After what was literally my shortest summer break ever, its time to prepare for another semester. The good news is that I don't actually leave until September 5th. The bad news is that everyone else is shipping out now, leaving me virtually alone for a week.
Guess I'll be pestering Kyle whenever I can.
As quick as my free time went, I really don't mind the trip back. Returning to college is a quirky thing; you know there will be plenty of work and all the stress that goes with it (unless your a business major, in which the biggest challenge is floating a case by yourself).
At the same time, you realize that college is also a four year Kindergarten for "adults" complete with boozeahol. The end result: no one exactly jumps for joy when heading back to university, but you also really don't care. This is directly opposite of High School, in which millions of tired, confused children return to their penal colony of choice and participate in the "educational endeavor" known as standadized testing. I think the reason they call it "No Child Left Behind" is because none of them are going anywhere. But that's for another day.
In preparation for the new semester, I have spent the last two days searching for textbooks. Its an interesting little game usually ends up being far harder than it would seem. The first part requires one to find out which books will be needed, which can range from clicking to an online syllabus, to calling up a professor. Once this is done, its off to find the texts on your online store of choice. This is arguably the worst part; not only must they be found at reasonable prices, but the correct editions must be purchased, a feat that is far harder than it should be. The final round of the game is timing, making sure to purchase the books withenough time left over to have them shipped before the semester's start. So far I've done rather well, getting half my books for a little over $200. Only problem is I wasn't exactly clutch. You see, ordering online on Thrusday and Friday can be a curse, as it sucks up business days in the next week for processing that could be used for shipping. Plus, I'm leaving next Sunday, giving my texts less than a week's time to travel by Post Office standards. Whether they'll make it in time is anyone's guess, but its a gamble i'm willing to take. The less time I must spend in my bookstore, the better. I think of the place as a wretched hive of scum and villainry,
where prices are gouged daily, and words like "cash", "check" and "my own hard earned money" are forbidden.
Maker's Mark Whisky is the smoothest drink I have ever experienced. Friends often wonder why I enjoy an "olds man's" drink like whisky, as opposed to something like vodka. The reason is simple; I drink for enjoyment, not for the sole purpose of getting drunk. To that extent, I find Whisky has a strong, yet distinctive taste, and is far more enjoyable than drinking what is, in essence, edible rubbing alcohol. Plus, the vodka industry has delved into the most ridiculous flavors (green apple?). Not only does it encourage underage drinking, but who in the world wants their booze to taste like a Charm's Blow Pop? I'm not sure how it happened, or why, but what was once the favorite drink of James Bond and Communists is now the choice drink of bubbly school girls and guys who want to score with them. By the time my younger brother is in college I won't be surprised to see the Kool-Aid Man with a shot glass in his hand.
Idle hands spend time near the genitals. And we know how much God hates that.
Friday, August 27, 2004
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
ugh
I just typed a huge blog entry about this stupid little machine, only to loose it all by hitting a link.
I guess I'll condense it all into this: good marketing, bad hardware. Here's a quote:
"market research that says teens are considered the tech gurus in today's families and dictate electronics purchases"
"tech gurus" my ass. Tweens are the number 1 biggest offenders in destroying perfectly good machines. The Hip-E looks slow enough as it is (1.5 Ghz CPU?), and they'll only make it worse.
Teens would enjoy the bells and whistles, but once the thing starts to slow to a crawl they'll wish they didn't spend $1700 on it.
There's a reason the Hip-E's the first of its kind. Making a PC that balances performance and power is hard enough. Trying to do that and market it to finicky teens is impossible.
P.S.- two new Mega Man reviews at LC 1201, this time for 3 and 4. 5 and 6 should be up tonight
I guess I'll condense it all into this: good marketing, bad hardware. Here's a quote:
"market research that says teens are considered the tech gurus in today's families and dictate electronics purchases"
"tech gurus" my ass. Tweens are the number 1 biggest offenders in destroying perfectly good machines. The Hip-E looks slow enough as it is (1.5 Ghz CPU?), and they'll only make it worse.
Teens would enjoy the bells and whistles, but once the thing starts to slow to a crawl they'll wish they didn't spend $1700 on it.
There's a reason the Hip-E's the first of its kind. Making a PC that balances performance and power is hard enough. Trying to do that and market it to finicky teens is impossible.
P.S.- two new Mega Man reviews at LC 1201, this time for 3 and 4. 5 and 6 should be up tonight
Sunday, August 22, 2004
return of the post
I never get tired of the Lord of the Rings films. Which makes me wonder; why haven't I finished the final book? I'll get to it eventually (translation; next summer)
I finally got around to updating LC1201. I'm goddamn ashamed for letting it slip so far. Hell, I'm no better than Freddy boy really. I can only hope my sorry excuses and lateness will bring me lots of fame and money. I mean, if it works for him, why not me?
Oh right, that's why.
Anyway, the update is a bunch of Mega Man reviews, part of a new segment I will call "series reviews". So many of the games I've wanted to write about lately have been parts of large series. Rather than do one or two, it made sense to write about all of them, comparing each one and observing how the series evolved, then put all the documents in one place. I plan to do the same with Final Fantasy (THAT's gonna take a while), Mario, Sonic, etc. But first things first; I've got a lot more Mega Man games to clear through.
The Radeon 9800 Pro has been a dream come true. Demos for Far Cry, Deus Ex 2 and Unreal tournament ran at choppy, almost unplayable framerates. Now they run smoothly at even the highest details. There's a bit of stuttering at some parts, but that's a memory issue. Its hard to believe that 512 megs isn't enough, but that's the way it is, and I intend to correct it during the fall. As for now, its just a minor hindrance. I say bring on Half Life 2.
I don't know about you, but when I first heard about this I couldn't think of anything but the beginning of a bad movie. Or maybe an episode of Lupin III. I just hope that the painting is found and the greedy pricks are put to justice. Let's just hope Zenigata isn't on the case.
Getting it is easy. Filling it with illegal substances and sending it across the border is the hard part.
I finally got around to updating LC1201. I'm goddamn ashamed for letting it slip so far. Hell, I'm no better than Freddy boy really. I can only hope my sorry excuses and lateness will bring me lots of fame and money. I mean, if it works for him, why not me?
Oh right, that's why.
Anyway, the update is a bunch of Mega Man reviews, part of a new segment I will call "series reviews". So many of the games I've wanted to write about lately have been parts of large series. Rather than do one or two, it made sense to write about all of them, comparing each one and observing how the series evolved, then put all the documents in one place. I plan to do the same with Final Fantasy (THAT's gonna take a while), Mario, Sonic, etc. But first things first; I've got a lot more Mega Man games to clear through.
The Radeon 9800 Pro has been a dream come true. Demos for Far Cry, Deus Ex 2 and Unreal tournament ran at choppy, almost unplayable framerates. Now they run smoothly at even the highest details. There's a bit of stuttering at some parts, but that's a memory issue. Its hard to believe that 512 megs isn't enough, but that's the way it is, and I intend to correct it during the fall. As for now, its just a minor hindrance. I say bring on Half Life 2.
I don't know about you, but when I first heard about this I couldn't think of anything but the beginning of a bad movie. Or maybe an episode of Lupin III. I just hope that the painting is found and the greedy pricks are put to justice. Let's just hope Zenigata isn't on the case.
Getting it is easy. Filling it with illegal substances and sending it across the border is the hard part.
Friday, August 20, 2004
Juicin' up
This morning a great thing happened. My brand new ATI Radeon 9800 Pro video card came in the mail. Ever since my family bought their first legitimate computer, my video cards have been as follows:
Voodoo 3 3000 PCI - this wasn't too bad at the time, played Homeworld well and that's all that mattered back then
Geforce Mx 440 - I got this over a Geforce 3, not realizing my error. It now serves my brother in playing all his old games. Kinda feel like I wasted my money here.
Geforce Fx 5200 - Came with my new machine, and was, at the time, the best card I could afford. It played everything I had just fine, but with the arrival of UT 2004, Far Cry, and now Doom 3 I knew it was time to put it to pasture. Later I would find out that this card, especially the "Generic, vanilla" flavor of it that I have, was a pretty weak, budget card that didn't actually outperform an older model Geforce 4 Ti 4600.
Basically, they've all served their purpose for only a year before they needed to be replaced. While this 9800 pro is not the newest hardware in the market, it was the top banana less than a year ago rather than some cheaper alternative, and I have heard nothing but good things about it even today. It plays Doom and Half Life 2 at high detail and high res; considering that graphical tech won't be surpassing either of those for a while to come, right now that's all I need.
A shame, then, that I'll be out today and won't be able to do more than install the thing. If I get to using it tonight I'll be sure to update with the results.
hmm... As for LC1201, I have something new to post very soon, but I'm not sure what to call it. Its a suite of reviews, specifically of the Mega Man series of games. I plan on reviewing many differnt games series this way; its great for organization, and to see how each one stacks up to each other. Anyway, who the hell cares what the name is as long as its good?
Give us the money.... Elmo knows where you live!!!
Voodoo 3 3000 PCI - this wasn't too bad at the time, played Homeworld well and that's all that mattered back then
Geforce Mx 440 - I got this over a Geforce 3, not realizing my error. It now serves my brother in playing all his old games. Kinda feel like I wasted my money here.
Geforce Fx 5200 - Came with my new machine, and was, at the time, the best card I could afford. It played everything I had just fine, but with the arrival of UT 2004, Far Cry, and now Doom 3 I knew it was time to put it to pasture. Later I would find out that this card, especially the "Generic, vanilla" flavor of it that I have, was a pretty weak, budget card that didn't actually outperform an older model Geforce 4 Ti 4600.
Basically, they've all served their purpose for only a year before they needed to be replaced. While this 9800 pro is not the newest hardware in the market, it was the top banana less than a year ago rather than some cheaper alternative, and I have heard nothing but good things about it even today. It plays Doom and Half Life 2 at high detail and high res; considering that graphical tech won't be surpassing either of those for a while to come, right now that's all I need.
A shame, then, that I'll be out today and won't be able to do more than install the thing. If I get to using it tonight I'll be sure to update with the results.
hmm... As for LC1201, I have something new to post very soon, but I'm not sure what to call it. Its a suite of reviews, specifically of the Mega Man series of games. I plan on reviewing many differnt games series this way; its great for organization, and to see how each one stacks up to each other. Anyway, who the hell cares what the name is as long as its good?
Give us the money.... Elmo knows where you live!!!
One more thing....
The greatest episode of South Park is the one with the Chinpokomon, and anyone who disagrees is a filthy Communist (the China kind, not the comrade-Russian kind).
If starbucks makes coffee ice cream I bet its made of burnt beans. Stupid bastards
If starbucks makes coffee ice cream I bet its made of burnt beans. Stupid bastards
Thursday, August 19, 2004
I'll break things, I swear to god I will!!!!
The reason for this blog is simple; to put some of the more chatty bullshit from my website LC1201 into a blog. This is a hell of a lot easier to update, and no one really wants to read that shit right? RIGHT?!?!?! Dear god why am I making this then!!??? Well if you do, here it is.
I'll come back with something worth reading later, but this coffee ice cream is demanding my attention at the current time.
Christmas still sucked, in a big way.....
I'll come back with something worth reading later, but this coffee ice cream is demanding my attention at the current time.
Christmas still sucked, in a big way.....
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