My opinion counts.

2005-07-01T04:44:00.000-04:00

People make me happy sometimes

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=30063

Doonesbury Author Gary Trudeau is donating all of his profits from his Doonesbury book The Long Road Home: One Step at a Time to charity.

2005-06-29T10:27:00.000-04:00

Bavaria selling properties

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1626672,00.html

Everytime I think or hear of this place, I can't help but think of Dr. Doom.

2005-06-29T04:58:00.000-04:00

Zombie Dogs

I posted it to my livejournal so I might as well post it here.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,15739502-13762,00.html

Apparently, we have zombie dogs now...

What's next...Zombie soldiers?

2005-06-19T15:56:00.000-04:00

Really, how many times have I said this?

But really, I'm back to blogging whatever I feel like giving my opinion about. I'm going to update at least a few days a week so bookmark me and check back!

2005-06-19T15:45:00.000-04:00

Commercialize me!


From the Hallmark website... Home > Our Products > Cards & Stationery > Individual Cards > Holidays

Individual Cards

Individual Cards

Holidays

Why the hell do I need to celebrate Administrative Professionals Day/ Nurses Day/ National Boss Day/ Sweetest Day (what the hell is that?) ?

Where Boss Day came from

Where Administrative Professionals/Secretaries Day came from

Where Nurse's Day came from

Origin of Sweetest Day

Hmm...Do we really give cards on all these days (including the traditional holidays) out of appreciation anymore? Or is it more of an expected, droning on, regular thing that people get upset about if they don't get anything for?

2005-01-05T19:09:00.000-05:00

Hi, I'm alive yet again.

You know that review of Fable I promised waaay back? It will be posted in the January issue of Gamecola. Also my crappy review of crappy Donkey Konga can be found in the December issue.

Yeah so I've decided to update this again when possible (which should be every couple days). What am I going to be updating with? I guess the same stuff I used to, stuff about games, books, random thoughts etc.

Oh and talking about stuff from waayyy back...Evil Genius sucked and that makes me sad.

The end.

2004-09-24T01:48:00.000-04:00

Hi, I'm alive

Reviews of: The Sims 2, Fable, The Age of Mythology Titans, and Katamari Damacy coming within the next week.

2004-08-19T18:57:00.000-04:00

Olympic Medal Count

http://www.athens2004.com/en/OlympicMedals/medals

Go America! #1 with 14 Golds, 11 Silver, and 10 Bronze.

2004-08-19T16:09:00.000-04:00

Evil Genius Goes Gold

Publisher Vivendi Universal Games has announced that Evil Genius, a PC strategy title which places players in the role of a spy movie style villain and challenges them to build an island fortress and Doomsday device, has gone gold and will arrive at retail on October 1st.

That makes me a happy man.

2004-08-17T23:08:00.000-04:00

TAKE THAT CORPORATE AMERICA!

Phelps just won the gold in the swimming relay. His teammate after seeing him do that screamed "Fuck yeah!!!" and it was broadcast on national television. I find this little moment enjoyable. Haha censors! Got ya!

2004-08-17T21:14:00.000-04:00

Once again I return...

This time from Tampa. Blogging shall resume tomorrow.

2004-08-12T13:40:00.000-04:00

Same sex marriages in CA voided

According to Poliblogger all same sex marriage licenses issued in CA are now void.

I'm sure that's going to make many a tad bit annoyed...

2004-08-12T13:05:00.000-04:00

Text messages a new form of spam?

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,64536,00.html

Known as TxtMob, the new service from the Institute for Applied Autonomy was unveiled last month at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. There, TxtMob allowed more than 260 subscribers to automatically blast text messages to the mobile phones of every other subscriber.

That's absolutely terrible, soon we all shall be recieving not only just spam in our mailboxes, but now on our cell phones. I hope that there is some way to block this, because I certainly don't want to get them.

2004-08-08T12:04:00.000-04:00

My thoughts on Doom 3...

So, here I am typing this entry about Doom 3. I would rather be playing Doom 3 but of course, the game is so incredibly taxing on my system resources that it decides to randomly crash on me, and sometimes when it's feeling nice, just quit.

But of course if I could get the game to run 100% on me, I would say that the game is great, amazing, beautiful. Because well...it is. When the game runs the gameplay is incredible. The world that Id crafted for Doom 3 is so...real. Everything when the game begins seems like it could be plausible. I like it.

Graphics even on low are nice (even when they crash the computer ;p).

The atmosphere goes from one of a safe secure area to one where danger is lurking around the corner. The 5.1 sound really helps this one out here...

But yeah, the game would be great if it didn't require so much to run.

THE END.

2004-08-08T11:56:00.000-04:00

Community Service?!

Yup, that's what I was doing this past week (Tuesday-Friday), well not every waking moment but a lot.

I was part of the staff at a thing we called "Work Camp". The kids who went to it were going into 7th-10th grade and we took them around and did community service.

When we were not helping the community we were in the camp doing activities that would help further the ideals behind the camp.

It was definitely interesting and fun. I'm exhausted to say the least.

The funny thing is, I had to take days off of work to work, heh.

2004-08-07T15:36:00.000-04:00

I return!

I am back from my little service activity, more details later.

2004-08-02T21:28:00.000-04:00

DOOM 3

Comes out tomorrow.

I. Cannot. Wait.

Oh...and

100th post!!!!

yay.

2004-07-31T00:16:00.000-04:00

Notable Games of the upcoming month of August

Here's a little thing I think I am going to do on the last day of every month. It's basically just going to be a heads up on what games I feel are going to be good that are released in the next month.

August 3rd- Doom 3- Shooter- PC

Here comes one of the big guns finally, Doom 3 which has been delayed and delayed is finally coming out. This at it's original release date was going to be competition for the other big shooter of the year Half-Life 2, but no one knows where that is right now. So it looks like Doom 3 is going to have a bit of a head start.

Some good points of the game: The Graphics look absolutely amazing, it's being made by Id software (which is a big plus in my mind) and well, it's another Doom!!!!! (Look for that chainsaw!)

Why you should get it: Id software not only makes brilliant games but...well, sucessful ones! They put the time and effort into their games to make sure they are top notch and worthy of being released. Even though Doom 3 is a remake of the original Doom, it's still a must own. Updated graphics, story, everything. It's going to be a scary shooter to remember! Do you have your prereserve?

August 17th- Metal Slug Advance- Action- GBA

A port of a good game put out by SNK. This is one of SNK's top guns along with it's fighting games (which it is mostly known for). It features colorful graphics, challenging gameplay, and it's addictive.

Some Good points of the Game: Graphics, fast, fun, and addicting gameplay.

Why you should get it: I love Metal Slug, it's an amazing sidescrolling action game, and it is great to be able to bring anywhere with you. I definitely approve of it, so you should get it!

August 24th- Viewtiful Joe- Action/Adventure- PS2

Another port here, except this time from Gamecube over to PS2. Originally this game was going to be one of the Capcom exclusives to the Gamecube but obviously, things have changed.

Some Good points of the Game: Viewtiful Joe makes use of it's cartoonish style well. Interesting gameplay and a interesting story. Puzzles are placed throughout the game that force you to think and make use of Joe's skills.

Why you should get it: Good games on the GC are just as good on the PS2! A unique game that definitely needs to be tried. And this PS2 version includes the Capcom hero Dante from the Devil May Cry Series as an extra bonus.

August 31st- Star Ocean: Till the End of Time- RPG- PS2

The third installment of the Star Ocean series. I have good hopes for this game since the 2nd one Star Ocean a second story on the Playstation was amazing. The Japanese version of this game was full of bugs and bad gameplay but those things have been fixed in time for the American version.

Some Good points of the Game: An RPG with Realtime Combat, a gripping story.

Why you should get it: Enix (Square Enix now) has always filled their RPGs with such enormous amounts of content. I played the 2nd installment of this series for 140 hours, and loved every bit of it. The best part was I still didn't finish everything. If you want a large scale RPG with tons of side quests and games, this is definitely for you!

2004-07-30T01:11:00.000-04:00

Ayn Rand's We The Living

Chapter 1

Things in Russia have violently changed. Capitalistic Russian has moved to Communist Russia. The whites obviously lost to the reds.

The Argounov family used to be a part of the upper class, they owned a factory and were used to the high ammenities of life. After Russia fell to Communism (something they thought was overly silly and wouldn't last too long (at least the mother thought)) they lost their factory, their money, and their home.

The book starts off by painting a vivd picture of how things have changed, the old trainstation for instance is just maintained enough to keep it working, it's apparently never cleaned. People have hope but it seems lost in the business of all that is Communism and it's ideals. Everything is thrown together and people are expected to follow. That's why they never know what time the trains are coming. But of course, they have to wait, if they leave, they can miss their chance.

On the train we meet Kira Argounov who is seemingly a bright light in the dreary times. She still upholds the values that she has lived with during her life as an upperclassmen. She looks arrogantly on other passengers, but not in a bad manner, more in the self concious way, it's like knowing something they don't. Ironically she is not only placed in the middle of the room and thought to be almost well enough to be on a pedastal, but also split between two equal sides of ten, one side with white specks of dust (obviously representing the whites and how futile their struggle was) and the other side obviously the contrast; the reds.

Kira's older sister seems to have given in and accepted the fact that Communism is there to stay, where the mother accepts it but wishes for it to be gone. At this part of the book (the very beginning of course) Kira seems a mix between these two, having accepted the fact that communism is here, but wanting to fight it.

A soldier on the train sings while playing his accordian. He sings the new song of the revolution, as put by the book. This song is of course blind and full of many different emotions as people are still unsure of how to react to the new circumstances that make their lives go like clockwork.

An incident occurs during the shadow of night as a peasant woman tied her feet to a rope so she wouldn't fall when trying to switch cars. She of course fell asleep and was found the next morning decapitated. This of course shows that getting caught between the whites and reds can only cause trouble.

A final moment takes place at the end of the chapter. As the train reaches Petrograd. Kira feels her step off the train to be important although hurried. She feels her foot fly through the air before it touches the ground and enters into a whole new world.

2004-07-29T22:50:00.000-04:00

He's still going...

*He wants America to be interdependent vs. dependent on oil money. Good.

*Hmm...he just compared himself to FDR? I wouldn't go that far...

*Talent into the government vs. just party members. Well I hope so...

*He sees us striding forward into a more advanced society, he's comparing what we [he] can do to such things such as the Wright Brothers and the landing on the moon...

Yeah.

Go Kerry Go?

Sounds good. I liked it.

He stumbled over a few words but he made some solid statements about terrorism, and what we need to do inside America now. I'm pleased.

What's everyone else think?

2004-07-29T22:36:00.000-04:00

Continuing...

Questioning the democracy is patriotism.

"The flag doesn't belong to a party or ideology, it belongs to the people."

2004-07-29T22:30:00.000-04:00

Damn good remark

"You will only be asked to go to war with a plan for peace."

2004-07-29T22:26:00.000-04:00

Kerry speech update...

His opening line was a little cheesy but eh, it did it's purpose.

He has been running through the typical things, the economy, rights for women, the war, the enviroment Vietnam, and such. Everything sounds good so far.

He made a few funnies, the West Wing thing was a little uhh..yeah...heh but good I guess.

He looks to get a little irked when people don't stop cheering haha.

Best line so far... "I'm going to appoint an attorney general who upholds the constitution."

Oh, another he just said: "Saying there is WMD's doesn't make it so."

2004-07-29T22:09:00.000-04:00

Here we go...

Make this a good one Kerry!

2004-07-29T19:32:00.000-04:00

O'Reilly? Owned

On a recent showing of the O'Reilly factor Michael Moore was on and debated with O'Reilly. It's an interesting read. The partial transcript of the show can be found here.

Here's a few of my favorites of it...

BILL O'REILLY, HOST: The issues… all right good. Now, one of the issues is you because you’ve been calling Bush a liar on weapons of mass destruction, the Senate Intelligence Committee, Lord Butler’s investigation in Britain and now the 9/11 Commission have all come out and said there was no lying on the part of President Bush. Plus, Vladimir Putin has said his intelligence told Bush there were weapons of mass destruction. Wanna apologize to the president now or later?

MOORE: He didn’t tell the truth, he said there were weapons of mass destruction.

O'REILLY: Yeah, but he didn’t lie, he was misinformed by — all of those investigations come to the same conclusion. That’s not a lie.

MOORE: Uh huh. So, in other words, if I told you right now that nothing was going on down here on the stage…

O'REILLY: That would be a lie because we could see that wasn’t the truth.

...

O'REILLY: OK, he [Woodward] says in his book George Tenet looked the president in the eye, like how I am looking you in the eye right now and said, “President, weapons of mass destruction are a quote, end quote, ‘slam dunk.’” If you’re the president, you ignore all that?

MOORE: Yeah, I would say that the CIA had done a pretty poor job.

O'REILLY: I agree. Tenet was fired.

...

MOORE: OK, so he screws up September 11th. Why would you then listen to him, he says this is a “slam dunk” and your going to go to war.

O'REILLY: You’ve got MI-6 and Russian intelligence because they’re all saying the same thing that’s why. You’re not going to apologize to Bush, you are going to continue to call him a liar.

MOORE: Oh, he lied to the nation, Bill, I can’t think of a worse thing to do for a president to lie to a country to take them to war. I mean, I don’t know a worse…

O'REILLY: It wasn’t a lie.

MOORE: He did not tell the truth, what do you call that?

O'REILLY: I call that bad information, acting on bad information; not a lie.

...

O'REILLY: Alright, I’ve got another question…

MOORE: Would you sacrifice — just finish on this — would you sacrifice your child to remove one of the other 30 brutal dictators on this planet?

O'REILLY: Depends what the circumstances were.

MOORE: You would sacrifice your child?

O'REILLY: I would sacrifice myself — I’m not talking for any children —to remove the Taliban. Would you?

...

MOORE: Say, “I, Bill O’Reilly, would sacrifice my child to secure Fallujah.”

O'REILLY: I’m not going to say what you say, you’re a, that’s ridiculous…

MOORE: You don’t believe that. Why should Bush sacrifice the children of people across America for this?

...

Even if you don't like Michael Moore, you have to admit, he can at least debate well.

2004-07-29T17:28:00.000-04:00

Sticks and Stones may not break bones but it still doesn't make it right

Captain Ed at Captains Quarters in response to the article about how American Muslims are being discriminated against writes...

Well, excuse me, but no s**t, Sherlock! I guarantee you that 60% of all Americans worry about the future of their families since 9/11. I worry about it every time I see my granddaughter, the Little Admiral. In terms of respect for their religion, it would help if groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and other such organizations would worry less about namecalling and more about urging American Muslims to cooperate with law enforcement. Instead, we mostly hear how our foreign policy led to 9/11 and our need to listen to the terrorists rather than hunt them down and kill them.
And now we have this ridiculous study that claims 15% have received serious harrassment, only to find out that tasteless jokes count in the survey. Gee, can I start a survey among Irish-Americans that count every alcohol-related wisecrack I ever heard? How about having the Italian-American Anti-Defamation League ask their members if they've ever been asked, "What do you hear from the mob these days?" (On second thought, let's not. They'd actually take that suggestion seriously.)

Well excuse me if you think the facts may be skewed a bit, but that doesn't make them any less real. As far as I knew we lived in America and in America, we have something called the Constitution and with this document called the Constitution it gives us certain liberties and rights.

One of those rights happens to be pursuit of happiness, and these comments seem to be affecting that. Would you like to constantly be slandered and put down because of your race or your religion? I don't think so.

What if everyone said that Captain Ed because he had a blog automatically knew where to find gold? But really only a few bloggers knew this truth, and he was really ignorant of the actual place of the gold. All of a sudden they would call Captain Ed, arrogant, pretentious, and greedy for not sharing the hiding place of this gold. Kind of a weird hypothetical situation but still true.

Remember just because they are Muslim Americans it doesn't mean that they automatically know about terrorists or the terrorist agenda. Please have some consideration and stop being ignorant. Telling American Muslims to give in to the unjust discrimination they already are facing is just blasphemous.

Sticks and Stones may break bones but names will never hurt them. It still doesn't mean it should be done just because it has no apparent effect. It's doing things like that, being bullies, and name calling that make people hate you.

2004-07-29T16:31:00.000-04:00

Thanks Blogger!

~~So, I post something and my blog layout goes nuts. And I can't fix it. My comments are gone too. FIX THIS CRAP BLOGGER.~~

Screw you blogger, I fixed it myself. It had something to do with your weird Blog this link.

I don't know how it screwed everything up, but it did. I picked a different layout because of that crazy thing too. I guess this shall be the new layout for a bit.

Heh, my favorite part of this whole thing was my traffic randomly came to a halt. As of right now I've had 2 people to the site all day. Gah.

Anyone ever have any similar problems with blogger like this?

2004-07-29T00:48:00.000-04:00

I'd sure like to be slashdotted you know...

Slashdot | P2P Leaks Surprises

2004-07-28T11:15:00.000-04:00

Nintendo Unveils final DS design

"The new design, which you can see on this page, is the result of Nintendo's search for "a slimmer, sharper look", and one more in tune with an older audience - echoing the company's design for the GBA SP in many ways. It's certainly more akin to the PSP than it is to the unit which was unveiled at E3."

This is something that I can't wait for to come out. I'm not sure if I am actually going to purchase it, but I just wanna see what Nintendo is going to do with all the games and the two screens (aside from what I've already seen.)

Link Below:

gamesindustry.biz - Publishing section

2004-07-28T02:14:00.000-04:00

Is this going a bit overboard?

"Dozens of Patriot missiles have been put in place around Athens as the Greek capital began rolling out its security operation for next month's Olympics."

Do we really need anti-aircraft missles to protect the olympics? Seriously, this is going just a bit overboard...

Article below:

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Athens installs Patriot missiles

2004-07-27T00:48:00.000-04:00

While reading (www.captainsquartersblog.com) Captain's Quarters I read a comment and came across a fellow bloggers site. That site is (http://plastichallway.blogspot.com) Plastic Hallway. I began reading and noticed that he decided to post Al Gores speech from the DNC and made some comments of his own. Well I’m going to copy that and post some comments on his… (The original is in black, his comments in red, mine in blue).

Here's Gore's remarks from the DNC with thoughts added: Friends, fellow Democrats, fellow Americans: (except you chicken f***ing mother f***ers from Florida, you cost me the f***ing White House!!!)

(I love how he automatically goes off by trying to prove that allusion)
I'll be candid with you. I had hoped to be back here this week under different circumstances, running for re-election. (But instead I'm a has been hack)

(Realizing that candidates are more qualified than others IS a good thing you know. But yeah, that comment is kinda right on.)

But you know the old saying: you win some, you lose some. And then there's that little-known third category. (Men who lose while wearing women's underwear)

(No comment, sigh)

I didn't come here tonight to talk about the past. After all, I don't want you to think I lie awake at night counting and recounting sheep. (No, I dream of Florida ballots that are twenty feet high and crush me like a little insignificant pimple)

(Well this man can be an idiot sometimes, another comment that seems right on heh.)

I prefer to focus on the future because I know from my own experience that America is a land of opportunity, where every little boy and girl has a chance to grow up and win the popular vote. (Yes, I'm still whining about that. Wait, oh yeah, naturalized citizens can't be president. That's right Arnie, who's the girlie man now!!!)

(Yeah that kinda was a Bush bash, but well deserved.)[the thing Gore said]

In all seriousness, I am deeply grateful for the opportunity you have given me to serve America. I want to thank you as Democrats for the honor of being your nominee for president four years ago. (Not that you'd make that mistake again)

(I believe it was Bush that was the mistake. Look outside, look at the cameras watching you…)

And I want to thank the American people for the privilege of serving as vice-president. (I was just as scared as you were of my being one BJ induced heart attack away from the Oval Office)

(Oh yes, there is nothing to fear with the current presidency and vice presidency! What happens if one chokes on a pretzel dies, and the other finds him and his robotic body goes into shock from seeing that and has a heart attack and dies?! THEN WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?!)

And most of all, I want to thank my family with all my heart -- my children and grandchildren, and especially my beloved partner in life, Tipper. (How in God's name I ended up marrying someone named Tipper I'll never know. Oh, that's right, it was that drunken night at Disneyworld when I thought I was marrying Tigger. Oh well, live and learn)

(Speaking of drunken people, how about those Bush twins…)

I love this country deeply, and even though I always look to the future with optimism and hope -- I do think it is worth pausing for just a moment as we begin this year's convention, to take note of two very important lessons from four years ago. The first lesson is this: take it from me -- every vote counts. (Especially you f***ers in Florida)

(Unless you accidentally misplace or throw out hundreds of votes!)

In our Democracy, every vote has power. And never forget: that power is yours. Don't let anyone take it away or talk you into throwing it away. (Throw it away like a hanging chad on the floor of that unfair recount)

(Yes votes do have power! Until the Bush regime declares them unconstitutional and declares elections unnecessary as the nation already has THE BEST PRESIDENT IN THE UNIVERSE.)

And let's make sure that this time every vote is counted. (Especially Democratic votes. Let's count those twice. Do you think the Kennedy's still have pull in Chicago?)

(Wasn’t it the Bush people who were fixing the votes hmm? Jeb Bush hmm? HMM?)

Let's make sure not only that the Supreme Court does not pick the next President, but also that this President is not the one who picks the next Supreme Court. (Then let's bitch if Republicans ever filibuster anything. Anything at all)

(Bush would never try court packing! NEVER! He’s TOO REPUBLICAN TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!)

The second lesson from 2000 is this: what happens in a presidential election matters. (Yes, it actually took my losing the election to learn that) A lot. (Seriously... I had no idea of even how an election worked before 2000)

( 9/11, 9/11, 9/11, Terrorists, Terrorists, Terrorists)

The outcome profoundly affects the lives of all 293 million Americans -- and people in the rest of the world too. The choice of who is president affects your life and your family's future. (That's why you should be glad you didn't vote me in when you had the chance)

(It also affects the lives of innocent foreigners!)

And never has this been more true than in 2004, because -- let's face it -- our country faces deep challenges. (Like where I am going to get my next cheeseburger)

(The fact that that comment was made is hilarious. He is taking something that the Bush’s support so much [corporate America] and putting it as the thing that people think about all the time. OMG NO BUSH NO CHEESEBURGERS! WHO ELSE IS GOING TO SUPPORT THE BILLIONARE CORPORATIONS?!!?)

These challenges we now confront are not Democratic or Republican challenges; they are American challenges -- that we all must overcome together. (Unless the Democrats disagree with the Republican solution. Then we'll filibuster)

(As far as I am concerned the Republicans have not solved anything in the past four years. Nothing important at least.)

It is in that spirit, that I sincerely ask those watching at home who supported President Bush four years ago: did you really get what you expected from the candidate you voted for? (Because if you think he's bad... Just imagine how crappy a job I would have done!!!)

( 9/11, 9/11, 9/11, Terrorists, Terrorists, Terrorists)

Is our country more united today? (You people who know your ass from your ankles... You keep quiet)

(Is this man trying to say the country is united? Is he on crack or something?)

Or more divided? (Let's hope the press can spin it as more divided)

(You don’t need the press to take a look outside and see the anti war protesters, or the people who violently support Bush or Kerry.)

Has the promise of compassionate conservatism been fulfilled? (Absolutely)

(Bush: How many more innocent lives do you think we can take before it isn’t considered compasionate guys?
Rumsfeld: Thousands!
Bush: Let’s Roll.)

Or do those words now ring hollow? (Only if I say them in the Grand Canyon)

(Ignorance is what drives some people I guess…)

For that matter, are the economic policies really conservative at all? (Hell no... Let's just tax everyone til they croak)

(Better yet! Let’s put the country more in debt by…WAIT CANADA HAS TERRORISTS?!?! ATTACK THEM!!!! *debt goes up 1 billion more*)

Did you expect, for example, the largest deficits in history? One after another? And the loss of more than a million jobs? (Thank you Clinton White House)

(Clinton hasn’t been in office for 12 years has he?)

By the way, I know about the bad economy. I was the first one laid off. And while it's true that new jobs are being created, they're just not as good as the jobs people have lost. And incidentally, that's been true for me too. (I created the internet, and even I couldn't find a job)

(Another McDonalds does not count as jobs.)

Unfortunately, this is no joke for millions of Americans. And the real solutions require us to transcend partisanship. (Because we've shown what a bang up job we can do of that so far)

(Of course, lets just pretend everything is the Democrats fault and everything will be okay.)

So that's one reason why, even though we meet here as Democrats, we believe this is a time to reach beyond our party lines to Republicans as well. (And strangle those jerks before they have a chance to steal my White House again)

(More like…LOOK AT WHO YOU VOTED FOR, A RETARDED WARMONGER!)

I also ask tonight for the help of those who supported a third party candidate in 2000. I urge you to ask yourselves this question: do you still believe that there was no difference between the candidates? (Or, as a Democrat, did you really just feel I was an incredible waste of a vote)

(Wait…There’s a third party?!?!!)

Are you troubled by the erosion of some of America's most basic civil liberties? (Like marriage, religious freedoms, and other things the ACLU seeks to destroy)

(As if Emperor Bush hasn’t already done enough to do that already.)

Are you worried that our environmental laws are being weakened and dismantled to allow vast increases in pollution that are contributing to a global climate crisis? (I'll just keep making this shit up until someone finds out I'm full of it)

(Alaska)

No matter how you voted in the last election, these are profound problems that all voters must take into account this November 2d. (Which is why I'm gonna vote for Bush)

(So, this guy’s a terrorist)

And of course, no challenge is more critical than the situation we confront in Iraq. Regardless of your opinion at the beginning of this war, isn't it now obvious that the way the war has been managed by the Administration has gotten us into very serious trouble? (By we, I mean Democrats who have spoken out against it and now look like a bunch of idiots)

(GOD FORBIDS ANYONE TO HAVE AN OPINION ASIDE FROM THE BUSH REGIME’S!)

Wouldn't we be better off with a new President who hasn't burned his bridges to our allies, and who could rebuild respect for America in the world? (And maybe we could have gotten some of that oil for food money that France is hoarding)

(It will take more than just 4 years to get back America’s credibility, that’s what he’s saying. WAIT. I have the perfect solution. We start another world war, and then come out as the good guys! Then everyone will like us again!)

Isn't cooperation with other nations crucial to solving our dilemma in Iraq? Isn't it also critical to defeating the terrorists? (Boy, am I gonna look stupid when people remember that over 30 countries are aiding us in Iraq)

(They don’t count as nations, they are either nothings, trying to come into sight by participating in a large scale event, or pawns, like Britain.)

We have to be crystal clear about the threat we face from terrorism. It is deadly. It is real. It is imminent. (And the Democrats want to talk it to death while it's ramming nuclear weapons up my butt)

(Oops, did you get stuck in Nevada or something?)

But in order to protect our people, shouldn't we focus on the real source of this threat: the group that attacked us and is trying to attack us again -- al Qaeda, headed by Osama Bin Laden? (Not that I know where he is... It just sounds good when I sound like I do)

(Not that I like to make dumb comments to try and make someone seem less credible…wait…)

Wouldn't we be safer with a President who didn't insist on confusing al Qaeda with Iraq? Doesn't that divert too much of our attention away from the principal danger? (Oh, wait, didn't I read something in the paper about Iraq being an acknowledged imminent threat and an aide to OBL)

(We were aides to Bin Laden once, doesn’t that make us terrorists? OH! Things are different! I forgot, we’re America, we can do that.)

(And lets not forget guys, life lesson here. BELIEVE EVERYTHING THE MEDIA TELLS YOU!)

I want to say to all Americans this evening that whether it is the threat to the global environment or the erosion of America's leadership in the world, whether it is the challenge to our economy from new competitors or the challenge to our security from new enemies, I believe that we need new leadership that is both strong and wise. (Again, it's a dang good thing I didn't make it into the White House)

(Like Bush did anything for the economy!)

And we can have new leadership, because one of our greatest strengths as a democracy is that when we are headed in the wrong direction, we can correct our course. (Like we did in 2000)

(Cheating doesn’t count.)

When policies are clearly not working, we can change them. If our leaders make mistakes, we can hold them accountable - even if they never admit their mistakes. (I did not have sexual relations with that girl)

(Sex is sex, okay? People’s lives are another thing.)

I firmly believe America needs new leadership that will make us stronger at home and respected in the world. (Especially in countries that want us to be weak and open to terrorist threats)

(Yeah! Let’s provoke them some more that way that not only hate us more, but we can beef up our defenses more! READING 1984 IS ILLEGAL.)

We are here this week to present to the nation the man who should be our new president: John Kerry. (Supported by al-Qaeda and Frenchmen everywhere)

(George Bush: Supported by Idiots, Hicks, the Ignorant, and Billionares everywhere!)

John and I were elected to the US Senate on the same day 20 years ago and I have worked closely with him for all that time. So I want to say a personal word about John Kerry the man. (He needs to stop taking bathing lessons from his wife. Two words John... Zestfully Clean)

(…)

He is a friend who will stand by you. His word is his bond. He has a deep patriotism that goes far beyond words. He has devoted his life to making America a better place for all of us. (All of us pretentious millionaires that is. We couldn't give a rat's ass about you nameless peons. Especially you peons in Florida)

(That’s a very unfair comment as EVERYONE who can possibly run for the presidency is a millionare. Oh wait Bush isn’t pretentious? Oh yeah, he’s just dumber than a seven-year old.)

He showed uncommon heroism on the battlefield in Vietnam. I watched him show that same courage on the Senate floor. He had the best record of protecting the environment against polluters of any of my colleagues - bar none. (That's right, he stubbed his toe on the carpet on the Senate floor and demanded another Purple Heart right then and there... All while trying to get out of room to avoid another floor vote)

(At least he wasn’t afraid to fight for his country [instead of sending 18 year olds to go do it for him.])

He never shied away from a fight, no matter how powerful the foe. He was never afraid to take on difficult and thankless issues that few others wanted to touch -- like exposing the threat of narcoterrorism and tracing the sources of terrorist financing. (And pissing on his brother-in-arms back in Vietnam)

(Oh don’t mind Bush, he wasn’t doing anything like that! In fact, he wasn’t doing anything at all! Wait. He still isn’t!)

He was one of the very first in our party to take on the issue of drastic deficit reduction. He has developed a tough and thoughtful plan to restore our economic strength and fiscal discipline. (By supporting his wife's ketchup interests as they move money out of the US and open factories in Mexico)

(This is my favorite ignorant comment. BUSH IS BRINGING FOREIGN WORKERS INTO THE UNITED STATES! That’s taking American jobs away. Dumbass)

To put it simply, those of us who have worked with John know that he has the courage, integrity and leadership to be a truly great President of the United States. (In a movie about ass clowns)

(I heard there was one made about this one guy and it started with an F…)

And he showed wisdom in his very first decision as the leader of our party -- when he picked as his running mate an inspiring fighter for middle class families and families struggling to reach the middle class: John Edwards. (Injured in an accident? Call John Edwards. You don't pay until he collects)

(Quick! Chenny’s having another heart attack!)

John Kerry and John Edwards are fighting for us and for all Americans, so after we nominate them here in Boston and return to our home states across this land, we have to fight for them. (Because no one outside of this room will)

(Yeah, I thought Bush was supposed to educate the ignorant! But I guess since they think he’s amazing or something like that, he’s not gonna.)

Talk to your friends and neighbors, go to "JohnKerry.com," raise money, register voters and get them to the polls, volunteer your time, and above all: make your vote count. (Vote early and vote often)

(We promise we won’t lose your vote!)

To those of you who felt disappointed or angry with the outcome in 2000, I want you to remember all of those feelings. But then I want you to do with them what I have done: focus them fully and completely on putting John Kerry and John Edwards in the White House. (Because we all know that an angry electorate is a Democratic electorate)

(Republicans don’t get angry, they get ignorant!)

Fellow Democrats, when I look out and see so many friends who have meant so much to me in my own public service, my heart is full tonight. I thank you for all the love you've shown Tipper and me. You will forever be in our hearts. (Right next to Tigger)

(Americana…will you marry me?)

There's someone else I'd like to thank, and that's the man who asked me to join him on the ticket at our convention 12 years ago, my friend -- and my partner for eight years -- President Bill Clinton. (I love you Bill... Now dump that Hillary... We're in Massachusetts... Let's get hitched)

(I love how he gay bashes. Typical Republican.)

I'll never forget that convention or that campaign -- the way we barnstormed the country, carrying a message of hope and change, believing with our whole hearts that America could be made new again. (By legalizing gay marriage and banning the ten commandments from the minds of everyone everywhere)

(I am a very active Catholic and I am for seperation of church and state.)

And so it was. And with your help, and with the leadership of John Kerry and John Edwards, so it shall be again. (Unless of course we let Florida vote... Then we're screwed)

(Pick a state that isn’t ran by the Regime’s brother!)

Thank you -- God bless you and your families -- and may God bless the United States of America. (Just don't repeat that phrase in a public place or I'll send the ACLU after you)

(And may Bush be with you.)

Blah, either this guy has been PROPAGANDA'ED to death or is just really ignorant...

2004-07-27T00:22:00.000-04:00

Alien Hominid

This game brought to my attention (although I'm sure I've seen this somewhere...) by yesterdays' Penny Arcade rant looks amazing. Currently being developed by The Behemoth a console game development studio in San Diego, CA which promises to provide a good game at a good price based on mainstream ideals in the game world at the time.

Two games come to mind when I see this, Metal Slug and Viewtiful Joe. This of course is not a bad thing since both of those games are unique, fun, and most definitely good. From the gameplay movie on the (www.alienhominid.com) site the game looks to be a very pleasing action game with colorful graphics and tons of interesting things in it (such as well from what I saw, Communists, The FBI, and such).

I have high hopes for this game which is supposed to come out in Q3 of 2004 (which is sometime soon). Once it comes out I shall get it and bust out a review here.

2004-07-26T22:01:00.000-04:00

Fable is coming...

On September 13th...I can't wait!

I picked up my prelease bonus dvd, time to indulge now!!! Lets see how one of my predicted top games of '04 is looking...

Xbox: Fable

2004-07-26T21:04:00.000-04:00

This radio thing here!

Skidmore college radio

Listen to me and my friend every Monday's 5-6pm on the webcast!

2004-07-25T01:11:00.000-04:00

2004-07-23T00:59:00.000-04:00

Flash animation on Privacy

ACLU - Pizza

An interesting take on what could happen if the government is allowed to continue with all of it's anti-privacy acts.

2004-07-22T23:47:00.000-04:00

Fish take revenge

ABC13.com: Man says 30-pound barracuda jumped in the boat and bit him

That story is absolutely HILARIOUS. That is all.

2004-07-22T01:35:00.000-04:00

My latest contribution to the Everything2 community

Mutant Aliens@Everything2.com

2004-07-21T23:42:00.000-04:00

Pushes for a higher minimum wage in NY

As of the 15th of this month there has been a bill put to the senate to try and improve the NY state minimum wage from 5.15 to 7.10. The Department of Labor says that workers who are covered by the FLSA are entitled to a minimum wage of not less than $5.15 an hour. Currently 5.15 is below the povertly level so an increase would raise the yearly wage from (of working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year) from $ 10712 to $14768.

I'm all for a raise in wages here. People should not be living in poverty, and if they are things like this wage increase need to take place.

The question that this brings to my mind is how does it affect jobs with tips? Currently I make 4.50 an hour plus my tips, is my wage going to increase?

The New York Times > New York Region > Business Group Backs Raise in New York Minimum Wage

2004-07-21T03:25:00.000-04:00

Today on My Opinion Counts...

Me and my habit of reading...

So...I finished that beast of a book Cryptonomicon (Neal Stephenson) last week and now I have moved on to another...Well, moved on and finished another. That other being Brave New World (Aldous Huxley).

A basic synopsis of the book would be that hundreds of years A.F. (After Ford) [That's the assembly line creator, not the president] the government has built people just like they once built cars, on an assembly line and these people are conditioned to act certain ways, and to never question the validity of their actions. All of this is done in the name of happiness, to provide blissful ignorance at the cost of reality.

I must say that the book was everything I expected and more. Publsihed in 1932 the book still provides a powerful inquiry towards actions taken by society all in the name of happiness. In fact, I found myself parallelling events in the book to events that have taken place within the past few years in all for the sake of safety [happiness].

I found myself to agree with many of the points brought up in the book as I myself would rather be exposed to the harsh realities than the simple fake ones.

The book also being 'dystopian' made it all the more exciting for me as that is my favorite type of literature. In fact I myself am researching and writing bits for a dystopian piece myself.

Has anyone else read this? What were your thoughts on it? Think of anything else similar that I might enjoy? Throw those comments out!

(Brave New World can be picked up on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060929871/qid=1090395975/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/002-6501334-6500011?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

2004-07-20T01:23:00.000-04:00

Hope Diamond move on over...

http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10190125^13762,00.html

The world's largest diamond was just uncovered. This new record holder is the size of a bowling ball. Just wow.

I wonder if for some reason this large diamond will inherit a curse similar to that of the Hope Diamonds...

2004-07-17T11:36:00.000-04:00

As much as I am loving this sudden influx of traffic...

I need to realize it's just people looking for torrents. Blah

http://www.sitemeter.com/stats/default.asp?action=stats&site=s16UPC747&report=11

A lot of people I guess, but eh, at least I'm getting some traffic minus the few of you that actually check my blog.

Ha.

New way to get a sudden influx of traffic to your blog! Mention something popular at the moment such as http://www.bittorent.com (oh hehe) and get unique hits! GO!

Hopefully I pick up some actual readers from this...

2004-07-17T11:07:00.000-04:00

I feel really safe now

http://datacenter.ap.org/./wdc/fbiweapons.pdf

Amaze yourself at all the possible concealable weapons. Some of these things are really unbelievable.

2004-07-17T00:41:00.000-04:00

Jack Black as the Green Lantern

http://go.fark.com/cgi/fark/go.pl?IDLink=1040082&location=http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi%3fid=17971

First there was Daredevil, now this.

Yes, let's ruin all our favorite comic book heroes!

2004-07-16T00:01:00.000-04:00

Well that's odd...

http://www.theomahachannel.com/150thbirthday/3528737/detail.html

Is it just me or does that story about how Omaha was bombed by the Japanese seem to mysteriously fit in with the theme that "if the japanese struck that little town for no apparent reason, THE TERRORISTS COULD STRIKE ANYWHERE ANYTIME?!?!"

Hmm? Anyone?

2004-07-15T00:38:00.000-04:00

Doom 3 goes gold

http://www.shacknews.com/finger/?fid=toddh@idsoftware.com

Wow, this is like a dream come true...I'm actually going to get to play Doom 3 this year...

2004-07-14T12:10:00.000-04:00

Fallout 3 is a go

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/fallout3/news_6102349.html

Fallout 3 is going to happen, this makes me a happy happy person. As a enormous fan of Fallout I must say I cannot wait. I can only hope that the new developers stay true to what the Fallout series really is and make an amazing game.

2004-07-14T10:52:00.000-04:00

Cryptonomicon

I must admit it certainly was a long haul, but I finished the book. Heh, I've been reading it for months due to the fact that I had stuff to do and I kept putting it down, and picking it back up periodically, but alas it is done!

The book was definitely one of the more lengthy reads I have encountered. In fact, it's the 2nd longest book I have read (behind the uncut version of Stephen King's The Stand).

Anyways enough of the rambling and onward with the review...

Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon takes place in two distinct time periods, world war II, and the present. During these timelines Stephenson plays characters that directly relate back and forth throughout the years. The main (more prominant at least) characters of the book are (well there's quite a few...) Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse; Randy's grandfather and also important American cryptographer during WWII, Alan Turing; another famous cryptographer during WWII, Randy Waterhouse; the grandson of the cryptographer Lawrence Waterhouse, and new business visionary, Enoch Root; a Nipponese priest, Avi; One of Randy's business partners, Bobby Shaftoe; An American marine during WWII, and Goto Dengo; a Nipponese soldier. The main storyline goes like this; Randy Waterhouse and Avi (along with the rest of their business partners) try to start up a new company and create a place called the Crypt and deal out digital money from there. Everything else that happens in the book (such as the cracking of Axis codes) is either just a subplot or something in the WWII period to parallel the current happenings.

I think Cryptonomicon was decent, I have a thing for longer books, especially when I take so long to read them (heh), they tend to grow on me. One thing I did like about the book (which apparently in some reviews people absolutely hated) was how much detail was put into everything (there better be a lot of detail in such a long book like that). Stephenson goes through and explains every little thing that could possibly be wanted to be known, he explains a cryptosystem called Solitare, he goes into a deep explanation of Van Eck phreaking, and even has little pictures placed in the book showing an elaborate series of tunnels. I loved it, and I just ate it up. One thing in particular that I found kinda odd but did somehow keep with the flow of the book, was how Stephenson switched around characters and time periods. One chapter would be about Randy Waterhouse in the present, then the next about Bobby Shaftoe in WWII, it was just a little inconsistant I thought. The characters in the book were decent, Stephenson did a good job of characterizing them in the beginning but near the end a lot of the characters appeared the same (granted some took a few different actions but nothing mind blowing)as they were in the beginning.

But to sum everything up, I think the book is great, funny and a definite read for any geek, history buff, or person who just wants to read a good book.

I give it a 4/5

2004-07-14T02:13:00.000-04:00

People who should Watch the news

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/040712/photos_od_afp/040712175647_l1t5dlka_photo0&e=5

Picture here

"Seized cannabis plants. Greek police said that they stumbled across a cannabis plantation during the Olympic torch relay through the Island of Crete at the weekend(AFP/File/Yuri Cortez) "

I must just say "heh".

2004-07-11T20:21:00.000-04:00

Quarter 2

The summer has to be one of the most boring periods game wise. At least for an addict like me.

I buy games all the time, in fact I usually buy more than one game a month...well there's an exception; during the summer. During the summer the only games I tend to buy are used games for my old systems such as sega and playstation. And that's a rarity.

Why don't companies put out good Q2 games? I mean I can understand all the Q4 games since the big holidays, but why everything else but Q2? Shouldn't we be spreading this out a little bit?

According to the Gamespy release calendar, there is only one hyped (good) game coming out this summer.

DOOM 3 PC Shooter 08/03/2004

Wow, you really mean that game is actually coming out??! (btw where the hell is HL2???)

Maybe game companies could make a bit more in profit if they spread their games out a little bit. Instead of shoving them down everyones throats Q4 and Q1 when everyone only has so much money to spend, they should evenly place them out. Because with everything coming out all at once some games tend to be overlooked and then forgotten therefore not bought!

Also having games coming out at all different times tends to keep people continually in a state of anticipation and therefore ready to spend money.

Yeah. Maybe this just me complaining about the lack of new games (even though I have plenty I still need to finish) or maybe this could be an actual problem. Ha, I think it's a problem because I WANT MORE GAMES!

YEAH! Let me know what you think.

2004-07-09T00:03:00.000-04:00

Can PETA get any more wacky?

"In addition to alerting people to the hard fact that the growing problem of erectile dysfunction is linked to meat consumption, the ad reminds consumers, in a light-hearted way, that cows, chickens, and pigs shouldn’t be treated as "meat machines." On factory farms, sows are squeezed into tiny metal stalls that are barely larger than their bodies and kept constantly pregnant or nursing. Pigs have their tails chopped off and their teeth cut with pliers, and male pigs are castrated, without painkillers. Cows are branded, dehorned, and castrated, also without anaesthetics. Chickens are bred and drugged to grow so fast that their leg bones often splinter under their massive body weight. At slaughter, many are scalded alive in feather-removal tanks."

I'm sorry guys but pigs, cows, and chickens are my meat machines.

Am I the only one here who really gets upset by how PETA acts sometimes? First it's "bad for them!" then it's "immoral!", now it's "CAUSING ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION!!!". These people will stop at nothing to get their message across. I'm sorry but anyone who forcefully makes themselves NOT eat meat is crazy. It's natural, we're carnivores! First it goes from meat to vegetables, next thing you know it's going to be sex to artificial insemination. Because well, you know, THAT'S TOO GRAPHIC AND WRONG.

Yeah.

PETA.

DIE.

http://www.peta.org/news/NewsItem.asp?id=4600

2004-07-08T23:54:00.000-04:00

Self indulgence

Look at my pictures!

more here

2004-07-08T03:10:00.000-04:00

A bit late...

My thoughts on Fahrenheit 9/11

Fahrenheit 9/11

the latest of Michael Moore's movies has been ~~released into theaters~~ (oops, not the big chains of theaters, the kinda obscure ones that are way out of the way.)recently and is definitely making people think a bit more.

I did not watch this movie in a theater. In fact, I downloaded it off the internet. Why one may ask? Well, the closest theater playing Fahrenheit 9/11 is about an hour away and I have no idea where it is. Why? BECAUSE I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF IT.

That's my favorite part about this documentary based around 9/11 and the Bush administration. It's SO HARD TO SEE. GEEZE.

Anyways...a quote by Calvin Coolidge to sum of the documentary very well

"The business of America is business."

Yep, that's about right.

The documentary goes in depth in talking about how the bush administration not only stole the 2000 election, but also started an unjust war. As the story unfolds through clips of Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheny, Powell, all the big names talking we begin to see lies, twists, rhetoric, everything that shows how terrible of a government we currently have. We have unjust wars started over WMD's that were never found, civilians killed on both sides, and the actual perpetrator (or so the government says) of the entire 9/11 events never found. Sure, we GOT SADDAM! But hell, Saddam didn't do anything to us, BUT WE GOT HIM!!!!

This is something everyone needs to see, in fact if you haven't seen it, or it isn't in your area, I encourage you to download it from this bittorrent (You need to get Bittorent first http://www.bittorrent.com) and watch it.

To say the least the documentary is very powerful anti-war and anti-Bush propaganda. The scary part is what is happening today and tomorrow should be too.

I end my blog with a quote from one of our nations great men, James Madison.

"If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."

2004-06-24T03:09:00.000-04:00

Want something to completely scare the crap out of the animals you keep in your zoo?

Take a look at this!

Yes, let's have children popping up in bubbles next to the animals. Hmm, I don't know what I would do if someone popped up next to me completely unexpected...I probably would be SCARED OUT OF MY MIND.

So...Lets do the same to these animals!!!! YAY IT WILL BE FUN!!!

Brilliant. Absolutely Brilliant.

*sighs*

2004-06-22T13:39:00.000-04:00

THE RAIN!!!

I swear, the weather must hate me. Everytime I plan on going outside it is raining. Is this some kind of sign? I must never go outside! MY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!!! Or is it just nature screwing me over. Blah, I need to get me one of those weather control devices and make it nice and sunny out.

2004-06-15T21:01:00.000-04:00

Birth of an idea

Ahh, writing...it's been a long time.

Today I went out and decided to go to Borders and look for a book that may spark my interest. Once I got in I decided upon getting something of a more helpful than entertaining nature. I went to the writing section.

Since I tend to look at myself as an aspiring writer (others may too ;p) I picked up a book that I think will definitely fill in the 'help' bit, it's called The Writer's Idea Workshop: How to Make Your Good Ideas Great. I figure since I tend to come up with ideas a lot this would most definitely help me work out some of the little things and break the blocks I tend to end myself in.

My writing journal here tends to be a little sparse, I try to keep myself writing and ideas flowing but I tend to not continue my ideas. It's something I need to work on, once I get my intial details worked out, where do I go from there? Learning to cross the bridge that is blank thoughts (at least on my part heh) is something that is definitely going to be important to me.

As of now 6/15/04 I have only written one story; that story is a small bit that I posted in my writing journal based around the word 'antediviulian', hell I probably spelt it wrong there ha, it means antique, something old, as in pertaining to before the flood in biblical times. In the story I wrote we follow a man unnamed through his journey in an old house and watch him remember things that he saw as a child. The story although a bit rushed in the end I think, is an actual good story. Noted that I understand that that bit is just the raw story uneditted, but afterwards it would be quite good.

I want to be able to take my ideas like that and push them farther from short stories and more the the area of novels. Writing is an art and everything comes with practice I guess. This book is something I hope will help me fight through the idea I currently have and bring it into existance as a functional, living piece of my mind.

Yeah! And with that said, first off I find it ironic that I made a post of that length considering in the previous audio post I said "blogs tend to be short thoughts, not long written out words", heh, I'm silly like that sometimes.

Feel free to check out my writing journal and leave me comments pertaining to anything there, or if you want you can leave them here. Until then...

I'm out!

2004-06-15T20:32:00.000-04:00

2004-06-15T19:43:00.000-04:00

I'm back

That's right, Mr. Todd Johnson is back and into action!

My little hiatus of sorts was definitely interesting but thanks to an interesting email I recieved I think I shall continue the blogging. Apparently I can't escape writing hah.

So later tonight look for a post by yours truely!

2004-04-26T21:55:00.000-04:00

Freedom of Speech is still free.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/education/3224268/detail.html

2004-04-07T15:45:00.000-04:00

Oh snap, I got my www.cityofheroes.com beta account activated!

2004-03-28T23:34:00.000-05:00

Farcry is now in my hands, prepare for a review soon.

2004-03-27T12:19:00.000-05:00

This is kinda ironic...

This sort of conflicts with my last post which I find funny...Farcry is supposed to be out now I believe? I think I need to pick up a copy, beat it and push my review of of the full version out.

2004-03-27T12:13:00.000-05:00

How am I supposed to...

Lately I have had no time to do anything outside of really homework, update this, and a few other select things. I think that sucks a lot because well, I don't have time to read (I get magazines in the mail, they are in a pile,4 of them in fact that I haven't read yet.), and I most definitely do not have time to play games.

That's a biggie, heh, aside from the occasional quick online game I really haven't had time to sit down and play anything for a really long time. I know FFX-2 and the Mario and Luigi Superstar saga are begging me to finish them, but I sure wish I had the time. Blah! How am I supposed to keep up with the latest games if I haven't finished the old ones? (hell, even touched some of them, in fact Disgaea stares back at me waiting to be christened into my PS2...)

To sum things up, having no time, lots of books, magazines, and games sucks (oh having to sleep, go to school, and work too.)

Blah, maybe another entry tonight? Which my end up translating to early tomorrow morning, we'll see.

2004-03-25T23:49:00.000-05:00

It's List Mania!

At Resurrectionsong.com

Favorite All Time Albums

1) Catch22- Keasbey Nights
2) Mephiskapheles- Maxium Perversion
3) Voodoo Glowskulls- Firme
4) The Toasters-Thrill Me Up
5) Crystal Method- Vegas
6) Jet- Get Born
7) Planet Smashers- Mighty
8) GoldFinger- Hangups
9) Radiohead- OK Computer
10) The Offspring- Smash

Favorite All Time Movies

1) 12 Monkeys
2) The Matrix
3) Stargate
4) Tales from the Crypt; Demon Knight
5) Jaws
6) Jurassic Park
7) Army of Darkness
8) Pulp Fiction
9) The Fifth Element
10) Miniority Report

Favorite Authors

1) Stephen King
2) Terry Pratchett
3) Issac Asimov
4) Terry Brooks
5) Anne Mccaffrey
6) George Orwell
7) Neal Stephenson
8) Piers Anthony
9) Salman Rushdie
10) William Golding

Favorite Books

1) The Stand
2) Cryptonomicon
3) Midnights Children
4) Castle Roogna
5) Kingdom of Landover For Sale
6) 1984
7) Fahrenheit 451
8) Dreamcatcher
9) Demons Don't Dream
10) Lord of the Flies

2004-03-25T22:16:00.000-05:00

What do you get when you add a rocket launcher and a cow together?

According to this article, a bill of $400.

Have an urge to shoot a rocket launcher at anything? Well, if you don't mind travelling to Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, you can have your chance. In fact, you can try out a number of armaments all of which have different prices.

So, I guess between testing out weapons to selling ones virginity, there is a price on everything these days.

2004-03-24T02:42:00.000-05:00

Todd asked me to post something this week, so here thou est.
The New Zealand government is considering two law changes: one to make spam illegal and the other to allow one format shift* for purchased music.

The first is fairly self explantatory - we won't be the first country to do it and it will allow co-operation with other govt's to attack it.

The second has created a (fairly tame) media frenzy here.
Predictably, all the major music labels have condemned the idea, saying that the copyright owners themselves should be the ones to decide if a format change. (Ironically, Sony themselves produce mp3 players.)
The theory behind it is to decriminalize the hundreds of thousands of people who record tapes, songs for their iPod, etc... while still leaving the people who make multiple copies and file share criminals.

Currently though, both actions are totally pointless without some form of enforcement.
Who says when email is spam? When it is unwanted? When it advertises? My bank occasionally sends me information about their new account options - I don't want it and it's advertising, right? So its spam? And how will offenders be identified?
"When you recieve spam, please forward it to **@spam.govt.nz"
Server'd be down in an hour or three.
And when was the last time a cop stopped you driving down the road and demanded to know if that cassette you're playing was original? And even if (s)he did, how do they prove that you've only made one copy? Without a feasible method of proving and punishing offenders, 'pirates' will continue to make as many copies as they wish and profit from it.

Alan can describe it better than me, go there.
* A format shift is the copying of media from one format (a cd) to another (mp3)

2004-03-23T19:18:00.000-05:00

When Ninjas Attack

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article.jhtml?articleID=758780

2004-03-23T18:47:00.000-05:00

Grid.org

I know it's been around for awhile, but how many of you out there actually use it and what do you think of it?

I myself use it and am currently at:

0 Years: 134 Days: 12 Hours: 17 Minutes: 16 Seconds

and 78,912 points

2004-03-22T21:50:00.000-05:00

I need to stop updating so sporadically! And now with that said...Onward to the blog post...

The Passion of Christ

Yup, I finally saw the movie and I must say, wow. Since the movie has been out for awhile, the movie theater wasn't really packed, or even moderately, there was a few people in there with my friend and I. I definitely think this helped to take the movie in a little more since you could concentrate more on the movie instead of who was sitting next to you (this does not apply to the gracious old woman behind me that had to EXPLAIN EVERYTHING to the person next to her really loud.)

Well, back to the movie...I found it really well filmed, Mel Gibson did do a good job with that. Every scene seemed like it mattered, every angle was good, nothing in this movie seemed unnecessary. The movie followed the bible quite well and portrayed the scripture very well. As being a Roman Catholic and having read the bible I was able to point out each station of the cross near the end of the movie. I think the movie was ended very well at the resurrection, it brought everything said in the movie all together and showed that he really was who he said he was. The soundtrack also seemed very fitting, increasing in intensity with the important events.

I don't understand how people can say this movie portrays the Jews as evil. The Romans in the movie seemed just as cruel to Jesus. As far as I am concerned, the Jews in the movie acted the way they did because they took Jesus claiming that he was their king, their savior, very offensive and as said by them, blasphemous. Something of that intensity would seem almost correct of their behavior (especially at that time period).

Comment. Discuss.

2004-03-16T23:30:00.000-05:00

Impressions of The Far Cry Research Demo

First off I must say that the Far Cry Research demo is a beast of a download, in fact it was in the 500 meg plus range and took me with the wait line and the actual download from fileplanet around an hour to get started. I must say the wait is definitely worth it.

Coming from a Ubisoft, a studio that I have come to expect good things out of (see: Beyond Good and Evil) Far Cry is definitely something that I would expect to amaze and wow me, and damn, that's just what it does.

The game starts you off on the edge of an island packed with mercenaries and it's your goal to get through them into this supposed "research center". Not much more of the story is divulged at the time as the person who you are talking to over a communicator says he will explain it later.

Well although the goal of going from point a to point b is very straightfoward, it definitely isn't as easy as it sounds. The AI of the mercenaries is quite astounding especially for a demo (well the game is coming out on the 23rd, but bleh!). Not only did they use team tactics to surround my ass and shoot the hell out of me, but they also listened to me rustle in the bushes, and used their flashlights to find me before they called backup which would almost always equate death for me. The physics in the game are amazing not only using ragdoll but a whole crapload of different things to make the bodies act as realistically when hit and moved by different things (trust me I tried this!) Aside from the intense AI and nice physics gameplay wise, there is also another thing to Far Cry that makes it stand out amongst the tons of wannabes out there, it's the fact that every mission has an open ended way to get to the goal. For instance, in the beginning of the scenario, I can sneak up the left corner of the map avoiding guards to get to the observation point, or I swim underwater undetected and come up behind some of the mercenaries for a surprise attack that would allow me to take the observation point. One thing gameplay wise that really set me off was for being a first person shooter I was set back a bit on the ammount of stealth required. There was no way absolutely possible to get through a level without sneaking around (crouching) at least half the map, I'm not saying the battles and such weren't thrilling, I just wish that there would be a tad more action and a little less hiding. Hell, I let go of the crouch button to crack my knuckle and boom I was sniped dead, a little more ugh, this isn't Splinter Cell.

One thing that hit me right off the bat in the game was the graphics, they are absolutely beautiful and really help bring you into the game. The jungles were lush, full of color, and complemented with tropical birds, and the cave walls inside caverns glistened as if they had real water running down them. Oh don't get me started on the water, the water is the most realistic and best looking I have seen in a game. The models used in this game were crisp and I did not see any jaggies at all during my trek through the demo. In fact, this entire games graphics and its Cryengine (which also allows for huge enviroments) kick the crap out of all the other games graphics wise. Well, there was one complaint on my part graphics wise, I ran the game on a 2.6gigahertz system with an ATI 9600 pro graphics card, and 512meg memory and occasionally (well a tad more than occasionally) encountered slow downs (many of which concluded in my death.)

Sound in the demo was good, a nice sampling of different weapons, birds, water, echos in the caverns and everything else. There really wasn't a soundtrack or anything but that didn't matter I was too busy trying not to get shot then to listen to something like that.

Overall I would say this game is going to be a definite contender, maybe even able to contend with Doom3 and Half Life 2, some even dubbed it the "Half Life 2 killer" as it definitely produces. The only thing I would like to see changed by the time that it is released is to curve the difficulty of the AI down a little bit. I mean I could barely beat it on easy, it's a hard game heh. Look forward to the release of this game for it is a definite buy if you even remotely like FPS's and aren't afraid of a little difficulty.

Download the Far Cry Research demo here

2004-03-14T23:52:00.000-05:00

China and the Great wall

First it was, oh shit, we can't see the wall, now it's oh you can see the Great Wall of China from space.

Okay guys let's decide, can we or can we not see it!?

2004-03-14T01:43:00.000-05:00

DARPA challenge ends after all the entrants either, malfunction, or are disqualified

Link here

With this years DARPA challenge a failure, I wonder will there be a sucess next year?

2004-03-14T01:34:00.000-05:00

Trailer for I,Robot

Get it here

Quicktime Required

2004-03-14T01:28:00.000-05:00

You know you're an addict when...

You're 96 years old and you smoke crack.

2004-03-12T23:37:00.000-05:00

Re: The Videogame crash of 2005

Link to article

In his article, David Wong brings up many important issues facing the game industry today. One of these issues was about where the game industry is headed. The game industry came from barebones pixel games to the realistic 3d effects we see in games today. Rivaling what we see in real life games graphic wise are coming to almost a halt graphics wise, to quote Wong "Compare Madden NFL 2001 to Madden 2004. You have to squint to tell the difference. Do you think innovations for Madden 2007 will be startling by comparison? I'll never forget the IGN Madden 2002 screenshot with a caption pointing out that it would be the first Madden to depict players' arm hair." Really where else is there to go? Wong in his article pointed towards the only other way to go, virtual reality.

Virtual reality has been attempted before ended up with something that didn't look real or something that induced headaches. But that was a long time ago, graphics have been improved and are ready to help fully immerse the player into the game. The problem is that the gaming industry needs to find a way to implement virtual reality affordably into the average gamers home. This may seem like a daunting task as "3d" or projection glasses (which would probably be needed) are quite expensive right at the moment, and I'm pretty sure that a helmet type 3d gaming apparatus would be out of the question.

With this apparent 3d technology on the horizon and the gaming industy already being a competitor to Hollywood what will happen? Will people want to play their movies, or watch them? This could lead to a potential crash of either of the industries depending on which was more preferred.

Another point brought up by Wong was the dead end gameplay wise we're are coming to. There hasn't been a lot of groundbreaking games lately and this could be attributed to the fact that, well...IT'S ALREADY BEEN DONE BEFORE. Gaming has been split up into many distinctive genres, First person Shooter, Strategy, Role Playing, Puzzle, Adventure, Sports, and Online. All of these genres have been refined and refined and there really isn't much more to do with them (minus online, but I'll get to that).. Aside from an amazing story, or the new latest graphics games really haven't been producing anything really new. Games are starting to repeat themselves, we're seeing tons of remakes of old games, clones of games, and repeat formulas for the same sucessful game. What is going to be next? Is some new amazing genre going to be discovered? Probably not. This is what is going to lead to the crash as Wong explains. The same old formula, (we've already seen too much of this, for survival horror, bemani).

Online gaming is a completely and whole different plane from regular games. It involves not one or two, or four, but thousands of players in an ever changing often competitive world. There's something about gaming with others and having a score to beat or a goal to attain that makes it much more enjoyable. The industry is trying to capitalize on this by flooding the market with online games which is both a good and bad thing. With major players such as Sony Online Entertainment and their Everquest, Everquest PS2, Everquest2, Star Wars Galaxies, and Planetside other gaming companies are trying to not only out do their opponents with not only gaming elements but by adding their own competitor into the formula, Hollywood.

Games such as The Matrix Online, Middle Earth Online, and the already out Star Wars Galaxies are trying to not only attract hardcore gamers but movie fanatics. People who want to play and be in their favorite movies or characters shoes. Technically as long as Hollywood keeps releasing films there will always be fodder for another online (and single player) game. But just as with single player gaming even though the name and game may seem different, there is always a hint of deja vu there, as in, whether one is killing zombies, dwarfs, Agent Smiths, or the Hutts, it's all the same, just with different makeup.

The arcade industry has a little more freedom to do some creative things as they have more room, which can allow for some of the more complex simulators and (right now) music games.

Just as Wong said the next gen consoles coming out are basically going to be all the same just with different names, similar graphics and different exclusive games based off of the same old tried and true formulas, deja vu again. The consoles with online capabilities mean basically squat, I mean what good is a console that can go online and such and download games if it's boring?

Wong is right, I agree with him, we have reached a plateau, but the question is what's next? Do I agree with him that the videogame industry will go stale in 2005 and collapse? Well, not exactly, as said the gaming industry has most of us in its' grips and a lot of the newer gamers are not used to these games that have been around forever, but, they will be eventually and then it will happen. Consoles will all have crappy sales because it won't even matter what console is bought anymore as it will be all the same. Sales will plummet and with that, the entire industry.

While bringing on many bad things and bringing about the loss of many jobs this collapse could bring some good things; One of those things being more innovative things (as new stuff WILL NEED TO BE RESEARCHED if the industry is to continue). So basically (hopefully), from the ashes of the old will rise a new better industry. I'll give the gaming industry till 2009 before anything extreme happens. Blah, we'll see, as only time can tell on this one.

2004-03-12T00:39:00.000-05:00

Within the next few days expect a couple reviews.

2004-03-11T04:29:00.000-05:00

I've just watched a documentary called "Jesus, Mary and Da[sic] Vinci" which was basically a woman broadcasting opinions about the likelihood of Jesus being married to Mary Magdalene.
Something like this is understandably difficult to formulate an opinion on as there is ~~little~~ pretty much no evidence one way or another - the Bible doesn't say he wasn't, but not that he was either.

The main points for it were the so-called "Gnostic scrolls" - texts hidden in Egypt hundreds of years ago that were the Gospel stories but according to Thomas/Mary/etc... instead of the accepted MML&J which create the impression that the other Apostles were jealous of Mary (who has been incorrectly labelled a prostitute for two thousand years) and her close relationship with Jesus.
One passage in the Bible is also a bone of contention; where the Hebrew translation reads "Do not touch me" the original Greek says "Do not cling to me" - a far more emotive verb which implies an intimacy.

To me it all seems pretty much like the aliens/faerie thing in that there is no proof for or against it. Still, it was a bloody interesting hour and I suggest you find someone who has videotaped/TiVo'd/whatever'd it and watch it. It actually has very little to do with da Vinci really.

Link:Jesus, Mary and da Vinci

2004-03-10T23:35:00.000-05:00

Break Dancing Mascots what?

Watch the Video

Bleh, sorry about the small posts lately, been too busy and tired to write up a big entry but, at least I am updating.

2004-03-09T23:26:00.000-05:00

Notice how this sort of thing always happens in China and Korea...

Man dies after playing 20 hours of "Saga" in an internet cafe

Damn crazy people.

2004-03-09T23:17:00.000-05:00

Burn Names onto the disc itself?

Why didn't anyone think of this before?

This idea is brilliant.

"Tattoo your cds and dvds"

2004-03-04T00:14:00.000-05:00

Sam and Max 2 Cancelled

Ugh, Lucasarts cancelled Sam and Max 2 and that saddens me. They think the market isn't right to release a graphic adventure game, geeze, I would buy it, hell, I had it in my top 10 of 2004 post. You know, being the only graphic adventure game out there for awhile wouldn't exactly be a bad thing...

Link here

2004-02-29T00:54:00.003-05:00

What's going on EA?

Starting off with the closure of Westwood Studios, EA continues by closing Origin and Maxis.

What’s going on around there? According to EA they want to consolidate and move all their employees to one big building but, is it really worth sacking hundreds of people?

Westwood wise EA says they will continue on with Command and Conquer and Earth and Beyond but nothing else. Will these games be up to the quality that we have come to expect from Westwood? With EA now having a firmer grip on the employees as they are all in one big building and under more supervision, will the games change more to what they want rather the actual creators? Maybe I am just being a little paranoid here but really wtf?

Origin being closed I can understand, with only having the Ultima series which could be done just as well in house at EA versus out with Origin.

The big surprise that came to me was the closure of Maxis EA’s recent powerhouse thanks to the The Sims series. This is just so confusing to me, EA is closing and laying off hundreds from two of its best companies, why can’t it close something that sucks?

Bleh. Damn EA Games. Who are we going to buy out and close next?

2004-02-29T00:54:00.002-05:00

Titanic II

If that actually happens and then it sinks, well...That was just be pretty DAMN FUNNY.

2004-02-29T00:54:00.001-05:00

I am going to post all my game reviews here because well...I can. I'll try to write something meaningful later also so until then you get...

Game Review

Riot Police

While at my local Babbages picking up a copy of Armed and Dangerous I happened upon a game of which I saw before but wasn't sure of getting, it was the title I am reviewing here, Riot Police. Saying what the hell, I threw down the 19.99 and brought home a title from Activisions value label.

The game itself before being opened looked appealing and fun, it appeared to be just the opposite of what State of Emergency by Rockstar games was. You would play as the riot police preventing riots and such. I couldn't wait.

After installing the game I immediately loaded it up and got ready for some quality entertainment. How wrong was I there, first off and foremost, the game crashed my computer twice before I got any actual playing done. Once I got the game going that's when I began to understand why this was called a "value" title.

The gameplay is mediocre to average at best. Every mission I played consisted of the same thing, placing riot officers, clearing rioters, arresting, and then attacking the rioters, repeat. The only thing that made this entertaining was the fact that in each level I had some new element to deal with (adding different types of riot officers) or some new type of goal (protecting certain buildings to arresting a certain person) but with the same repetitive gameplay. Since there was no save feature during the gameplay, I had to play through many levels more than once, which was more of a tedious task then a fun adventure. The game always seemed to act fast and not give a player a second to react, ie levels would start and you would be almost half way to losing if you stopped for a second to think. Another thing that took away from the experience was a lot of the buildings and other in-game objects would often obstruct my view of my riot officer or current rioter(s) which would severely affect gameplay (me losing the level). Everythiing but the riot officers (including their vehicles) and the rioters in this game was static which I found boring and Out of place.

Control in this game was decent but there was a few things that irked me. Let's start out with the good, characters were moved and controlled by left clicking to move and right clicking to act. Hot keys were well placed and helped the gameplay. One of the things that irked me (of which I feel is more of a control issue than gameplay) was with the groupings. There were 4 keys to hotkey the riot officers to, Q, W, E, and R (all of which could be accessed, but NOT set with 1, 2, 3, 4), I would have liked to at least been able to have 1-9 as hot keys because I prefer to mini manage with more than just 4 groups.

Graphics were to be honest terrible, jagged edges could be seen in a lot of the objects. Character models were somewhat smooth but aged, this game would be great about 2 years ago, seriously, my Theme Hospital game looks better then this. Well there was one plus on the graphics side, I really liked the interface of which you played out of in-game. I thought that it was very streamlined, to the point, and helpful, it was a good addition.

The sound in game was average. A repetitive tune played in the background while police sirens and other sound effects went off as the rioters were attacking. This part of the game is severely lacking, I mean come on, let's use some imagination and make good tracks!

Overall for a budget game I still would say this is average, it's an average average game. What does that mean? Well if you can stand the linear gameplay and like strategy games you might want to invest that crisp twenty into this to see if it strikes your fancy, or you could spend the extra ten or twenty bucks and get a real quality game. So if your budget is low or you're looking for a cheap or maybe even unknown game to play give it a try.

I give the game 6 out of 10

2004-02-25T04:02:00.000-05:00

Game of the Week

Beyond Good and Evil

Beyond Good and Evil is a relatively new cross action and adventure game from Ubisoft. It features a mixture of different types of gameplay which allow the game to stay fun and fresh throughout the entire experience Released in October to not a lot of hype, it's a perfect game to pick up from a bargain bin cheap; in fact, I found my copy for the PC for 19.99 new.

The story in Beyond Good and Evil unfolds on Hillys, a planet under siege by a race of aliens called the Domz. The game begins and you take control of Jade, one of the older Orphans at the lighthouse, a refuge for other children who are like she once was, young and helpless. Just after the opening cut scene takes place, a Domz meteor flies out of the sky and the evil creatures on it begin to attack the children, this is where the tale of intrigue begins.

The game play in Beyond Good and Evil although quite linear is very enjoyable. It's a mix of stealth action and platforming with a few scattered puzzles. Along with fighting (with up to as many as three fighting companions sometimes) the Domz creatures and unraveling the mystery that the game presents, there are a few other things to do. One of these things is to take pictures of every type of animal seen throughout the game, not only does this allow for a bit of a side quest to open game play up a little bit more, but it also provides Jade with the money she needs to buy health and other upgrades. Later in the game one has the opportunity to take place in hovercraft races which allow for a bit of a change from fighting and taking pictures.

Graphics in Beyond Good and Evil were decent, not the best, but good enough. Character models seemed relatively well made but not as exactly crisp as I would have liked. I occasionally saw a few stray edges here and there but, I was usually so caught up in the action it really didn't matter too much. The Level Design is pretty good, I never once found myself in an environment where I felt bored or had a sense of déjà vu. Outside a lot of dull and nature like colors are used in the game which give a sense of tranquility to the setting even when that is not necessarily the case, where inside the color scheme is often just the opposite using many metallic and bright colors. Many of the levels provide secret or hidden alcoves where Jade can explore and gain things to further her quest.

After playing Beyond Good and Evil one can tell that the game obviously is meant for console. The controls which use the FPS standard WASD are rigid and take a bit of getting used to control Jade onscreen. Camera angles and zoom are controlled by the mouse and usually provide a good view of the action but, I have had times during battles, sneaking around and picture taking where the camera just did not want to cooperate. Good thing the camera is easy to control and the problem is fixed easily otherwise it could severely hamper what this game is all about.

The sound is this game is great. I absolutely loved the music in many different areas of the game and it completely brought me into the environment. Voice acting was decent, I had no complaints there, I felt the parts were well cast and I did not find myself irritated with any of the characters based on their voice. One thing that did bother me though was right at the end of the game, all the characters voices in the cut scene were absent, and this took away from the experience as I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON. This was another easy problem as it went away after I quit and restarted the game but, it still hampered my fun as I had to replay the section.

With a few problems that are easily resolved, an interesting story, and great game play, Beyond Good and Evil is an excellent choice for any gamer who enjoys any type of action or platforming games. I thoroughly recommend this game especially since it's so cheap now, so, GO OUT AND BUY IT!

I give Beyond Good and Evil a 8.5 out of 10

2004-02-04T19:21:00.000-05:00

Blair at his finest

Tony Blair is now claiming that back in March when the call to invade Iraq was made that he was unaware that the "45 minutes" needed to launch weapons only qualified for battlefield weapons that Saddam had, not WMDs.

This is a giant bunch of stupid political rhetoric. Blair either knew damn right what types of weapons that Saddam had in Iraq and was being GB's little patsy and invaded anyway, or he made a complete ass out of himself and invaded without knowing the full truth and assuming things to be so.

"But the prime minister said on Wednesday he had not known what sort of weapons were being referred to at the time of the Commons vote on 18 March 2003. "

So why assume? If I assumed that you were a killer and killed someone, could I go and kill you? NO! We don't jump into conclusions and we most definitely don't invade countries without the proper and full truth.

"Saddam Hussein's forces referred only to weapons such as mortars and shells but not long-range ballistic missiles." AKA Weapons of MASS DESTRUCTION.

"Tory foreign affairs spokesman Michael Ancram said later Mr Blair's response raised "serious questions about what the government knew when Britain went to war with Iraq". "

Stupid people make stupid decisions, eh, blame it on George Bush, Blair is his patsy anyways.

Ladies and Gentleman, these are the types of people running our countries. *sigh*

Link to Article

2004-02-04T18:55:00.000-05:00

A rebirth of a trend?

Well this is interesting, Bandai the creator of the infamous Tamagotchi is trying to give it's old creation a new rebirth. Tamagotchi's were popular for a couple of years after 1996 when they were first introduced, in fact they were so popular that they spawned many clones including the "digimonsters" or the Digimon of anime fame.

What I am wondering is, wil Bandai be able to sucessfully bring back a trend or even reap a good amount of money from it? Even with new features such as being able to go unto dates and marry other Tamagotchi's will this thing ever pick up? With technology as it is today will a simple little pocket sized device get a childs attention like something such as a computer or some flashy game would? What is going to be the driving force behind this product? I don't even remember what the driving force was back when it was popular, other than, OMG everyone has one of these, I have to have one.

In my opinion, a trend is something that lasts and fades away never to be seen or heard of again (usually) Pogs, Tickle me Elmos, scooters, Beanie Babies, Tamagotchi's, and all that other crap should just stay as trends. Some of this stuff can get incredibly annoying sometimes, the best trend is a dead trend. Really, is Bandai running out of ideas that they need to attempt to bring back Tamagotchi's?

I don't know, maybe I am just being cynical here, but, damn, I just don't want to see these things come back.

DIE BANDAI DIE!

Link to Article

2004-02-01T20:23:00.000-05:00

Game of the Week

Tropico 2- PC

Continuing off of the sucess that was the original Tropico the Gathering of Developers decided to release Tropico 2.

In the latest installment of the Tropico series you play as a rebellious pirate who owns his own pirate island. One must take captives and recruit pirates to keep the island running, well, that's not only the only thing that is required. A bustling economy must be built as a backend to the actual "pirating". Taverns, Wench houses, pirate houses, and many other buildings are necessary to keeping your pirates happy and working for you. Keeping Prisoners happy is required too, well happy isn't the word, it's resigned. Building skeletons, stockades, and surrounding the prisoners helps them understand they won't be leaving anytime soon, where building bunk houses, and places where slop is served helps keep the prisoners going.

The actual gameplay itself doesn't seem to stray too far off for the original formula. If you take away a couple of the new things (which I will get into in a few lines) you are left with the basic parts of this sim, keep your people (captives) happy, prevent revolts and become rich. One of the cool things about this game is you actually get to recruit pirates and pirate captains, and with them you can do all sorts of things. For one, you can explore the area (and farther if you want) around your island which allows you to find trade routes, settlements, and to assess to the potential danger and profitability of the area. I find it fun to send pirates out onto the seas in search of ships to raid for gold and prisoners. The familar edicts are back allowing you as ruler to command certain things to happen such as assassinations, exploration of the seas, and education of the pirates (they have stats based on certain seafaring attributes such as navigation.) Basically if you have played the first Tropico, you will have no trouble getting used to this one, if you haven't played the first, you'll still pick it up quick, it's a simple interface. I thought most of the gameplay was good but, there was something that bothered me. First off, this really isn't that much of a gameplay issue, but it is effected by the gameplay. There are graphs that show your performance and in version 1.0 they are completely way out of where they should be and are hard to read and effect everything elses readability.

The graphics kind of disappointed me, the same engine is used as in the first game. Not that the graphics were bad or anything, it's just I would have liked to see a bit of an upgrade on some of the models. The thing I did like about the graphics in this game were they were quite colorful (a lot more than the first).

The soundtrack to the game is amazing, I can not get enough of it. I constantly find myself tapping or humming to the music. A lot of the sounds in the game are funny and not too annoying to get tired of which is very good.

In conclusion if you're looking for a new and interesting sim game, give Tropico 2 a chance. It will most definitely deliver fun and comes with some fun music to listen to while playing.

I give the game a total of 7 out of 10.

Download the Demo here!

2004-02-01T05:23:00.000-05:00

Pixar ends Disney Distribution Deal

On Thursday Pixar ended talks with Disney about a five year distribution deal. "After ten months of trying to strike a deal with Disney, we're moving on," said Steve Jobs of Apple Computers Inc., who is the current CEO of Pixar."it's a shame that Disney won't be participating in Pixar's future successes".

Disney must be out of their minds, not wanting to give in and keep Pixar is stupid. Pixar has been the best thing since buttered bread for disney. Ever since they made a deal with Disney in 1991 to distribute their films, Pixar has brought nothing but success.

1996

A movie called "Toy Story" was put out by Pixar, It was their first film through Disney. It was about a boys playthings that came to life. This first film turned out to be an amazing sucess and the beginning of a run of five films that would change the way people looked at animated films. Not only was "Toy Story" the first of it's kind of film (fully computer animated) by Disney, but it was also a big money maker. In fact, "Toy Story" grossed an enormous 191.8 million in the box office. Part of the reason for the films sucess was the humor was so versatile that not only children but, adults could enjoy it too. The animation was way ahead of its time, skillfully done and presented, it clearly blew away everything in any movie, game, or just general cgi model of the time.

1998

To continue their sucess, Pixar released "A Bugs Life" where the cgi was pushed to the limit. Models within this movie were a lot more detailed and came with a complete set of facial expressions. This helped the film seem more real and attract more people. Not only did this film look better, but it grossed 162.8 million in the box office. Although a smaller sum than the hit "Toy Story", it was still a great deal of money and that money was making Disney very happy.

1999

As most companies do now a days, Pixar figured that a sequel was in order. This was the year that "Toy Story 2" was released. With better models and a continuing storyline, "Toy Story 2" was set for sucess. Playing off of the incredible attention that "Toy Story" one got was good. This film grossed 245.8 million in the theaters, this broke the previous high for one of their films.

2001

Ahh the new millenium, and with this came another film from Pixar. This time it was a film called "Monsters Inc." (my personal favorite) which played off of the sterotypical fear that children believe there are monsters in their closets. This film was another sucess and was yet again another record breaker, it grossed 255.9 million dollars.

2003

The final film of Pixar's at Disney seems to be everyones favorite. It was called "Finding Nemo" and grossed a whopping 339.7 million dollars, in fact, Pixar's "Finding Nemo" is0 the biggest grossing animated movie of all time. That made a statement, and a bold one. Who knew a story about a lost fish could be so (highly grossing) engrossing.

Present

After these five straight sucesses (every film through Disney by Pixar has been a large sucess) Disney would not come to an agreement with Pixar. I don't understand this, it seems like a horribly bad business move (of which it is) and will take money out of Disney's pocket. In fact, since the news about Pixar and Disney, Disney's stock went down about six percent.

Does Disney have something up their sleeve? A trump card yet to be played? Do they feel Pixar is being unreasonable? WHAT IS IT? Maybe Disney is speculating that computer animated films will become less popular (although cgi films seem to be on the rise with the latest of Advent Children the "sequel" if you must to FF7)? (I'm still just guessing here) Maybe Disney felt Pixar ran out of good ideas and wouldn't be worth giving a bigger cut to the company that would be making a badly grossing film? (although track record shows different).

It's hard for me to understand this. With the only animated film put into theaters in 2003 by Disney being "Brother Bear" (grossing something in the low hundred millions) what are they going to do? Obviously Disney needs to come up with some new ideas other than just that and stop messing around with the sequels. Lately Disney has been putting out all kinds of sequels on dvd with no theatrical release. I'm not saying Disney is going to go bankrupt here, I'm just saying they're losing a bunch of potential money. All together all five of Pixar's films grossed 2.5 billion at the worldwide box office.

Steve Jobs said that Pixar will start to look for other companies to distribute their films beginning in 2006.

A Warner Bros. spokesperson told CNN, "We would love to be in business with Pixar. They are a great company." Talks have not been discussed yet.

We'll just have to see where this goes...

Will Disney be sorry? Or was it a smart move to drop the increasingly demanding Pixar? Who will pick up this exclusive and lucrative right to distribute Pixar's films?

Let me know what you think. Comment!

Link to article

2004-01-30T03:49:00.000-05:00

Ctrl, Alt, Del, inventor David Bradley retires from IBM

So, he's finally Ctrl, Alt, Deleting himself from the industry (I don't think he is going to reboot)

2004-01-29T23:28:00.000-05:00

Fine Dining

Fine dining, looks good, has great food (and sometimes expensive), you get good service, and has a nice atmosphere.

I work at a restaurant where it is supposed to be upper classy fine dining. It is in a racetrack and we get lots of people who bet horses inside the restaurant (in fact, a lot of tables have been outfitted with Tiny Tims which allow the customer to bet from their table. There is also betting windows at both ends of the restaurant.)

For uniforms we had tuxedo shirts, black dress pants, a red or black bowtie, black socks, and black dress shoes. We had a decent menu filled with fish, poultry, and meats. Occasionally we had a buffet for large groups that came in (if they so desired it).

There was construction over the past year, and now we have Video Lottery Terminals in part of our establishment (see: Casino). Well, since the VLT's have been installed, there has been a change of management. With this change of management has come many changes to way things are done inside the restaurant

Now I must say, the restaurant is starting to suck. Our uniforms look horrendous and do not reflect the image of what a waiter/waitress, busser should look. The waiter/waitress uniform went from the tuxedo getup to a white dress shirt, a vest (with some gaudy covering on it), black pants, and black dress shoes. Okay, I must say the waiter/waitress uniform is okay, it doesn't look that bad, but the busser (see: my) uniform looks like crap. Okay well, It's black pants, black shoes, and this shirt with the same gaudy covering as the vest of the waiter/waitress's. It looks like a freakin' carpet, or as someone else noticed, airplane seat coverings. This is the worst part, over the top of that I have to wear this long apron thing. I look like I belong in the kitchen cooking, or even washing dishes. It looks more of a diner type uniform than something that looks like you would see in fine dining.

Oh now for the menu...Well apparently they changed the menu, it offers a lot of what we used to, but with lots of deli/diner style food. Someone ordered a fish filet thing and it came out and looked almost exactly the same as the fish filet sandwich. Heh, that is just a little odd to me. We have a buffet every day we are open now. Personally I think it's a crapy buffet, we offer a "different buffet" everyday, it's weird and dumb I think. It switches between seafood, Mexican, Italian, and a few other things. A friend told me never to trust a restaurant that goes from american to seafood to Mexican to Italian, I promptly agreed as I have worked at this restaurant for four years.

This is all because of one guy who comes from the head management company. This is his idea of fine dining. Well, I don't know what he has been smoking but, these couple things seem a bit odd to me.

That doesn't seem very fine dining to me, maybe it's just me, but, when I picture fine dining (from places I have been and from what it previously was) I expect a classy menu, good looking uniforms, a good atmosphere and such. It seems where I have work to not be that anymore. It takes away from "the experience". I may just be ranting here about the crappy menu, and new uniforms, but it ismy opinion, and that's what counts, because, I am always right. ;)

2004-01-29T00:12:00.000-05:00

Can we say someone is out of the race?

Al Sharpton in Iowa
Al Sharpton in New Hampshire

A total of 0%, that's amazing! You think it wouldn't be possible for someone to do that, but I guess it is. I think I could get better than 0%, heh.

Al Sharpton's stats

I think this guy's best accomplishment has been even being able to compete in all the bids for political positions he lost. I find this crazy guy funny.

2004-01-27T18:29:00.000-05:00

Good games for cheap

Today I decided to go out and treat myself to a couple of games at the local Babbages. I picked up Bombastic for 29.99 new and Tropico 2 for 19.99, two good games for two good prices.

It's amazing how you can find such good games for low prices. Just because a game has been out for awhile doesn't make it any less good. I've seen a double pack of both Fallout 1 and Fallout 2 (Both Amazing RPGs from Black Isle) for a miniscule 10 bucks. You can get them online at the Interplay store for 10 bucks too. Along with those there are many many good games out there awaiting to be taken home for real cheap and played.

Another great thing about time is it makes systems go for cheap. If you don't mind spending a few extra bucks here and there, you can buy an old system and play a bunch of great games on it for cheap.

Super Nintendo for instance, you can pick one up for between 10 - 30 bucks now a days. It's a system with hundreds and hundreds of games many of which you can pick up for cheap, and many of which are good.

Today's lesson: Don't over the older systems, and check the bargin bins and random shelve space at game retailers, you might find a classic for cheap.

And now with that said, I am off to play some Tropico 2!

2004-01-25T17:59:00.000-05:00

You know what really irks me?

When I go onto ebay and look for a cd that I would actually like to legally buy (as opposed to illegally downloading it online) and...Every single one of them is between 50 - 100 dollars. This is a single disk cd with 14 songs on it. So what if it's out of print, it's still just a cd!

Gah...This sort of thing makes me want to (and I did) download the songs from the internet.

Old Cds should be rereleased so I can buy them at a reasonable price.

The End.

2004-01-24T00:59:00.000-05:00

Game of the week

Mario and Luigi- Gameboy Advance

Bleh, why the hell not, I can think of nothing to write about really but well this. What is this? It's going to be a little odd feature I'll do every Saturday called Game of the Week. It will be about a game I'm playing, why, and etc. Everyone comment and let me know what they think so here we go.

This week's game of the week is Mario and Luigi. It's been out since a little before Christmas, but I just recently picked it up.

Before I even opened this game up, I had expected this game to good, with Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario on Nintendo's back I had certain expectations. Once I opened the game up, my first impressions of the game were good.

The gameplay of this game is excellent. The game is a mixed genre, it is part platformer part RPG, I like it. Some of the platforming can be moderately difficult at times, but, nothing no one could get with a little practice. I really like how Mario and Luigi have "Brother's Moves" as they are called. Out of battle they allow the pair to do such things as jump double normal height, and to spin across gaps. The leveling seems to be easy, as long as you kill all the monsters on screen, you should not have any problems with the bosses (with patterns that aren't too hard to figure out.) I would say two neat little effects that I think was added to the RPG part of the game were the poses you can make when your picture is being taken for the status screen potrait, and the bonus stat point(s) you can add to your stats as you level. There are a few mini-games built in which allow for some extra playing time. The one I had trouble with was the Minecart one pictured as the last picture on the left. I couldn't get past the level of it where you couldn't miss a gem.

Difficultly wise, I really wasn't sure of what to expect. The previous two games were moderately difficult and required a bit of effort. I had expected maybe the difficulty to be a little less due to the fact that the game was on the Gameboy Advance and that Nintendo would figure more children would play it? Boy, was I wrong. I would say that the difficulty is completely on par with that of the other Mario RPG games, maybe even a little harder.

The graphics of Super Mario and Luigi are superb and rival that of some 16 bit games, so it is definitely eye candy for the Gameboy Advance. The world is vibrant and full of color, I love looking at all the different sprites.

Sound in the game is good. The music and sound effects provide a good ambient effect and I have not gotten bored of them.

Lately the Gameboy Advance has been picking up tons of great games, especially RPGs. If you own a Gameboy Advance or SP, and don't own this, I would definitely recommend it.

My rating is a 9/10

2004-01-23T16:51:00.003-05:00

How To Be INSANELY gross and incognito at the same time
by jefframos

2004-01-22T20:50:00.000-05:00

People are stupid, or todays selection of links about stupid things.

Man robs bank with tree limb.

Hiking Magazine sends people off a cliff.

Darwin award material.

Looks like a case of the wrong bullets agiain...

And a great quote I found.

"That's just politics," the governor [JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. Gov. Bob Holden] said.

2004-01-22T00:05:00.000-05:00

My thoughts on The State of the union 2004

My thoughts on some of the issues and things said during the 2004 State of the union address by president George W. Bush.

"Our greatest responsibility is the active defense of the American people. Twenty-eight months have passed since September 11th, 2001 -- over two years without an attack on American soil. And it is tempting to believe that the danger is behind us. That hope is understandable, comforting -- and false. The killing has continued in Bali, Jakarta, Casablanca, Riyadh, Mombasa, Jerusalem, Istanbul, and Baghdad. The terrorists continue to plot against America and the civilized world. And by our will and courage, this danger will be defeated."

So apparently not only are these "terrorists" (see: anyone who opposes our imposed will) plotting against us, but they are plotting against THE ENTIRE CIVILIZED WORLD, that's right Canada, they're coming for YOU. And by using our courage (see: blind faith in our government and everything it says) will this danger be defeated.

"Inside the United States, where the war began, we must continue to give our homeland security and law enforcement personnel every tool they need to defend us. And one of those essential tools is the Patriot Act, which allows federal law enforcement to better share information, to track terrorists, to disrupt their cells, and to seize their assets. For years, we have used similar provisions to catch embezzlers and drug traffickers. If these methods are good for hunting criminals, they are even more important for hunting terrorists."

Inside the United States where we let an attack happen so we could get enough support to start a war, we must continue to give our homeland security and law enforcement every right of ours to be taken away to "defend us". We must renew the Patriot Act, the most unconstitutional thing since well...ever, to fight "terrorism". Oh did I mention we can arrest you , search your belongings, seize your belongings, moniter you, and everything else without a warrant and without telling you.

"Key provisions of the Patriot Act are set to expire next year. The terrorist threat will not expire on that schedule. Our law enforcement needs this vital legislation to protect our citizens. You need to renew the Patriot Act."

The terrorist threat will not expire until our global conquest is complete.

"As part of the offensive against terror, we are also confronting the regimes that harbor and support terrorists, and could supply them with nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. The United States and our allies are determined: We refuse to live in the shadow of this ultimate danger."

(See: Anyone in the world who opposes our motives.)

"Having broken the Baathist regime, we face a remnant of violent Saddam supporters. Men who ran away from our troops in battle are now dispersed and attack from the shadows. These killers, joined by foreign terrorists, are a serious, continuing danger. Yet we're making progress against them. The once all-powerful ruler of Iraq was found in a hole, and now sits in a prison cell. Of the top 55 officials of the former regime, we have captured or killed 45. Our forces are on the offensive, leading over 1,600 patrols a day and conducting an average of 180 raids a week. We are dealing with these thugs in Iraq, just as surely as we dealt with Saddam Hussein's evil regime."

If Saddam was defeated and captured, why would people still be fighting for him? He is obviously gone and never coming back, there is no reason to fight. Any logical person part of Saddam's regime would have ran away or have pretended to be part of the civilians. I think this is a straight out line.

"The work of building a new Iraq is hard, and it is right. And America has always been willing to do what it takes for what is right. Last January, Iraq's only law was the whim of one brutal man. Today our coalition is working with the Iraqi Governing Council to draft a basic law, with a bill of rights. We're working with Iraqis and the United Nations to prepare for a transition to full Iraqi sovereignty by the end of June.
Because of American leadership and resolve, the world is changing for the better. Last month, the leader of Libya voluntarily pledged to disclose and dismantle all of his regime's weapons of mass destruction programs, including a uranium enrichment project for nuclear weapons. Colonel Qadhafi correctly judged that his country would be better off and far more secure without weapons of mass murder. Different threats require different strategies. Along with nations in the region, we're insisting that North Korea eliminate its nuclear program. America and the international community are demanding that Iran meet its commitments and not develop nuclear weapons. America is committed to keeping the world's most dangerous weapons out of the hands of the most dangerous regimes."

Of course the work of building Iraq is hard and right, we did bomb the hell out of it, and we are responsible. You break something, you fix it.

"And America has always been willing to do what it takes for what is right." (See: Do whatever it takes to make sure that nothing is in the way of its motives.)

"Because of American leadership and resolve, the world is changing for the better." (See: More like what we want it to be.)

"Last month, the leader of Libya voluntarily pledged to disclose and dismantle all of his regime's weapons of mass destruction programs, including a uranium enrichment project for nuclear weapons. Colonel Qadhafi correctly judged that his country would be better off and far more secure without weapons of mass murder." (See: Scared Shitless and doesn't want to get his ass invaded.)

"America is committed to keeping the world's most dangerous weapons out of the hands of the most dangerous regimes." (See: Everyone but themselves.)

"Some critics have said our duties in Iraq must be internationalized. This particular criticism is hard to explain to our partners in Britain, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Italy, Spain, Poland, Denmark, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania, the Netherlands -- Norway, El Salvador, and the 17 other countries that have committed troops to Iraq. As we debate at home, we must never ignore the vital contributions of our international partners, or dismiss their sacrifices."

I would like to see a list and proof of every country participating in this war. Oh, and why would such small countries such as Hungary and Romania care about our war against Iraq?

"From the beginning, America has sought international support for our operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and we have gained much support. There is a difference, however, between leading a coalition of many nations, and submitting to the objections of a few. America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country."

"From the beginning, America has sought international support for our operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and we have gained much support." (See: The United Nations opposed our invasion of Iraq.)

"There is a difference, however, between leading a coalition of many nations, and submitting to the objections of a few" (See: How many countries are in the United Nations? 34 countries were listed as "on our side" how many countries are there in the world? I knew the president wasn't that smart but, obviously he can't count.)

"America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country" (See: America could give a shit what you think.)

"As long as the Middle East remains a place of tyranny and despair and anger, it will continue to produce men and movements that threaten the safety of America and our friends. So America is pursuing a forward strategy of freedom in the greater Middle East. We will challenge the enemies of reform, confront the allies of terror, and expect a higher standard from our friend. To cut through the barriers of hateful propaganda, the Voice of America and other broadcast services are expanding their programming in Arabic and Persian -- and soon, a new television service will begin providing reliable news and information across the region. I will send you a proposal to double the budget of the National Endowment for Democracy, and to focus its new work on the development of free elections, and free markets, free press, and free labor unions in the Middle East. And above all, we will finish the historic work of democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq, so those nations can light the way for others, and help transform a troubled part of the world."

"So America is pursuing a forward strategy of freedom in the greater Middle East. We will challenge the enemies of reform, confront the allies of terror, and expect a higher standard from our friend." (See: We will invade all who oppose us, and our "allies" better damn well help us...or...they're next.)

"hateful propaganda" (See: President Bush)

"reliable news and information across the region." (See: What we believe)

"America is a nation with a mission, and that mission comes from our most basic beliefs. We have no desire to dominate, no ambitions of empire. Our aim is a democratic peace -- a peace founded upon the dignity and rights of every man and woman. America acts in this cause with friends and allies at our side, yet we understand our special calling: This great republic will lead the cause of freedom."

"America is a nation with a mission, and that mission comes from our most basic beliefs." (See: Newer version of manifest destiny, the world.)

"We have no desire to dominate, no ambitions of empire" (See: Lies.)

"a peace founded upon the dignity and rights of every man and woman." (See: Patriot Act)

"In the last three years, adversity has also revealed the fundamental strengths of the American economy. We have come through recession, and terrorist attack, and corporate scandals, and the uncertainties of war. And because you acted to stimulate our economy with tax relief, this economy is strong, and growing stronger."

Economy strong? HA.

"These numbers confirm that the American people are using their money far better than government would have -- and you were right to return it."

(See: War)

"Consumers and businesses need reliable supplies of energy to make our economy run -- so I urge you to pass legislation to modernize our electricity system, promote conservation, and make America less dependent on foreign sources of energy."

An actual good idea.

"My administration is promoting free and fair trade to open up new markets for America's entrepreneurs and manufacturers and farmers -- to create jobs for American workers. Younger workers should have the opportunity to build a nest egg by saving part of their Social Security taxes in a personal retirement account. We should make the Social Security system a source of ownership for the American people. And we should limit the burden of government on this economy by acting as good stewards of taxpayers' dollars."

Holy crap, another good idea.

"Tonight, I also ask you to reform our immigration laws so they reflect our values and benefit our economy. I propose a new temporary worker program to match willing foreign workers with willing employers when no Americans can be found to fill the job. This reform will be good for our economy because employers will find needed workers in an honest and orderly system. A temporary worker program will help protect our homeland, allowing Border Patrol and law enforcement to focus on true threats to our national security."

(See: Illegal Aliens, if that doesn't work, my entry for Monday 1/12/04 )

"By computerizing health records, we can avoid dangerous medical mistakes, reduce costs, and improve care. To protect the doctor-patient relationship, and keep good doctors doing good work, we must eliminate wasteful and frivolous medical lawsuits. And tonight I propose that individuals who buy catastrophic health care coverage, as part of our new health savings accounts, be allowed to deduct 100 percent of the premiums from their taxes."

What exactly is a wasteful and frivolous lawsuit?

"One of the worst decisions our children can make is to gamble their lives and futures on drugs. Our government is helping parents confront this problem with aggressive education, treatment, and law enforcement. Drug use in high school has declined by 11 percent over the last two years. Four hundred thousand fewer young people are using illegal drugs than in the year 2001. In my budget, I proposed new funding to continue our aggressive, community-based strategy to reduce demand for illegal drugs. Drug testing in our schools has proven to be an effective part of this effort. So tonight I proposed an additional $23 million for schools that want to use drug testing as a tool to save children's lives. The aim here is not to punish children, but to send them this message: We love you, and we don't want to lose you."

Drug testing in schools is completely unconstitutional in my opinion.

"The outcome of this debate is important -- and so is the way we conduct it. The same moral tradition that defines marriage also teaches that each individual has dignity and value in God's sight. "

Uhh...Seperation of church and state is where exactly?

"My fellow citizens, we now move forward, with confidence and faith. Our nation is strong and steadfast. The cause we serve is right, because it is the cause of all mankind. The momentum of freedom in our world is unmistakable -- and it is not carried forward by our power alone. We can trust in that greater power who guides the unfolding of the years. And in all that is to come, we can know that His purposes are just and true."

"The cause we serve is right, because it is the cause of all mankind." (See: It's not my cause. And more SEPERATION OF CHURCH AND STATE?)

So, in conclusion, I disliked more than half of the state of the union. Bush would not get my vote. Ever.

I didn't include any of the stuff about education and medicare because it was either not going to happen, was stupid, or nothing big, at least to me. I included everything I had a strong opinion to or against.

The entire text of The State of the union 2004 can be found here.

2004-01-20T18:41:00.000-05:00

MikeRoweSoft

The owner of www.mikerowesoft.com has been recently threatened by Microsoft and its lawyers due to the domain name being "so similar" to their product line.

How could anyone possibly confuse Microsoft corporate giant, that had to be split due to a supposed monopoly with MikeRoweSoft, a small no name software company. Not only are the names nothing similar (spelling wise, not sounding) but, it's just hard to believe that anyone on the internet, even owning a computer, wouldn't know what, and who Microsoft is, image, spelling, and everything.

The Canadian 17 year old Mike Rowe thought it would be clever to name his website selling his services "MikeRoweSoft" after his name. Corporate giant Microsoft was not amused.

Apparently Microsofts lawyers offered Rowe a measely $10 dollars for the domain name. What a slap in the face, they expect they can just take the name and all the work he had done for $10 dollars? How absolutely arrogant. Rowe in response to this pitiful offer, asked for $10,000 payment for the name.

It seems that this will be settled in court.

What are your opinions on the matter?

Personally I think it's American big business trying to take over and run everything. A 17 year old can't even have his own witty little website. It's Microsoft trying to take advantage of the young boy and show who is in control.

To sum it up bluntly as possible, it's damn stupid.

Link to article

*EDIT as of 7:19 1/20/04 Mike Rowe takes down site*

2004-01-20T05:01:00.000-05:00

It seems some wee FIFA chappie has a sharp new idea for increasing viewershipness(?) of womens sports: wearing less.
And to speak perfectly honestly, I feel it can only be a good thing.

If you think about it, the reason that men don't watch women's sports is the fact that it is a whole lot less than men's - less fast, less strong, less distance. I have expressed my theories in the following handy formula:

less viewers = less sponsorship = less competition = less need for skill/power .: less viewers ...

And of course, the inverse is also true:

more viewers = more sponsorship = more competition = more need for skill/power .: more viewers ...

So if women sportsfolk were to wear less, it would undoubtedly increase the ratings, which would begin the cyclic formula above. Which is good.

* Before anyone complains about how sexist this is, the majority of women who watch rugby in this country only do so because of the 'hunky' players.