D Oh, and my sleeping is starting to get better; sort of. I'm making myself start packing up for bed around 11p, so I'm usually laying there by 11:30p. In this, I'm usually out by midnight. Wow. Who woulda thought it coulda been that easy? ;) I'm still not showing up to work on time, but I'm working on making myself get up earlier. That's always been a problem with me (even when I was a kid). It's just a matter of programming. Ok, I'm outtie.

l8rs.

"This is no job for a spork."

2007-01-24T00:29:00.000-05:00
Oh, boy. The delerium is kicking in.... LOL! Those goofy late night commercials. Hahahah...

I haven't slept right since I got back from Christmas break. I've spent the last 3 weeks working from home at least 2 days a week because I can't seem to make myself go to bed before 3am. Then I end up fighting with or sleeping through the alarm clock until somewhere around 10:30a. By that point I wake up in a panic. Cuervo needs to go out. I'm extremely late for work. What phone calls have I missed? What important emails have gone out? I need coffee!! Heheh. It's funny in a sense if you look at it. See? Delerium. ;)

And this is why I don't make resolutions every year. If I had said I wanted to start working more like a normal person, I'd have already blown that resolution waaaaay out of the water. Hehe... and now those match.com commercials... you know the ones... the crazy first dates. Woo hoo! LOL. Damn, and I haven't even been drinking much lately, either. Maybe that's the problem. Of course, I have been smoking a whole lot more. Well, more for me, anyway. I'm still under half a pack a day on Ultra Lights. But, smoking is still bad for you. :p~

So, long story short, I'm watching really, really, old X-Files re-runs on Sci-Fi instead of playing video games. Of course, if I don't pass out soon, I'm gonna start Final Fantasy XII. No, I haven't bought it, yet. I lucked out; it was at Blockbuster tonight.

This blows. I'm exhausted, and have been all day. Awite, since I can't go to sleep, I'm going to get more smokes.

l8rs.

Ever rampant insomnia.

2007-01-16T02:28:00.000-05:00
I guess I'm just destined to never sleep normal. I passed out around 8ish, but I only slept about 2 hours. I've been struggling to go back to sleep ever since. So, I'm catching up on my anime. I've found a couple of new series on On-Demand. Ikki Tousen (total fan-service, chick kicking-ass type), Samurai Girl Real Bout High School (same thing), and Boys Be... (drama, chick anime).

So, about the Monster Truck Jam.... ;) I have never felt like such a redneck... rooting on giant trucks with over-sized tires. IT WAS A BLAST! LOL! If you've never been, you must go. It was hilarious. Grave Digger pulled off one of the most radical freestyle crushes I've ever seen. And he never even flipped the thing over. I was actually a big fan of it when I was a kid. Big Foot was the greatest thing ever. But between the multitude of whooping and hollering fans (amazingly, there were people of all genres) and the roaring of thousands of alcohol-induced horsepower, it was a total testosterone-fest. I'll, more than likely, never go to another one, but I did have fun.

Well, back to anime (Great Teacher Onizuki); and, maybe, I'll make it to work on time tomorrow.

l8rs.

Still awake...

2007-01-10T03:14:00.000-05:00
as usual. I need a 28 hour day. I'm usually awake for 18-20 hours, but I like to sleep for about 8-10. Actually, what I really need to do is start making myself slow down about 2 hours before I need to go to bed. I just go balls to the wall all day and all night. Nights usually consist of long gaming hours, but I've gotten better at making myself quit by midnight during the week. I need to shoot for 10p or 11p, I guess. So here I am trying to kill time, hoping maybe I can just stay awake the whole night. I need to stop off at the MARTA headquarters tomorrow AM and get my pass replaced anyway. I just haven't had the best of luck with magnetized cards lately. I somehow managed to de-magnetize my Disney Park Hopper (Christmas vacation) before the first day. It only took about 2 min to get it replaced, so not that big of a deal. Now, I've managed to do the same with my MARTA pass this month. I'll be glad when work finally switches us over to the new rifid system MARTA's using.

I'm going to come out and say it, finally. I am so done with Windows. Having access to a Microsoft MSDN subscription, I've been lucky enough to play with the Betas and have an advanced RTM (release to manufacturers) copy. It's designed for my laptop, but I've put so much effort into getting Fedora Core 6 running, I'm not ready to part with it, yet. Good thing, too. I dropped Vista on my home PC (I just keep Windows around so I can stream music and videos to the 360) this weekend. I've had nothing but issues trying to access my NAS. This new TCP stack (in non-geek speak: networking features) is ridiculous. Of course, I wanted to install the Home Premium edition (with the Media Center integrated), but the only licenses we have access to are for the Business version. Our tests at work have gone very well. Vista Business and Ultimate run beautifully in an Active Directory environment. However, now that I'm trying to use it at home, oh, it's a whole different ballpark. Luckily, `robocopy` is now a standard application (advanced replacment command-line application for `xcopy` previously only available through resource kits). Every time I try to access the NAS, Explorer locks up and never comes back from la-la land. I have liked the new Sidebar and Aero interface since I first saw it, tho. And, Vista now includes a Photo Gallery, Calendar, and Contacts application, which are really easy to use. I never was able to get my iPAQ running Pocket PC 2003 to sync as of RC2, but that's about the time Core 6 was released, so I didn't really spend that much time with it. Vista is now in the hands of our Windows admin at work. I'm trying to get out of as much Windows support as possible and move more towards Linux. Getting back to the original problem: at least I'm now able to get my files off the NAS (I only use it as a back up, anyway); although, it is taking forever. In a nutshell, if you're thinking of upgrading, think twice. All you'll get over XP is a new Start Menu, prettier windows, and 3 new applications. And if you're lucky, like me, a major headache trying to access network shares on your home network. Half of the important stuff built-in to Vista can be downloaded and installed onto XP (like IE 7, Media Player 11, and Windows Defender). And XP is going to be supported for another 3-5 years. Wait and let the companies that create your favorite applications (like PhotoShop, et. al.) catch up. Besides, I think there will be another major hardware boom to challenge the Core Duo's either this summer or next fall. Me? I'm sticking to Red Hat, Fedora, and possibly Ubuntu.

Wow, that gripe wasn't supposed to last that long. Game-wise, since I've, for the most part, completed Ninety-Nine Nights, I've gone back to playing Final Fantasy X-2. I'm going to see if I can't get it finished by the end of the month. Lost Planet for the 360 comes out Friday, and I'm either going to get it or Final Fantasy XII next month. BTW, I'm looking for a copy of Soul Calibur II for the PS2 if anyone knows where I can find one for cheap (new or used, I don't care). After this last episode with GameStop, and with their continually increasing prices lately, I'm not too happy with them anymore. Speaking of new games, I'm dying to get .hack // G.U. Vol. 2. Vol. 3 (final of the trilogy) is set for release in Japan next week, but there's still no release date, yet, for Vol. 2 Stateside. However, in my searching tonight, I've noticed that there's a DVD for this storyline that goes along with the game, .hack // Roots, that's scheduled for release Mar 20. W00+! Birthday present!

Ok, I think I've managed to kill enough time here. I can go catch up on my On-Demand Anime for the rest of the morning till I have to leave for work, now that my Comcast box is working, again. You know, I would think that this is common knowledge, at least with those dumbass contractors they hire for installs and repairs. There's this thing call modulation degredation that happens once you split out your signal. It was one of the basics I learned in my early Electrical Engineering courses in college. But then again, cable companies have been dealing with this problem for years. This was fairly common knowledge when I was a kid: "Don't use more than one 2-way splitter on the tv cable or the picture gets all fuzzy." Of course, you can split it more these days since they're pumping a much higher frequency through the lines with HD and internet and all. But, my point in all this, my box stopped working just before I left for vacation. I didn't have time to worry about why until actually this past weekend. I figured the box just finally died (I've had it a good 4-5 years). No, one of those dipshit contractors came out and moved my primary line to an overloaded 5-way splitter. Now I have to call them to come out and fix it because they don't have the damn things labled. I could probably do it during one of my 4am late nights, but I'm not going to go unplugging everyone in the complex's cable just to figure out which line is mine. I'll just deal with the cable running from the spare bedroom for now (it's out of the way for the most part). Ok, enuff bitching.

l8rs.

Just an NPC. Dammit.

2007-01-07T18:16:00.000-05:00
It's been awhile. Sorry about the lack of posts. I've been holed up playing video games all week. Yes, I said week, not weekend (my work and sleep schedule went to shiot last week). I guess I just had to catch up on all the game time I missed around Christmas. Blockbuster is now allowing you one coupon every couple of weeks for a free in-store movie or game rental. Schweet, but I'm still gonna have to end up subscribing to Gamefly, soon. Blockbuster's available titles (at least the one I go to) either suck, or I've played all the good ones. Newayz, I picked up Chrome Hounds on Tues. The graphics were nice, the environment was massive, but the soundtrack sounded like something from a mililary funeral procession. I felt so depressed every time I wasn't blowing up the nearest target. So my take on this is it's Microsoft's replacement for the MechWarrior series... which the origianl Xbox titles still haven't been "ported" to play on the 360 emulator (those fsckers). This was a different publisher, however, so the Mechs are now called HOUNDS and have what are called AT classes instead of individual names (but the "Mad Cat" was such an awesome Mech!). The storylines are kinda... well, blah to put it best. I think it's just there to gain parts as you complete quests so you can build your own badass HOUND for some butt-kicking on Xbox Live!. I got to goofing around and created a "Soldier AT" I dubbed "Buttmunch". This thing was frikin wicked! Then I created a "Sniper AT" named "The Almighty" (reference to the sniper code-named "God" in the movie Navy Seals with Charlie Sheen). Ok, I was wrong, you can name them, but in the stories, they don't have names. Either way, an alright game. This is not one I'll be dropping more than 15-20 bucks for; I'll just wait till it goes Platinum status. Maybe I've been spoiled by Tomb Raider Legend and the Halo 3 previews, but I expect more than this game offered in my next-gen titles (the original Xbox hardware could probably handle this game). My overall play time was about 2 nights, so I've still got quite a few quests to finish when I finally do buy it. :)

Originally, I was searching for was Ninety-Nine Nights (N3). Unfortunately, Blockbuster's copy was no longer in stock (guess someone decided to not return it), so that's why I got Chrome Hounds, instead. The next day, however, I was at GameStop searching for my own copy of N3. With the demo, I fell in love with the massivly emersive envrionment and the fact that there were 500+ some-odd enemies and allies on the screen at the same time (with little to no lag)! Now that is how you take advantage of next-gen hardware! :D So my usual GameStop had one on the shelf (I had to search like hell for it), but not behind the counter. I should have taken this as an omen. But they guy called the store at the mall, and they had plenty. They were even $10 bucks cheaper than what I was about to pay for this one. This turned out to be yet another reminder as to why I hate (with an ugly passion) malls. You circle the lot looking for a parking spot. BTW, who the hell pays $6 for valet parking at a mall!? Then, once you finally find a spot, you traverse to the opposite side of the damn thing ('cause you didn't know which side the store was on to begin with) while avioding post-pubescent, vally-girl wannabe's, talking about the color of some sweater they have and the high-school junior/senior boy trying oh so hard to hook up with the two girls that only asked him along to carry all their packages. You spend all of 45 seconds to a minute and a half in the store (since you know what you're there for), only to have to traverse thru "Oh, do I wanna go in this store? Nah.", not paying attention, cell phone alley, again, just to get back to the parking lot you're in. This leads way to yet another reminder: I shouldn't be living where I live. My crusty dingy Jeep (keep in mind, it's had a non-rainstorm bath about twice in its life - it's a 2000) was surrounded by an Altima, an Acura, and a Lexus, all freshly washed and shined. If only online ordering were quicker with their deliveries (without having to spend as much in shipping as you payed for the item). An hour later from what I originally planned, I finally got home.

Great game; however, it has its downsides, also. The creators pushed the engine so hard (tons of enemies and allies, massive environmental damage, and graphical "ooo's" and "ahhhh's" with the cool move you just executed), that there is eventually a point at which the lag gets so bad you have to wait on the processor to catch up. That only happened one, tho. The basic concept is you feed thru the storyline. But, depending on which of the 7 characters you choose (you start with one choice, but more "unlock" as the game progresses), there's a different ending based on that character's, shall we say, influence, for lack of a better word, on the battles. The 7th character is supposed to be a "bonus" that becomes available once all the other storylines are complete. *** SPOILER WARNING!! *** Of all the crapass choices for a bonus character they could choose from all the cools NPC's from the other storylines, you get VigkVagk the troll!? His ending is pretty cool, tho. :) He just goes beserk and kills everyone (both light and dark sides) to end the war. You'll have to play the game to understand why he goes beserk. In Myifee's scenario there's this really hot chick in scanty lether and fur called Epharr. Dude, she was a badass. I wanted her to be the bonus. But, she only showed up in Asphar's story and briefly, at that. SPOILER END. There's not an Xbox Live! tie-in, so once you finish all the stories, all that's left is keep replaying to get a higher "ranking" for each mission and collecting points to view all the stuff in the "Library" menu section (pictures and character profiles). Speaking of, come to think of it, I don't think I've even competed on Live! since I purchased the 360 (other than a couple of Halo 2 matches). You can tell this was originally a Japanese game cause the voice-overs sooo don't match the character's mouths. But, I think I recognize two of the male character voices. One sounded like that guy from General Hospital that voiced "Cloud" in the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children movie. The other I don't know specifically, but it sounded famalier; like I had heard it in one of my anime series, or something. Overall? Pretty frikin cool! But, their marketing's "Rich story and unparalleled depth" comment I'll have to argue with. Even Final Fantasy X-2 (as cheezy as it has been) is more "rich" and "unparalleled". That part's pretty average if you ask me. But, I don't do, nor do I like game reviews. "Try it out and find out for yourself" is my motto.

So where does the title fit into all this? Dunno; just thought it sounded cool. Maybe because I was a little peeved that I didn't get to play N3 as Epharr. ;)

l8rs.

HAPPY (?) New Year

2007-01-01T19:09:00.000-05:00
I feel like I should say something inspirational or reflect on the past year or something. In all honesty, I've haven't felt like being much more than a bump on a log today. I wish I could blame it on a hangover or the cold bug that's going around. Hey, don't get me wrong. It's been a great year, and Disney was a blast!

So, why do I feel so lethargic today? I guess it's the sinking feeling that my vacation is over, and I must return to the 9-5 of reality tomorrow, that's bumming me out.

I've been home long enuff to realize that the one apartment I share a wall with has decided to drop their newly upgraded HD Dish outside my living room window... I'm not sure if I'm OK with this, yet.... Also, in the midst of watching Tech loose in the last few minutes of the Gator Bowl, I've discoved that my cable box has finally bitten the dust (it was giving me fits before I left but I was able to get it to come back). I'll have to give Taylor Bennett some serious credit, tho. Since Reggie Ball screwed up and was academically ineligible to play (I was actually kinda happy to hear this), Bennett came off the bench and performed beautifully. It all came down to inexperience, tho. You can tell he buckled under the pressure at the end throwing his only interception in the last 4 minutes.

At least I've been a bit productive and paid almost all my bills for the month (and still have cash left over, for once). Other than that, I've been lying in bed watching my Full Metal Panic! FUMOFFU fansubs for the rest of the afternoon. The title didn't make sense untill about the 5th episode. What the hell is "bunta-kun", anyway? I think "-kun" translates as "Mr." AnimeNfo.Com calls this tard-of-a-teddy-bear-kinda-thing (seems to have a "Barney"-esk type of roll) Bonta-kun. So, I guess my question should go more like: Is Bonta its name or is the literal translation of "bunta-kun" something like "Mr. Bear"? Don't ponder on that one too hard. ;)

Awite, lemme get back in the swing of things, and, maybe, I'll carry on about my Disney trip later this week. First I need to call Comcast and get my box replaced (and upgrade to HD and DVR in the process).

l8rs.

Merry Christmas from Disney!

2006-12-25T00:18:00.000-05:00
Hey all. Since I didn't send out any cards this year, Merry Christmas everyone. I'm still at Disney until the end of the week. We've already done 3 parks in 2 days, and I'm beat. I'll try to get some pics up and a summary once I get back home. In the meantime, everyone enjoy your Christmas (or, whatever you celebrate).

l8rs.

Halo 3 news!

2006-12-20T20:04:00.000-05:00
I'm watching Attack of the Show earlier this evening and I hear, "... plus more on the new Halo trailer released last night...". WHAT DID YOU SAY?! Yeah, that's what I get for enthralling myself in FFX-2 for the last couple of weeks. I immediately power up the Xbox and start searching. 5 minutes later, W00+! Download finished! It's a 7 minute behind-the-scenes on the new Brutes you'll be fighting. Ergh... I'm drooling again.... Damn marketing. They're always good for wetting your appetite some more. And I was just finally starting to sleep at night without suffering from withdrawal fits, too. You guys suck! I guess I now know where all the drug pushers go to work after they finish their jail sentences. ;)

While I'm in the Video Marketplace, I see there's another video for DOAX2. Heheh... I'm sad. I guess I'll be picking this game up, too, even tho it's nothing more than an interactive video with just shy of a XXX rating. "It's all just smut!", as my grandmother would have pronounced. I'm must say, however, that I'm curious to see just HOW much jiggle is possible with the next-gen hardware. From the promos I've seen so far, it looks like Team Ninja spent a hell of a lot of time perfecting the antigravity principals of "jello physics". Also, something I'm sure everyone asks, but refuses to admit it: These chicks are bad-ass fighters, right? Then why are they prancing around like London proper prisses on their first vacation away from home? There, I said it. Now I can go back to watching my pr0n'd promos. ;)

BTW, Amber: you suck. I'm now hooked on the Doctor. I don't NEED any more TV shows to watch! Maybe I should call Santa and tell him to change my Christmas present from paying my bills to a Tivo instead.

l8rs.

Stuck at work.

2006-12-17T18:07:00.000-05:00
Yes, on a Sunday. Orignally it was supposed to be a quick in, check the chillers (A/C is out in one of the buildings for the weekend), re-install a server, and quick out. Hour and a half, max. Well, of course with my luck, the server happens to need a driver for the RAID card that's not included with the RHEL 4 Update 4 install, and the partitions are 2TB each (4 of them) which takes a good 20-30 minutes each to format. So I've been sitting in this frigid-ass server room waiting on the damn thing to finish, for the last 3 hours. Normally, I'd start the install and finish it up from home; but, I don't know if it's gonna reboot correctly since it needs a non-included driver. It didn't work the first time around (which is why I'm still here).

Oh. Sounds like I just heard the reboot beep. Need to go check on it. Hopefully, it'll work this time.

I'll have another post when I get home. I've got something hilarious about FFX-2 that I just HAVE to post. ;)

l8rs.

old post... delayed due to site issues

2006-12-17T18:04:00.000-05:00
(NOTE: this was originally supposed to be posted 12/12/06)

Dammit, I hate that the freakin MySpace site is not friendly to us non-M$ browser users. I keep trying to delete an email and * BAM! *, it crashes. And, of course be it my luck, Blogger is having shitfits. What a way to close out an even more frustrating and headache-filled day at work. I hate bringing a new building online. No one ever thinks to include the computer support team in their planning, so everything ends up last minute. Then they wonder why crap don't work. Duh! Give us more of a heads up and time to plan, dickweeds.

There... I feel better now. Well, no... not really.

I was going over my "Christmas presents to me" list over the weekend. You know, the ones you end up buying yourself either for the fact that those who do get you presents have no idea why you obsess over that sort of crap, or for the fact that you just feel like treating yourself. Final Fantasy XII is at the top of that list. To get myself hyped up for it, I started playing FFX-2 this weekend. Even tho, I've yet to finish FFX (don't feel like wandering around to build up my characters to be strong enuff to take on Sin), I figured it was about time to start considering I bought it around a year ago. I'm a big fan of RPGs, and the Final Fantasy series in general, but I now understand why it was titled "X-2". Frankly, I'm a bit dissappointed. It's basically a re-hash of the previous game (same environments and world), with half the storyline. You play 2 of chicks from X (Yuna and Rikku) plus a new character, Paine. No adding of party members as the game progresses (at least being 16% done, this is what I've noticed). Ur hunting spheres, and you happen across this one that looks like Titus might still be around.
*** SPOILER WARNING *** Don't read the next line if you don't wanna know how FFX ends.
(In case you haven't figured it out, Titus doesn't come out squeaky clean from the previous game. I'm not quite sure how, but I've seen enuff of the FMV's from the game and on the net plus read enuff about the series to realize.)
*** END SPOILER ***
But, that's it. For such an over-marketed series, this seems like kind of a lame attempt at something like Dead or Alive Extreme Vollyball (even tho this came out first). Well, they did remove all references to mana and the mana-sphere system for this version. Oh, it's totally fscked up. This whole "dressphere" thing, and the un-cancelable FMV of this magical girl type wardrobe change everytime you switch "roles", is just wrong... and annoying... especially since I've been changing roles 2-3 times PER BATTLE. I guess it's all about the otaku "fan service", which I've never understood, really. That could be good; it means I'm not a true otaku (<-- See the "English/Internationally" section). :D

Well, time to prep for the Season Finale of Nip Tuck, and my battery is dying.

l8rs.

(I finished Gears on "Casual", BTW. Can't remember if I've posted that or not.)

In the news.

2006-12-07T19:48:00.000-05:00
I'm not one to regularly watch or read the news, but I happened be be trolling thru my feed reader (yes, I finally started using one) and ran across some interesting/funny articles in Slashdot:

Best Buy Institutes Flex Time
Looks like the rest of the world is following Google's example in work hours. Hey, maybe my lack of ability to stick to my work schedule won't be such a bad thing in the near future. ;)
MySpace, U.S. Address Sex Offenders Online
Looks like it's becoming more and more difficult to be a registered sex offender. Well, in the south, especially. I have an acquaintance in this situation. Don't get me wrong, this is a good idea, but, now all they need to do is re-evaluate the conviction laws that define a true "sex offender". All I'm gonna say is: sucks to be convicted; so much for integrating back into society. Let's hope that these sorts of additional restrictions don't cause more released offenders to not register (if I understand correctly, the judicial system's way of tracking registrations is a bit lax).
Sony, Nintendo Announce 'Fixes' For Their Consoles
HA! I knew there was a good reason to avoid getting a PS3 for a couple of years. Sony is definately targeting the financially elite with the 3rd revision of its ever-popular console line. I'll give Nintendo some major props with their Wii, however (other than the name, that is). They've targeted a whole new generation of possible game players. Once the console wars are over this Christmas, and I'm no longer suffering from spastic fits waiting on the release of Halo 3, I'll probably look into getting one. Especially if they are sticking to their original marketing from E3 '05 of being able to download the ENTIRE Nintendo library (for a price, I'm sure). I can see it now... Super Mario Bros. on the big-screen. W00+!! :)

Speaking of games, I finished up the last of the "Casual" storyline in Gears last night. Funny thing is, I was trying to detail my last battle with General Ramm to my co-worker over lunch, and he just kept giving me that, "uh, huh" deer in the headlights look. LOL.

I'm almost fully on my way to migrating to using nothing but Fedora Core 6. Tasks left to do:
Get Evolution to sync with work's calendaring/email server and my iPAQ (Pocket PC 2003). It's not cooperating, so far.
Manage my phone numbers, pictures, and ringtones thru the laptop (I found 'moto4lin' that might do this)
Wait on Adobe Flash to stabilize.
Then there's the soon to be released Red Hat Enterprise 5 to test. This is getting crazy. Otherwise, I'll have to break down and go back to Vista (oh, the drama). I'm hoping I can get all this to work just to prove to my co-worker (the one from lunch) that Linux CAN do anything Windows can. Yeah, he's one of THOSE admins. :)

Awite, Smallville is over and Gray's is about to start. Aw, crap.... It's a re-run. Guess I'll play some games, cause I'll be scripting all weekend.

l8rs.

Cents and sensbility... and mutilations.

2006-11-29T22:03:00.000-05:00
Of course, my original intention of getting online was to pay bills and balance my checkbook. But, as we all know, I hate doing that as all it does is remind me of how much I overspend my balance each month. I just hate dealing with money... period. Don't get me wrong; it would be awesome if I actually had enough where I didn't have to worry.

So, what am I doing instead? I just couldn't pass on this:
Death by Destuffing
I get the spoiled one a new toy while I was at the grocery store earlier tonight, and what does she do? It only took her 10 minutes to get the squeaker this time. Good thing it just cost $3 instead of the usual $5. Kids.... :p~

Ok. Gonna go do the bills. OH! Damm! Almost forgot.... One Tree Hill, did you see it!? Like, OMFG!! What a cliffhanger! LOL. Good thing there's another one next week. Awite, gonna go now.

l8rs.

Back to reality... er... virtuality.

2006-11-27T12:36:00.000-05:00
Woah, it's good to be back. You guys probably thought I dropped off the face of the earth over the last couple of weeks. No, a dial-up internet access will do that to you. I love my parents, but I wish they'd quit complaining about the price and just go ahead and get high-speed internet.

Wow. There's a lot to catch up on. I haven't left you all with anything to ponder for a couple of weeks.

This is overdue. It just wasn't worth the hassle of waiting for everything to load over a dial-up connection. Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for a loving, forgiving, and supportive close family. I'm also thankful for good friends, both virtual and non. You guys rock! As you can guess, I went back "home" for the holidays. It's funny. I've been living in Atl for, what, around 10 years, now? And I still call the island "home"; even though I won't move back there to save my life. The warm weather was a very welcome change from the frigid days I've been dealing with here. It's been unnaturally cold for this early in the year. And I don't mean cold as in I'm used to 80 degree Christmases, cool chill. I mean butt ass freaking bone chilling "is it going to snow this year?" cold! It's not supposed to drop down close to freezing until Jan around here. It's been doing it for almost 3-4 weeks, now. Well, I have a new space heater, so maybe that'll help me cut back on my natural gas bill (since I don't get to choose my provider).

I've gotten the hang of Gears of War, finally. That game freakin r0x0rs!!!!! I haven't had any game time in almost a week, so I'm going to try to sit down tonight after work, and between Heroes and bed, to get some play time in. I've almost finished the game in puss mode. I want to get that out of the way so I can start on the harder settings (unlocking all the gamer points requires me to play on all settings).

In football, Tech has really suprised me this year. They've managed to land the by spot for the ACC Championship game this Sat; but, if they play anywhere near as bad as they did against UGA this past weekend (I still can't believe they lost), Wake Forest is going to stomp their butts all up and down the field. Normally, I could care less about football by this time of year, but with the GT vs. Wake Forest game, and the #4 BCS ranked Fla (and whoever they're playing) SEC Championship game this Sat, I'm hooked. Now as far as my other TV shows, I'm getting a little irritated. Nip Tuck keeps throwing in these lame episodes every other week, so you can't decide if you want to keep watching, or just scrap it and play video games instead. I'm totally hooked on Heroes, tho. There's been a few slow moving episodes, but the storyline is awesome. Not quite sure it has the material to last any longer than one season, however. I do hope it goes to DVD; I'd like to own that one. I've decided to forego The OC this season since it rivals the Grey's Anatomay time slot, which I've really gotten into (it's all your fault, Clue!). Besides, since Marissa is dead, there's not much of anyone left on the show worth oogling, newayz. I am still keeping up with Smallville and One Tree Hill, tho. Smallville has tremendously impressed me with its plots to introduce all of Superman's allies he's interacted with over the years in the comics. Hardcore fanboys will probably hate me for saying this, but I feel like they've done a pretty good job at working with DC to keep the base pre-storyline intact.

So, I guess that's my catch up for now. I need to actually get to doing some work, instead of playing here, newayz.

l8rs.

It's here!

2006-11-15T12:41:00.000-05:00
Quick bump then I need to get back to work.

The last two weekends have been long hour days (and nights) to finish .hack//GU Vol 1., which I've completed. The story line finally picked up once I got into it. You'd think that in the real world if a game programmer drops some funky code that puts it's users into comas in not one, but both versions of a game world, there'd be some serious hell to pay. ;) Basically, the story line is similar to the first .hack series. Ur a player (dude) in the newly released version 2 of the MMORPG "The World" (called "The World R:2") who's lost a close friend (chick - potential love interest, I guess) to this "virus" that's put them in a coma. You're out to defeat the "virus", called A.I.D.A. (based on "Anna"), in this version. Fans will recognize Anna from the Legend of the Twilight DVD series. This time, certain game characters have been encoded by C.C., Corp. to utilize Avatars, which are the 7 waves from the previous game, to battle AIDA. Your character's Avatar is Skeith. Skeith is the first badass you battle with Data Drain in .hack//Infection. Anywayz, I'm not going to throw out any sploitz if you haven't finished it, yet. Graphics have been upped a little since the first installment, but nothing to give you mahagony over. Most of the effort was put into massively expansive and beautiful background environments. The FMVs aren't Final Fantasy quality, but they are still phonmonally done.

Just in time finishing .hack as Gears of War showed up in my mailbox yesterday. :D W00+!! I got all hyped up again after watching the release party coverage on MTV Monday night. Got to play it a little last night, and let me tell you: TH1Z G4M3 FR34K1N R0X0RZ!!!!11!!ONE!! Mwuhahahah!!! Ever since watching the demo at E3, I've been wanting to plant that chainsaw on the bottom of the auto rifle into the face of a Grub! Violent... gorey... fully revolving environment... impressively intelligent AI.... Everything to quench my fix until Halo 3 comes out next spring. The only way I can think to describe it is a mix between Doom, Quake, and Halo wrapped in a third person shooter. I haven't quite mastered the using cover maneuvers (I'm too used to the "run-and-gun" scenarios of most FPS's), so I've been getting my butt kicked something fierce (and I'm just playing on the "Casual" mode). I can't wait to get the guys together for a little Versus mode. :) As you can guess, my postings will continue to be quite sparse until I get so frustrated I'll have to take a break. This should keep me entertained until Christmas. ;)

Well, back to work. l8rs.

Need to change my hours.

2006-11-07T19:29:00.000-05:00
That's it! I'm calling it right here and now. Until I can get my sleep schedule back on track and get my ass up in the morning like a normal person, I will be plopping my butt in bed before midnight. Whether I fall asleep or not is a diff story, but I'm still going to bed. This means no more G.U. until 5 am. Don't make me open up a can of "Ren Geki". ;) (That's my new "line".)

This weather sucks, btw. I feel like I should be in Seattle or something. It's cold and rainy. Makes you want to brew up a pot of coffee, crash on the couch in ur pj's, and play video games all day. Too bad I actually have a job. Well, at the rate I've been going the last couple of weeks, I may not....

Who am I kidding. My boss will just threaten me to get back on track, or he'll write me up (which he has yet to do). But, let's avoid the threat; I hate wasting his time and mine.

l8rs.

Is it just me, or do these posts seem to be getting shorter and shorter?

Wah hoo!

2006-11-05T03:25:00.000-05:00
I'm sweaty, I stink, and I'm cold. Yet another fun night at Cowboys. No, no run-ins with the scary chicks. I was actually the dance instructor tonight. I even met a friend of a bride-to-be. I felt like such an idiot. I'm trying to point out the dances to these chicks, and I haven't been in, how long? I think it's been a month, at least. I'm out of practice. Eh, well, they were impressed and grateful. I guess I did OK. Even got a name from one of them (even tho I can't remember it to save my life). W00+! LOL. Whatever. Oh, Cowboys is going no cover before midnight. Figures since I finally managed to snag some free passes from my sister. Looks I might be making more than just my once a month trip now.

Well, I'm gonna get some more .hack//GU time in before I crash for the evening (morning).

l8rs.

Financial stupidities and a new OS (again).

2006-11-01T23:26:00.000-05:00

I really should get an accountant that will only allot me so much a week for allowance to play with. It never fails. Every month, just after payday, I go an spend money on crap before I start paying my bills. Some of the things I've bought are a necessity. The Jeep needs some maintenance, so I've picked up most of the supplies for that, already. But, I made a detour to GameStop after work today and picked up 2 games. After last night, I've decided to start migrating the Xbox games that I can to the PS2 versions. So, I took a couple with me to sell that won't play on the 360 that I didn't really like when I bought them. Man, talk about a money making racket. I got all of $12 out of 3 relatively "new" games (I take care of my games, unlike other things). That's just sad. I probably paid a total of $100+ for those. Well, sorta. One of the replacements was the latest Tomb Raider. Yes, I'm madly in love with Laura Croft and own the entire series; even the crappy Angel of Darkness. My sister's probably gonna be a little peeved since she's the one who got me the Xbox version for my b-day last year. But, I have valid reasoning: it wouldn't play on the 360. I had no intention of getting a 360 when she asked me which platform I wanted it on. Duh, Xbox has better graphics than PS2. Course, now that I've been playing it all evening, the only difference I see is some minor rougher edges in the polys and a pain in the ass trying to calibrate the brightness and contrast. But, it supports widescreen (don't remember if the other version did or not since my old projector didn't support it). :D Enough; I could go on for days about Lady Croft. The other game I picked up, that I couldn't resist, is the newly released .Hack//GU. Generally, my GameStop trips are for used games, but I couldn't resist. I really got into the .hack series between the previous game, the anime, and a couple of the manga's. I forgot that FF XII came out this week. I'll have to put that one on my Christmas list. I still need to rent Dirge of Cerebus, even tho it's gotten a lot of bad reviews. I've been a fan of the FF series since the Nintendo. Yes, as in 8-bit. I know... I'm old. FF VII was the one that fully hooked me into the series, tho. But, now can you see why I need to have someone else pay my bills and get my staples? All I need is an allowance. I suck at finances.

Yes the wedding went well. No one passed out or didn't show. I was just happy for it to finally be over. Now maybe they'll let everyone continue on with their lives while the bride and groom start theirs. ... What? ... You want me to describe it? It was a wedding. You've all been to one. You should know what it looked like. ... It was big; too big. I'm all for the whole bride, groom, officiant, and small crowd (close family and friends) kinda wedding. This was too much of a dog and pony show for me. If I'm lucky, this is the last one I'll have to worry about until I get married (assuming I get married, that is). Small will be a big stipulation on it, that's for sure. Marriage is over-rated. No, no, no. I will not be bitter.

So, I'm back to Linux, again. Specially as my primary system. Some ppl probably think I change operating systems about a frequently as other ppl change their underwear. That's not too far off. I'm constantly installing and re-installing. It's what I do for a living. If I haven't re-installed my system at least twice in a 3 month period, something's wrong. With a little (and I mean _VERY_ little) convincing, I now have Core 6 in the laptop. I'm digging the power for virtualization, but Xen still isn't all that friendly. I'm back to running XP in VMware Server (for support purposes). My only complaints are: the Dell (Broadcom) wireless doesn't work out of the box, there's no CPU scaling support for the Core Duo, yet, and the power management still isn't totally there for the Duo (only about 1 1/2 - 2 hr runtime compared to between 3 and 4 under Windows). I think the Bluetooth works (haven't tested it); it supports the On/Off switch (recognizes when it's turned on or off via the switch on the side). There were, also, some much needed updates to a lot of the programs I like to use. I must say, I'm impressed. Which means I should be very happy with Red Hat Enterprise 5 when it finally comes out (slated for some time early next year). I've played with the beta, but it's not ready for my full-time attention, yet. Now don't get me wrong. Vista runs quite well on the Duo.. by itself. Once you start tacking on "legacy" programs (i.e., current versions/builds), it's still a little too unstable and grouchy for me to deal with right now. I'm going to take some time this weekend to try and get the wireless working (there should be some "Google"-able documentation somewhere out there). If I can't, then it's back to Vista, I guess.

l8rs.

No more galavanting about (for a while).

2006-10-25T20:58:00.000-04:00

If it's not late nites on IM, tv schedules to keep, or work, I'm pretty much sleeping these days. The crispness in the air has once again returned for another season. Time once again to forego the hoppy frosty beers for a bottle of Cab, various cheeses, and seasoned steaks (altho, I need to head back down to Panama City and get some more seasoning). I really don't care much for winter. Unless there's packed powder on the ground and a board on my feet, I don't want any temp less than 70 degrees. I couldn't hold back any more after the nipply freezing +10 temps this past weekend. I had to turn the heater on. I'm sitting here in my leather jacket and sweats at the moment just because I'm so damned cheap that I won't turn the temp up above 70 just yet.

K, nuff of the frigid talk, it's making me cold. I'm going to have to go make a cup of coffee. Point being in all this complaining, I don't like the cold, and rarely do I leave the apartment short of trips to the grocery store and work. My summer is gone. No more trips out to bartown; no more evening strolls in the humid night. Just me, my laptop, my 360, and Blockbuster Online. After this weekend that is.

Speaking of, I am sooo freakin frustrated. Halloween weekend, Tech Homecoming, my old habitual Ga vs. Fla., and this freakin wedding. My weekend is shot. Can't relax Fri cause of all the rehearsal craziness, which starts almost immediately after I get off work. Sat afternoon, I can't go to the Tech game cause of pictures. Sat nite, can't watch the Ga game cause of the wedding and reception. But I'll be dammed if I'm missing out on my friend's Halloween party, tho. Once the cake cutting and toast is done, I'm slipping out. I'll be conviently over-sleeping on Sun so I miss the brunch, too. I don't care if it is "their" weekend. It should not have this much to do with me. Has anyone else ever recieived 6 different invitations to various parts of a wedding? See? Ridiculous.... And this is why I dread getting married. All the over-hyped hoopla. Stick to the basic principal: K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stuipd, for those of you who haven't heard that one yet).

Now that I have 3 or 4 veins popping out of my forehead and an annoying twitch in my right eye, I'm going to watch some TV and relax. Worse case scenario, Master Chief and I may be popping a cap in some soon to be married couples. ...It's all about therapy. ;)

l8rs.

Being single.

2006-10-22T14:46:00.000-04:00

At my age, most people have someone they want to spend the rest of their life with. Whether it be socialtal influence or just raw human nature, we all want to find the perfect mate to fill what seems to be a void in our lives. That Jerry McGuire line, "You complete me", is so cheezy, yet, there's an awful lot of truth behind it. Some of us drop that fake smile and say, "I'm fine. I don't need anyone in my life." Deep down, we know we're lying to ourselves, but we don't want it to show. We keep convincing ourselves that we're strong and can make it through life alone.... Alone.... Loneliness. In all honesty, no one wants to be alone. No one wants to come home day after day to an empty house filled with "toys" to keep us temporarily entertained hoping to fill that void of loneliness. Most days, it can be subdued or temporarily contained. Some of us have kids; others, pets. We think the love to and from them can fill that gaping hole that resides in our heart. On those "most days", the hole is plugged or forgotten about. But ocassionaly, there's a day where nothing seems to satiate the seemingly endless void. You try and try but nothing compares to that small moment of true happiness that comes from the gentle affection and loving care from another.

Today is one of those days. It didn't catch my attention until I finally sobered up a bit this morning, but I was the only guy last night that didn't have someone to go home to. Jokingly, I was proud of the fact that I could do anything and not have to answer to anyone for my actions. However, it's not like we're a crazy bunch to begin with so, doing anything lude or seriously wrong wasn't going to happen.

Publicly, I've only jokingly admited to the comment that my last girlfriend screwed me up. Honestly, it's more and more seeming true. My social interation skills are laking, but I catch myself not even trying to make them better. I'm eyeing the hot chick that walks by wondering what she's like, but I never build up the nerve to go talk to her and find out. Subconciously, I think I've decided that lonliness is less painful than the emotional destruction of a relationship gone wrong. There's something just wrong about that. Life is nothing but chances and decisions. We're not going to know if a choice we made is a bad one until we take the chance to make that choice. Question is, do we take the chance or just avoid it and miss out all together? There's this poster on my wall I've had since I was a kid. It says, "We take these risks not to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping us." It's been sort of a philosophy of mine ever since. Sad thing is, I haven't applied it to my "love" life in quite a while. I've just been avoiding taking the chance because I don't want to ever hurt like that again. Physical pain is easy to deal with. The wounds heal, sometimes with a scar, but most times there's no reminder you were ever even pained. Emotional hurt is another story. Sometimes the lacerations can never be repaired. All you can do is slap a band-aid on it and hope for the best. Maybe one day this incomplete void of mine will be filled by someone who will complete me. Maybe there is no completion (I'm a little complicated like that), and I'm destined to never meet that perfect someone. Or maybe I already have and missed my chance. Either way, life goes on. We should enjoy each day for what it is and not worry about what we have and don't have.

What a sappy blog. K, I'm done being a puss. However, I still feel like ass (be it emotional or just the remainder of the hangover). Also, I can't seem to get rid of this feeling that a cat shit in my mouth, so I'm going to brush my teeth... again.

l8rs.

I think I'm still drunk.

2006-10-22T11:56:00.000-04:00

No, really; I probably am. I don't know why I keep doing this to myself. Party went well. As everybody knows, what goes on at a Bachelor Party stays with the guys that went. ;) Not like we did anything really crazy that could get the bride-to-be all pissed off, but that's besides the point.

Either, way. I'm going to try to function and make some coffee, then probably go back to bed. With the rain earlier this AM, today's a good day to recover.

l8rs.

Ignorance of society.

2006-10-18T17:26:00.000-04:00

I always seem to forget how ignorant some of the dipshits working behind the counter at gas stations can be. This disappointingly reminds me about how lazy and unwilling to try our society is these days. I could have swore that I very plainly and cleary asked for 3 packs of Camel Ultra Lights. Now, it may be my overall exhaustion (due to my refusal to submit to a decent sleeping schedule lately), but I shouldn't have to pay attention to what he places on the counter. I run my debit card thru the little reader (this thing was slow responding to button pushes, btw) and look up to get my receipt from the guy. As I go to leave and grab the packs, what has he given me? Malboro. Now, any smoker will tell you, we are very finiky when it comes to our cigs. Of course, it's too late to tell him this is the wrong thing (and I'm in no mood to argue with the guy) because the price is usually different between Camels and Malboros. So, now I'm stuck for the next week and a half (since I'm not smoking anywhere near as much) tolerating the horrid stench that is Malboro (I really don't like the way those things smell). At least they were Ultra Lights.

It's just so sad that you can't trust anyone to just do their jobs, anymore. If you don't make sure they do it right, it doesn't happen. ergh...

BTW, I did manage to get some drawings done the other night.

l8rs.

(only 3 more weeks till Gears of War!)

Inspiration gone.

2006-10-16T23:14:00.000-04:00

Reinstalling a secondary laptop with Ubuntu. In the process, the art table is cleared of unrelated clutter. I find it sitting there. My empty sketchbook. With the effort put into getting this thing and other drawing supplies so many months ago, you'd think it would be full of doodles and sketches by now. There's probably no more than 3 decent drawings and a small handful of screw-ups. Tonite, I sit, hoping for at least some sort of a creative spurt. Nope. This bites. How am I going to produce an entire comic if I can't even do free sketches from time to time? The deadline is drawing nearer and nearer. I have the tools; I've invested in the namespace. All I need now is the art. There's just been too much effort put into worring about friends plans and too much misguided time placed on unrealistic ideas. Time to get back to reality. Time to work a more manageable schedule and spend time being creative again instead of pouring bitchings and rantings out through a keyboard. The sabatical was much needed, and I'm pretty sure another one will be taken before the Thanksgiving break. I even experienced by first corn maze. Yes, as in you venture through a maze that was cut into a corn field. If it wasn't daytime, I would have had some serious "Children of the Corn" slash "Pumpkin Head" nightmares. ;) At least I'm not claustraphobic. It was still kinda neat.

Now the question begs, being an hour before midnight, do I pack it in and try to sleep like a normal human being; or, do I pop open the can of Coke in front of me and continue to try to doodle?

I'll let you know tomorrow. l8rs.

Blogless.

2006-10-13T00:27:00.000-04:00
Nope. No wit... no cynicism... nuttin'.

Just big OMG!! on Grey's Anatomy. And, WTF?! is up with Blockbuster Online? THEY ARE SOOOOO SLOW!! I've been waiting a week for my freakin DVD!

Also, I've been feeling like quite the little perv with some of my IM convos lately. **mischevious grin** Schweet... 3;)

l8rs.

Overcoming lackadaisical.

2006-10-09T18:21:00.000-04:00

I've been in a sad state of laziness for the last month or so, and the apartment's starting to show. I have dirty piles of laundry that have been in the floor for about 5 days now (I ran out of detergent). The kitchen's a wreck (although I did finally clean out the sink a few hours ago). There's dog hair and pine straw (it sticks to your shoes every time it rains here) all over the living room. Clean laundry is still in the basket from last Friday. Junk is collected everywhere (i.e., on the bar) instead of filed away where it's supposed to be. I've avoided balancing my checkbook and paying bills since halfway through last month. I just haven't felt like doing squat when I get home in the evenings. I think it's mostly because I just want to come home after work and do nothing. Every weekend for the last 3 weeks has been pretty much planned out for me. Admittedly, some of it is things I've wanted to do, but still. Guess it's just time to get off my patookus get this place cleaned up. Dealing with the checkbook is the biggest priority. I should probably get the clothes out of the floor since my friend is coming over for dinner and Nip Tuck tomorrow. ;) Yeah, this pile of shoes I'm staring at needs to go back in the closet, too. I haven't spent any effort on the comic past what I did a few Sundays ago. That can wait until after this wedding is over. Damn, you'd think I was getting married. I've never seen two people put so much pre-wedding into a wedding. I'm soooo not having a big wedding, if that day ever comes.

Upside, I've got my game on, again. :D I bought SSX3 for $4 Friday. And it works on the 360! 12 year old Griff is the man. That kid can carve some serious powder (or at least he will be by the time I'm finished). Why did I go into computers instead of skim boarding (the waves weren't big enough to surf in my hometown) or skiing (snow boarding was still young) or music like I dreamed when I was a kid? I guess I still could if I wanted, but these sore, unused muscles don't heal as fast as they used to. That and having the fat dog helps keep me grounded in the reality that you still have to pay rent and utilities.

OK, I'm going to attempt cleaning. Besides, it'll keep me from thinking about smoking.

l8rs.

Cowboys and drunk "cow-girls".

2006-10-08T04:13:00.000-04:00
As I go to Cowboys more and more, I'm having much more fun. I'm learning most of the line dances, so I spend more time on the floor instead of standing around looking like every other wallflower idiot. Only problem is I end up the target of drunk fat chicks. I'm going to appologize if this rant offends, but I just have to lay it out. Girls, there is a reason us guys drink.

I really don't understand what some girls are thinking when they put on the clothes they do. There are just some things that some women should NOT wear. Take this one, for example. Tight jeans and a mid-drift bustier. On some, this would be an awesome outfit. Howerver, on this particular one... let's just say she really needed to tuck some of those rolls back in her jeans. Ugh, it was just... wrong. Then there was this other. I hadn't been there maybe 30 minutes. I'm standing around on the edge of the floor, solemly drinking my beer, during a slow song trying to watch the end of the Tenn vs. UGA game, like a few others. Drunk-ass grabs me to dance. It's sad that I'm a nice guy, 'cause I let her. What's worse, I remember her. She's done this before (trust me; the "scary" ones always stick in your mind for some reason). Luckily, she found some other drunk schmuck to shmooz on for the rest of the evening. Oiu. Yet another reason I've lost interest in going to bars in my "old age". Don't get me wrong. There are cute ones a plenty. They're just there for the same reason I am: to dance. So, just a quick word of advice. Take a really good look in the mirror when you throw on that miniskirt and tub-top, and ask yourself, "Do I really look like the models in the advertisements for this ensemble?" If the answer is no, you probably shouldn't wear it to a non-skanky bar.

Either way, I still had a good time. And, it was much needed after the stressful GA Tech game today. If you didn't watch it, synopsis:

4th quarter; Tech is up by 3. Maryland ends up on the Tech 2 yard
line with a minute some odd left. Time out. After the line up, Tech
panics and calls their 3rd time out. 2nd down, Tech holds 'em.
Maryland time out (their last). 3rd down, Tech sacks the QB for a
6 yard loss. The crowd's going nutz and panicing at the same time.
4th down, Maryland's in the shotgun; oh, schzit! Tech pulls a double
blitz. QB sack! w00+! 30 seconds left. Tech posession; they down
it, and game over. Holy hell, what an ending.

Well, I don't need to sleep all day. I've got to head to Kroger to get more laundry detergent and get my Blockbuster rental back before noon, so I'm off to bed. I've a funny feeling I will be spending more Sat evenings at Cowboys. Guess I'm gonna end up being one of those "regulars" pretty soon. How sad.

l8rs.

Words of wisdom.

2006-10-04T23:18:00.000-04:00
Wise man say, "Grasshopper no IM 'till 4am."

Heed that advice. I'm going to bed before I pass out in the floor.

l8rs.

Too much energy.

2006-10-03T22:46:00.000-04:00

There's one thing that sucks about quitting smoking. No, it's not the nic-fits. ;p~ I have waaaayyy too much energy. It can't be the caffine. My intake hasn't changed, nor have my sleeping habits. I never realized that smoking can mellow you out so much. There was this doctor's daughter that I guarded with back in the days (no... nothing happened... I wasn't that lucky) that mentioned something about the methodical rhythmic breathing that it causes. I'm thinking that's only part of it. I moved to the smaller patch today, but yesterday and the day before, I was zoned out on the bigger patch. Like I said yesterday, it was probably more nicotine than I was used to. I've estimated that the big one lasts about 12 hours, but the initial contact causes my arm to go numb. ;) The smaller one only lasts about 8. It is a much more controlled dose. Funny thing is, they consider it step 3 of 3. OK, I can't concentrate on this and Nip Tuck at the same time.

l8rs.

TV issues.

2006-10-02T22:43:00.000-04:00

Well, that was a quick answer. After keying my way through all the automated beeps and munber sequences, I get this nice little automated message (obviously, not quoted word for word):

"Yes, we know the service in your area is screwed up. Our slack-ass techs are still sucking down corn dogs on their coffee break, but they may figure out what they broke to cause this sometime by the end of the week."

At least I figured out which channel is ESPN. ;) You don't ever realized how much you depend on that guide. Who the hell can memorize 600 some odd channels, newayz.

So I'm not doin too bad on my non-smoking trip. These patches don't work half bad, but they leave your arm raw as hell when you take them off (and itchy). I forgot to take the one off last night. Talk about some fscked up dreams. Well, it is a warning on the box. I didn't really crave one until my usual break time around 3 this afternoon. It wasn't a nic-fit or anything. These things pretty much loose their potency about now, so I'm craving another. I've only had half of one (when I got home around 8). I'm still debating going for the other half. "But, ur not trying! Don't give in!" Screw off, compared to my 10 a day, I'm pretty damn proud of 1/2 in 2 days. Now that I think of it, this explains why I've been so mellow all day. I think this patch has more nicotine in it than I usually get. Might should switch to the smaller one tomorrow. ;)

OK, got some torrents to tend to, and Green Bay's actually beating McNabb and the Eagles, so I'm gonna watch.

l8rs. (for good this time)

Um...

2006-10-02T22:00:00.000-04:00

...

Well, for once I really just don't have anything to rant about. I'm sitting here watching "Heroes".

Hmmm.

Wow.

I guess I'm just too mentally burnt out to really care about anything. As usual, the comic is still not on schedule. Maybe one day that will change, but that day is not today. :p~ Of course, something does seem really odd. My TV guide is all screwed up, and for some reason I can't find Monday Nite Football. Has it moved from ABC to ESPN? Yes, it has. That's weird. Also, I'm getting the TV Guide channel. Oh, hell. My digital's off. What the hell....

Lemme go figure this out.

l8rs.

Social circalism...

2006-10-01T04:35:00.000-04:00
I can 't think for shit right now.... nor can I type. Beer is a wonderful thing. ;) An$5d I'm supposed to be ready to leave for a Falcons game by 11:30 tomorrow... eh... this morning. Ah, hell. BTW, I'm going to go ahead and appologize for misspellings as I'm a little loopy at the moment (between the hour and the amount I've had to drink tonight). I can't exactly see straight. I probably shouldn't have driven home, but like always, I'm always worse once I get home and start to relax.
So, I've decided I need to join some sort of social circle. Problem is, I can't decide which kind. I loved clubbing; problem is, dropping $40+ for cover charge and beer is not my idea of a fun investment anymore. Call me old, but hell, that's more than a tank of gas. Between Compound and Cowboys, I always have a good time. Paying at least $10 to get in the door, then dropping ~$5 a beer is just plain stupid. Getting a six pack for a few dollars more, and having my own party at home is more financially intelligent, in MHO. 'Specially considering I'm a broke IT admin. Most of my debt is because of eating out and alcohol purchases from my college years. Next, I love video games (just in case you haven't already figured that out), yet, I'm nowhere near a hardcore gamer (unlike what most of my friends like to think). I just play for fun and therapy. Then, there's sci-fi. As I came to discover at DragonCon, I'm not into anything enough to be a fanatic. This leaves me at a serious fork in the road.

Becoming a regular at Cowboys is probably going to be my choice; however, there are some issues I have with that. Take tonight for example. I head over after leaving the wedding shower I attended (which turned out to be not as bad as I thought it was going to be). I meet up with my sisiter's friend, but she's been up all day (whereas I finally slept in for the first time in a couple of weeks) and bolts out earlier than usual. I decided to hang around for the next set of line dancing since I missed all the earlier "festivies" due to showing up later. Cool thing is, she got me a free pass in, so no cover charge. Schweet! More money for beer (not like I really needed any more). NEwayz, in my people watching, I started to wonder: why is it all the chicks that hit on you are the ones you really have no intrest in whatsoever? Also, girls have it easy. They can hit the dance floor and have a good time grooving to the music/rhythm. A guy gets out there by himself, and he looks like a total putz. That just blows and is so not fair. From my standpoint, that 's what makes clubbing, as a guy, so hard. You have to get a or some chicks to go with you. You can't just show up by yourself. I may be able to pull it off at Cowboys if I just get out there for the line dancing, but during the "booty music breaks", as my sister called it, I'm stuck to sitting on the sidelines drinking a beer and smoking a cig to pass the time if I don't have a dance partner. So not fair.

Speaking of smoking, I've finished off my carton, so I'm gonna try quitting, once again. Not because my parents told me I have to; not because my friends don't care much for cigarette smoke; but because I actually want to try. Good thing I still have some of those patches left. Tomorrow will be my first day without. I have some cloves left, but I can probably pawn those off on my friend, Clue, who's hooking me up with the Falcon's tix. I'll keep you posted on how it turns out.

As far as the comic.... yeah. My "go live" date is now December. Haven't dediced when, yet, but that'll come when I have all this other crap out of the way.

You know, thinking about this rant while I was sitting at Cowboys, and on the drive home, I wasn't expecting it to be this long. Here it is 4:30a, and I've just been going to town. Well, the alarm's gonna start going off at 9a, so, I'm gonna crash.

l8rs.