I've been trying to keep my mind occupied lately by doing different activities so as to avoid thinking about school in any way. It's becoming very ridiculous and I'm a little worried about this semesters outcome...definitely not Good Eats. Unfortunately, I've been in a constant boredom state for several days now where I can't seem to find anything fun and/or productive to do. I went out and sat on my balcony for 2 hours yesterday. Just sat there, listening to music, watching the rain fall down on the cars. Strangely, it was ever-so peaceful and very relaxing. It was a much needed break from the boring life I currently lead, and I didn't even have to go anywhere or spend money. Luckily, the government still lets rain be free.

I have also gotten back into a forgotten RPG game called "Eternal Sonata". It's a weird game based on composer Frederic Chopin's musical scores (it's based in Chopin's dream world). The game is filled with these imaginary characters and baddies that one must fight there way through to get to the final boss, in this case Chopin is his own boss, while they learn some important shit along the way. The story isn't terrible and the game play is that of any other RPG title so it's nothing breathtakingly new or original, other than the story I guess.

I've been playing Halo 3 a lot lately as well. Always a good and classic decision to play but it just gets old sometimes when I'm not playing with the usual team. Going solo into a team game with strangers is just horrifying sometimes. These people are just plain bad...some terrible even. Which sucks because it makes me loose interest in playing, which leaves me with nothing to do during the day => bored.

So really, I just need something to do. I make plans with people to go out, they fall through somehow and I'm back stuck at home. I just need something to break up the monotony.

Hot Damn, it's been awhile

So, it's been a pretty long time since I've talk about anything here. It's been a rough couple of weeks/months and shit has been hectic.

Few things going on:
*I'm broke as balls, but working on finding another job
*I realized that I need to pay a little more attention in class, so there's that
*I stopped playing WoW in an effort to keep my attention more focused on school
*I got my tongue pierced

So, being broke pretty much blows big donkey balls as there's a lot of shit that I want to go and do but can't. This sucks because I have no real way to relieve stress and get my mind off of school when it gets to be too much.

Bringing me to paying more attention in school... It's gotten so fucking ridiculous and over-complicated for no reason. Damn Econ professor making shit so much harder than necessary...bastard. And, with being broke, I don't really have anything to help me get my mind off of school. To help pay better attention, I stopped playing WoW so I can get more shit done during the day, but in that, I started playing Diablo II again and have also gotten back into Halo/XBox Live.

And I got my tongue pierced on Monday. I've always wanted one and while walking home from class on Monday, I couldn't think of a reason why I wouldn't want one. Then I began thinking about why i hadn't gone and gotten one yet, so I decided that Monday was the day. I REALLY like it and am so very glad I got it done. It didn't hurt too bad, but I have been eating pudding for 2 days now, which is getting old. I had some crackers and cookies this morning; they seemed to go down easy, so more solid foods will be appearing in the future I think.

Well, I've once again run out of motivation for the day. This was nothing insightful but it wasn't meant to be so, whatever.

Natural Claritin

I haven't slept in four days. Four. Whole. Days. You know what you can do with all 24 hours in a day? A lot actually, most of it completely unproductive, but still a lot of shit.

See, I play this game constantly, but the game isn't what keeps me awake; I just simple cannot sleep. I laid down on Tuesday and ended up staring at my ceiling for 3 hours while listening to Wolf Parade play on repeat. Wednesday morning, before my Embedded Systems class, I watched almost an entire season of "Dead Like Me". By the way, great fuckin' show but that's another time. Thursday morning, I finished my "Dead Like Me" mini marathon and then studied for an Economics test, which is going to royally blow penis AND balls. I don't think I need to remind anyone that it's never good when balls are involved...most of the time.

So, the question is, "Why can't I sleep anymore?" Believe you me, I've asked myself this question again and again. It kind of reminds of the movie "Cash Back" (also one of the greatest movies I've ever seen). I won't go into details, but the main character has chronic insomnia; one can relate. I do think about a lot of things during the day, but my head is generally clear at night as keeping things on your mind at night can lead to insomnia. So with my head clear and a good dinner with drinks in me, why have I not slept since last Sunday afternoon?

I hope you had the time of your life

There are just some days one feels like posting....today could be the day! Anywho, on with ye!

I really hope that on Monday morning, next Monday that is, I can honestly say that this weekend (the 19th-21st) was the best weekend of my life. I know I will have a regret after the weekend and its that I regret I won't get to do everything I wanted to do.

I have a extremely special and amazing individual coming to visit me and I CANNOT WAIT. I have been waiting for a while now (at least it seems like a while) and the time has finally arrived. Everyday I talk to her the anticipation grows much stronger and I get a way of all kinds of emotions and feelings. It will be the most amazing meeting of all time!

She and I talk and joke about the "Great Doorway meeting/competition of 2008". This is a little challenge conjured up between the two of us and it is a challenge that I will win. This challenge is one of many that will be carried out over the course of the weekend, and most likely the next few weeks. To state here for the record, I will be winning these challenges, and may indeed start a running tally of W's to L's just to see who the true champion is. Of course, Val thinks she will win, but I know better. :P I have been plotting and diagramming strategies, checking weather conditions, and performing trial runs of the doorway competition and is she ever in for a surprise.

But all that mumbo-jumbo aside, this is something that I have been looking forward to since it was first conceived (like babies, only with less semen). Val, you are wonderful no matter what you say. Now, let's crack open the fucking wine and get stupid already!!!

Currently Listening to:
Deftones - Passenger

Melted Processing Chips are pretty

So, yesterday I was forced to go buy another XBox. I must say that I'm not too excited about it, but secretly I'm okay with it.

I've always wanted the XBox 360 Elite model and yesterday I was finally "able" to buy one. It all started with Grand Theft Auto IV and a simple phone call from BH. I was playing GTA IV when my iPhone rang. I saw that it was BH and figured I'd answer, but first, I paused my game. The phone conversation was not long, long enough to decide that we would kill bitches in Halo 3 later that day. Upon returning to GTA IV, I notice a few fuzzy, faint vertical lines statically located on the left side of my screen. They weren't terrible enough to effect gameplay or anything, but figuring it wasn't a good thing, I saved and powered down the box.

After a few minutes of rest, I flipped the switched back on only to be greeted with XBox Hardware System Error code "E 74". For those who don't know about the MANY error codes an XBox can throw at you, "E 74" is the error code for an A/V Cable failure. Not too terrible as cables aren't that expensive. Well, I dug a little deeper into the internetz and was able to find the "E 74" is also the error code for a video processing chip malfunction. HOT DAMN!!! I can has fucked up gaming system plx?!?

Thoroughly pissed and concerned, as well as noticing that my XBox is no longer under warranty, I took apart the fucker myself to take a gander. Looking inside, I see this shiny display of magical colors. Checking against schematics and plans from XBox modding sites, I soon realize that the pile of melted whatever (silicon maybe?) is the video chip.

Now, I work at a job that uses LOTS of surface mount chip components and we do testing on those boards and chips at 170*C. 170 FUCKING DEGREES CELSIUS!! Nothing melts and we have a 96% success rate of solder not melting, meaning that after the test, nothing is fucked up. Also on a side note, I keep a 14" box fan constantly blowing on my system at all times while it's powered up. "Fresh" air is constantly being blown right onto and over the system to keep it nice, cool, and happy. So, for a chip of the much importance to the system to melt, with a fan blowing right on the system, is no less than down right impressive.

So, in the end, I of course had to buy another system and eagerly sought out the Elite bundle. The 120GB HDD is a massive upgrade to the standard 20GB HDD and is easy to transfer data between the two with Microsoft's free Data Transfer kit. I'm also pleased that none of my Arcade games fucked up with the serial number switch.

In the end it worked out okay. I got two "free" games in the Elite bundle, Kung Fu Panda and Lego Indiana Jones. Both of which are actually pretty fun. Plus, I got everything hooked up in time to talk to people.... SP, you are teh awesomeness!!

Currently Listening to:
Tool - The Pot
Deftones - Change (In The House of Flies)

What are the chances of that happening? 100%

Life can be pretty fucked up with many things being thrown at you constantly, some of which you don't always see until it's too late. Of those unforeseen events, some are spectacularly amazing and turn out to be exceptionally awesome and "just what the doctor ordered", if you will.

If you can't tell, I play Microsoft's XBox Live probably more than I should. On a chilly, extremely drunken Saturday night in mid-November, I get the urge to play Texas Hold'em. Playing with a friend, BH, we join a table and make idle chat-chit with the other Hold'em goers. Following a big pot, in a very inebriated state, a distasteful joke or seven is thrown about to which the table comes alive with laughter and good times. Now BH and I are no strangers to finding random friends online through games and a few of the people at the current table wish to form another table so we can converse more in a friendlier atmosphere with better table rules.

In this table, there is this voice I hear that is clearly not male, female if you will again. Come to find out, this is the single greatest chick of all fuckin' time. She can take anything said, breaks most all the stereotypes of female gamers, and is funny as balls. And I must have more.

Texas Hold'em quickly turned into a private UNO game, in which, XBox Live Vision Cameras are enabled. Seeing this amazing chick after "hanging out" with her for the previous few hours is amazing, she is the cutest thing ever. Not that that should matter, but let's be honest, when you're cute, you're cute.

The next day, BH and I nurse our amazing hangovers with more beer and Taco Bell, and set out to rape face in Gears of War 2. Content with our amount of bloodshed, we notice that said girl from the night before is online again. A few game changes later and an invite, and we are back playing poker. I was thankful to know that the night before was not a dream and that she really is as kick ass as before.

This goes on for a few more days of she and I playing more and more games together and this friendship grows into something bigger than XBL. Turns out, she is the best and easiest person ever to talk to about anything and everything. But more than that, she is just plain full of awesomeness and win. We've both been through some shit, enjoy the same everything, and enjoy talking to one another.

Turns out you can find someone so awesome anywhere, anytime. We agreed to meet for New Years and are going to have the greatest night evar. I can't wait to meet her, it will be epic win. So, as I said, what are the changes of meeting of one the greatest people evar through a game? 100% And they say video games are the devil....

REVIEW: Need for Speed: Undercover, Multiplayer

I hoped on to play some NFS:UC Multiplayer the other day to see what it was all about and here is my opinion of it:

Anyone ever play NFS:Carbon multiplayer? Anyone? EXACTLY THE SAME FUCKING THING! You can race or play Cops and Robbers...not very fuckin' original EA. Granted, the racing isn't bad except for the occasional dickus that is only there to make others crash or hit walls. Having beat the game and gotta one of the best cars fully customized, it makes winning and racing a lot easier. I would recommend beating the Career mode first (its not hard at all) so you don't get discouraged by finishing last every race.

This is short because really, there's not a lot to a racing multiplayer. Game says go, you press the Right Trigger, turn some, crash, scream obscenities, then finish.

The Flu

I has it now... Fuck me

REVIEW: Need for Speed: Undercover

So, if you can't tell by the title, I picked up the new Need for Speed game, NFS: Undercover.

I had heard some pretty mixed reviews about the game prior to purchasing it, but figured I'd give it a shot anyways just for the hell of it. I must say that I am "impressed" that they listened to people from the shitty NFS: Carbon driving experience. EA took the driving and gameplay aspect of NFS: Most Wanted, the car customization from NFS: Carbon, and a little dash of driving from NFS: ProStreet (also a fairly terrible game).

The story isn't terrible, it's just been done before many times in the Need for Speed series. Undercover cop/agent who needs to infiltrate a street racing syndicate, gather evidence and shit, turn to the dark side, escape. The graphics got a slight upgrade (nothing like EA to skimp out....bastards), car tuning got a nice boost, and the AI got a little better.

I can say that the game feels easy though. I played for 3 hours yesterday evening, picked up about 5 achievements and made it racer level 6 (whatever that does that for you). I did not lose a single race, in fact I shattered all competition. Now, I'm not bad by any means at racing games, I'm one of the better people I know, but it was ridiculous as to the length I could get between 1st and 2nd place. I was winning races by near 30-40 seconds. I feel the game has been dumbed down slightly to accommodate to someone who needed it. That's fine, but a difficulty setting would be sweet...

Money is very easy to get once you break the number 3 rank. $75,000+ isn't hard to grab in just a few short races which can be used immediately for performance upgrades via instant teleport to Part Shops now. But, for all the cheaters out there, there are a few codes for money and certain cars that can be input mid-game. As for as I have read, these codes will not disable the gaining of achievements, but I choose not to test this personally, so good luck to you if you so choose to cheat. CHEATER!

I have not tested out the Multiplayer yet because I want to progress further into the Career to unlock better vehicles and performance parts first. I can't be going online and getting slaughtered... That's just embarrassing. Once I do decide to roll up to the EA servers, I'll give a quick review of the Multiplayer too.

Overall, I'd recommend at least giving it a rent just to fuck around with. It's got some better graphics, gameplay is nice and easy, and evading the cops can actually almost get challenging in some situations. It's a fairly easy game with WAY easier achievements than Carbon or ProStreet, if that's your cookie.

It's magical like brownies, but better

I had a moment of clarity today at lunch with some coworkers. As I was sitting there, eating my meatball sub (dubbed "The Spaceball"), I thought of a way to end America's crisis - all of them. Remember last post when I said I needed to invent something...oh yeah, it's coming.

So, with an energy crisis on our hands, car manufacturers are trying to come up with new ways to lower fuel consumption, better mpg, cut user costs, and save the world one car at a time. While I fully agree with saving me money, I think I might have a better way to do this than just using rechargeable batteries and fuel cells. Make cars run on POT.

Yeah, I know - fucking brilliant right?! Hear me out now, it's classic. You convert a car to run on either the fumes that are given off from the pot being burnt (not as good) or allow the heat from the burn to power the engine (good idea). With the good way, the bi-product of the burning is the awesome greatness of THC infused smoke. Sure, it won't be as much THC as from an original hit (your car will be flying!) but get every car running on pot and it's like getting 5 billion shotgun hits...all the time!

This, I believe, could solve many problems for our American economy. With a decrease in gasoline consumption, presumably down to zero at this point, America would become extremely less dependent on oil (for gas at least) and therefore would not spend billions on it. The government can now legalize this beautiful plant, tax it like they want (and they will) and make a profit from it. I also believe that people would be better off as well, as some could grow there own fuel supply! On top of the oil crisis, we have the war on hunger. With everyone sky high, food industries could be able to lower their prices which, in turn, will allow most everyone to afford food to eat. Gives me the munchies just thinking about it...

This also could help in the War Against Terrorism too. As statistics show, terrorism is mostly funded through drugs trades. With America supply most of the "fuel", importing drug industries may dry up, which could also lead to cutting off funding for terroristic activities.

Sure, America may in turn become an isolationist society, but that was our original plan back in the day when some old farts in wigs created the nation. Everyone was so bent on isolationism, which mostly worked, to America becoming this huge fucking ATM machine for the needy. I'm pretty sure America itself is needy and could use a little TLC from ol' Papa Dubbs. He's already fucked up enough, might as well say "Fuck it, let's all light up a doob! And while we're at it, let our cars run off of marijuana so that we can save money and be high all the time!"

Yeah...Pot cars could work. Pot cars and Cheetos cheese that doesn't stick to your fingers. I'm gonna be a fuckin' millionaire...

Full of Win

Beating Guitar Hero III with drums

VaDrum. Is. The. Best. Evar

Le Sigh......Fuckin' Mondays

I go back to work again tomorrow for my last month there at the company. Unfortunately, it doesn't get much better after I stop there as I have to go back to school again.

I haven't quite decided which one I like better, work or school. Sure, I hate work a lot, but it pays bills and when the day is over, it's over. In school, I don't have to wake up until noon and can choose to go or not go. The down side is that it gives me no income - in fact it uses my saved money - and there's all the homework and "studying". It's really a shitty situation at either place. I have many responsibilities at both places that require to be in specific locations at specific times, neither of which I want to do.

Guess I should start working on patenting something so i can be wealthy without working...

Back for some action

I got back from the great (and boring) state of Virginia today. During my Thanksgiving stay in the big VA, I consumed A LOT of food, beer, and wine, watched a lot of football, and played a lot of games (board and card specifically).

The trip was really nice, got to see some of my family, including the infamous little brother who had the nastiest poop diaper EVER, but that's for another day. But, now I'm back in the house and ready to squash some fools and a few games.

I'm getting an early lead on my practice time before things get going because the good ol' Auburn Tigers are suckin' something aweful and I care not to watch them at this moment. C'mon guys, a least score a fucking touchdown.....

So, it appears Burnout Revenge is on the menu for tonight which is fine by me because it's been a while since I kicked Val's ass in something. Not because she's better, but because I was banned and on vacation.... Gonna be good to get back behind the ass kicking wheel.

On a side note, Val is going to come visit around New Years!! w00t for that and can't wait till then!

To the guy who banned me...

So yesterday I decided that while I was packing to go away from my extremely boring life of work for a bit of vacation during the Thanksgiving season, I wanted to play some XBox Live.  I turned on my 360 and went about cleaning up some while the system loaded and logged me in at the home screen.

I get into a party with some friends and decided to kick it old school with some Burnout Revenge, because Burnout Paradise sucks ass - whole other story.  Come to find out, good buddy Val bought a used copy of the game and the fuck ups at GameStop put Paradise in her Revenge case.  As I said, Paradise blows, so she was very pissed and decided to go back to GameStop and yell at some fools.

I decided to watch some Netflix over Live while I waited for her to get back so I could squash her like racing bug that she is (<3's)

In the middle of watching The Office, I get a message telling me to log back into Live to continue watching my show. I try to log back, it fails, I try again, it fails again. So I go back to the dashboard and try again. This time when I try, I get an error that tells me that I have been banned until thanksgiving Day.

WTF!?!  I haven't played an intense multi player game in 3 days, how can I get banned for a CoC violation?  So I called the XBox Live support and confirmed that they are all legally retarded in 17 countries.  The guy was no help because "apparently" Micro$oft doesn't post the specific violation you have committed.  So, I have been banned and don't know why, but then I got to thinking.

After a phone conversation with Val, we came to the conclusion that it must have been that little shit head fucker we met during a Texas Hold 'em poker game a few days earlier.  This kid was going "All In" on every hand and I said something about it.  Turns out, he had some anger issues and apparently went and told everyone on his friends list to file a complaint against me.  If indeed he did, congratulations guy, you succeeded.

So, according to M$, you can be banned for almost any reason while logged into XBox Live, at any time.  If anyone has any kind of hatred towards you, you run the risk of banishment.  While its only 3 days, and I'm takign vacation so I couldn't play anyways, it's not totally crippling.

Oh, and don't have conversation with broke people.

w00t! I has a blog

I decided it was finally time to break down and grab a blog.  Here it is, and it is magically tasty.