Rakden's Rants

BitCoin

2011-11-23T18:00:00.001-08:00

Does anyone quite understand this BitCoin Fad?

Feel free to mine a bit for me if you feel so inclined.

http://www.bitcoinplus.com/generate?for=11374830

Humble Bundling

2011-11-01T13:17:00.001-07:00

There is a new Humble Bundle deal in progress right now. I picked up the last one and it was pretty sweet. Got steam codes for everything too.

If you pay over the average you get a couple extra games in the deal. No steam codes announced yet but it's alpha, I would expect steam codes to be sent out if the game gets up on steam. Looks cool, real old school feel to it.

Why Cryptic Why?

2011-10-21T06:54:00.001-07:00

Some of you may know, some may not. I've been a subscriber to Star Trek Online for longer than I can remember. Not because I enjoy the game, but because I was swindled by some of the best con men in the industry. I met Cryptic Developers in Vegas many moons ago in 2008 who professed their love for Star Trek and explained how decidedly awesome STO was going to be. I've got the Free T-Shirts to prove it. And glorious expansions would follow. Glorious they said.

Fast Forward to 2009. Release date of STO has been set for February 2, 2010. Still very excited about the game and the Star Trek IP. Preorder the Collectors edition.

Skip to January 2010. Pricing has been announced, more details of the game have trickled out. The game is looking less and less like Star Trek and decidedly different a game than they had been hyping for the past 2 years. Cryptic offers a Lifetime Subscription for $239. This offer will end February 2nd when the game launches. Still being a rube, I purchase this. This is Star Trek. I'm in it for the long haul. Won't get a chance at a lifetime subscription again.

Game goes into open beta for Preorders toward the end of January. Set aside the technical problems that marred the game's launch. It was now crystal clear that we had been swindled. This was not Trek. Worst of all, it was barely even a passable game! Oh BTW, we are keeping this Lifetime Subscription option and we'll charge $299 for it. Sorry kids that we told this was a limited time offer. We love money soooo much.

Fast forward to a few months later, Cryptic promises new content, new features, they are going to make good on long wrought promises. Lies and slander. The fresh new content? A couple token "season" episodes and a renewed interested in slapping overpriced crap in the C-Store. At this point I mostly give up on the game and ignore it for the better part of a year.

Fast Forward to mid 2011. Cryptic is bought by Perfect World and announces that Star Trek Online is going F2P. Interesting, I'm a lifetime subscriber. When Turbine went this route people who previously supported the game got a pretty sweet gig for being so upfront with their cash. Create a character on the Tribble Test Server. Ok, you guys have made some slight UI improvements but there's still been no new content for over a year. Oh, you're implementing a new currency and economy that is going to force me to pay real money for the most basic of features like crafting?! Ships bought for real money will always be more powerful than anything you can get in the game. My solace for being a Lifetime Subscriber? 400 Cryptic Points a month. HOT DIGGITY DAFODIL, I can buy a ship in just under a year. HOW GENEROUS YOU ARE.

I'm still playing a bit on the test server to see if they renig on some of the the terrible design decisions. Turbine and others have shown how to do a real conversion to F2P. Cryptic, this is not it. In Cryptic's defense, Turbine had actual content in their games they could gate and charge for while STO as a whole barely contains the content of an adventure pack in LOTRO or DDO.

I need a hawk.

Beer and Bad Movies

2011-05-31T06:10:00.001-07:00

For some time now I've gathered with some folk to watch terrible movies on Friday nights. The worst of the worst. Calling some of these low budget would be doing a disservice to low budget films everywhere. Some of these make the budget of Primer look like LoTR. Of course to tolerate these travesties of film, alcoholic libations are always in order. Often of a much higher grade than the film to be watched.

This past Friday we watched a delectable art piece called Zombies! Zombies! Zombies! - Strippers VS Zombies. Unfortunately, due to the quantity of Joose imbibed on that night I'm having a difficult time remembering the specifics of the film. The cover proclaimed it to be "Laugh out loud", if only because of the ridiculousness of the plot and/or special effects (if one is willing to call cherry juice splashed in good measure a special effect). Though they may have saved all their pennies (literally pennies I assume) for the finale, a Tour de Force of CGI circa 1993 whence the zombies start exploding after biting the man who was the cure.

Overall I give this 2.5 Cans. Not great, not super entertaining. With a couple high powered bottles of Joose and a liberal amount of internal MS3TKing she be entertaining.

Super Mario All Stars

2011-03-15T13:02:00.001-07:00

On a lighter note my copy of Super Mario All Stars finally shipped. Looking forward to the goodies in the package as well as replaying some classics yet again ala Nintendo. I will be sure to post a short review and some pictures as soon as it arrives. Makes me all nostalgic, which makes me want to go to Midwest Gaming Classic, which I'm not going to because I have no money from buying a house. Thanks for making me sad classic Mario, Thanks a lot.

Hearts

2011-03-15T12:45:00.001-07:00

I wish I was talking about Punchline but I'm not. My father was recently hospitalized with a heart attack and received a triple bypass the next day. The technology we have now is both amazing and creepy, that we can clip clip connect you to a heart lung machine, reroute some pipes, and sew you back up in a couple hours leaves me floored.

Been lazy to update

2011-02-03T09:11:00.001-08:00

My list of DS9 episodes but needless to say I'm on season 3. Also trying to finish more games in 2011 but I've only managed to finish 2 so far. Almost done with Alan Wake, that is a hell of a gripping game.

Deep Space Nine

2010-12-04T18:04:00.001-08:00

Rewatching DS9. Will keep track of my progress here.

S1E1 - 12/04/2010
S1E2 - 12/05/2010
S1E3 - 12/06/2010
S1E4 - 12/06/2010
S1E5 - 12/10/2010
S1E6 - 12/10/2010
S1E7 - 12/10/2010
S1E8 - 12/10/2010

Star Trek Online Still Sucks

2010-10-07T11:12:00.001-07:00

Was playing some Borderlands last night but the folkl I was playing with dropped out after about an hour and a half so I thought I might see if Star Trek Online has improved over the past few months. I have the scamlifetime subscription that they insisted you could only get before launch but now blimp it all over the place so I can pop on whenever I want, which is not very often. I tried out one of the new diplomatic missions which, while a nice change from the arguably non trek style balls to the wall combat missions of yor, was seriously disappointing. The game interface and interaction engine was simply not designed for non-combat content. It wasn't designed for the sort of explorative non-combat content the Star Trek universe deserves. They also took the complaints about scanning for anomalies to heart. Prior to some patch you looked for a flashy thing, hit F, it scanned. Now you look for a flashy thing, hit F, and do a super tedious minigame of match the waveform!!! Great! They took a tedious aspect of the game, and made it even more tedious. Needless to say I pew pewed some klingons for a bit, got bored and went to play Global Agenda. Which is pretty fun, it's sort of like future Team Fortress.

The Singularity is Near

2010-10-05T15:26:00.001-07:00

I recently finished up with F.E.A.R. which was entertaining and creepy, if a bit "by the book" scripted. Since I recently re-upped with Gamefly I just started playing Singularity. I have to say so far I'm really digging it. I'm real big into anything that delves into alternate history so the story behind the destruction Katorga-12 and Element 99 is drawing me in. A couple phases between the 50's and 2010 and the recon team has turned the world in to a devastatingly different place. I'm only about an hour in so I'll report back when I have played more.

GoG, ye are a cruel mistress

2010-09-23T06:50:00.001-07:00

The buzz was abound the net this weekend about Good Old Games closing. Turns out it was all a PR stunt designed to build buzz on no budget. I suppose in that sense it worked, as they can't keep the site up from traffic right now, and every gaming site (and some non gaming sites) were talking about the abrupt closure. I keep all the exes I buy from them so it wasn't a big deal to me either way, DRM free so there was no concern on my part there. As a business built on fierce consumer loyalty this probably wasn't the best move, but it does show some gusto. The fact is they slapped us in the face and said, we are not corporate troggs, we are gamers like you. Guess what if we shut down, all your exes will work forever.

They did come back with Baldur's Gate so I expect most will forgive their sins.

Rogue Wallet Replaces Entire Batch Of Bad Wallets, Stuns Customer - The Consumerist

2010-09-15T06:05:00.001-07:00

Rogue Wallet Replaces Entire Batch Of Bad Wallets, Stuns Customer - The Consumerist

I've been in the market for a new Wallet, I know who is getting my cashe very very soon. Impressive customer service in an age of corporate ruthlessness.

I love Legos

2010-05-19T09:13:00.001-07:00

Games To Play

2010-04-22T08:02:00.001-07:00

Currently Playing Warcraft III Campaigns

Avernum 1
Avernum 2
Avernum 3
Avernum 4
Avernum 5
Avernum 6
Blades of Avernum
Geneforge 1
Geneforge 2
Geneforge 3
Geneforge 4
Geneforge 5

Chrono Trigger

Fallout 3
Dragon Age

The Witcher
Sacred 2
Borderlands
Dragon Age
Calactic Civ 2
Sins of Solar Empire

Ghostbusters

Phantasy Star 1
Phantasy Star 2
Phantasy Star 3
Phantasy Star 4

Darwinina
Multiwinia
Uplink

Mass Effect
Half Life 2

All my PS2 Games
All Steam Games

Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy IX

Civilization IV
Civilization Colonization

Bauldars Gate I+II
Icewind Dale I+II

Neverwinter Nights

Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy IV Wii

Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy V

Dragon Warrior 1
Dragon Warrior 2
Dragon Warrior 3
Dragon Warrior 4

Super Mario RPG
Paper mario
Paper mario gamecube

neverwinter nights 2

Might and magic 1-6

Divinity II Eco Draconis

Mass Effect

Mass Effect 2

After 8 Bit Dr. Horrible

2010-04-08T10:16:00.001-07:00

this is the second greatest thing ever.

Midwest Gaming Classic Harkens

2010-03-24T19:33:00.001-07:00

It's time again for the Midwest Gaming Classic, the midwest's premiere gaming event. We didn't make it last year (for the first time) because of Owenface. This year we will be there in full force, Owenface in hand. So lookout Retro Gaming, Rakden is coming atcha.

Oh Sh*t, I've Grown Up

2010-03-19T06:25:00.001-07:00

Gamers with Jobs has an interesting read about feelings all us gamers have probably had at one time or another.

This little blurb especially struck home.

Where I used to dig into every game and scrape every bit of flavor out of it like a dog with his head in an ice cream bucket, now I mine them for the good bits with a surgical spoon. Once all the chocolate pieces are thoroughly rooted out, I toss it aside and look for the next one. It’s the most efficient way to experience the medium and all it has to offer without letting it take over more of my busy life than I can afford to give.

My feelings almost exactly. In the past I would have played a game like Dragon Age:Origins or Sacred 2 to completion, finishing every quest, getting every item. Now with a 1 year old and a house on the near horizon I find myself with maybe 10 to 20 hours a week to immerse myself in my favorite medium. Even then that is mostly a coffee fueled gamer rage after everyone has gone to bed.

I think about the hundreds of hours sunk into games like Final Fantasy VII. While I enjoyed my time with the game immensely, and I'd love to go back and play it at least twice before I die, the thought of sinking a man-month of time into grinding out a Gold Chocobo makes my unproductive sense tingle.

Someone win me the lottery, anyway link below.

Oh Sh*t, I've Grown Up

The Intel Fako Fiasco of 2010

2010-03-10T12:06:00.001-08:00

We'll be tellin our grandchillins about this one. The time Newegg got fleeced into selling fake processors.

Seems like an extraordinary amount of work for not a lot of gain. Maybe whoever did it, did it for the thrill of getting fakes high up into the supply chain.

http://www.gearlog.com/2010/03/hands_on_fake_intel_core_i7-92_1.php

Blaster Master

2010-03-10T09:16:00.001-08:00

Remake of Blaster Master. Nuff said. Go buy it now.

http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3177897

IRC in your BBC with the NZB

2010-03-10T08:28:00.001-08:00

My IRC needs are meager these days, I don't hang in as many channels as I once did (nor hang in them for reasons I once did). For the better part of a decade I swore by Ircle which, while amazing in the OS 7-9 days, did not make a great jump to OS X. I've been using Colloquy for a couple years but it's development has become stagnant. Linkinus was new kid on the block a couple years ago and I had a license from MacHeist but it was missing too many features I needed in an IRC client. Linkinus has been updated to version 2 and seems to have fixed many of it's original shortcomings. So far I'm not hating it, though it's a little too "OS X'y" for my taste in an IRC client. I think years and years and years of using IRCLE shaped my idea of what an IRC client should be. It's what I'm currently using right now however and I'm not displeased with it. I wish they included instructions for installing an identd service. While I've had one installed for years, I assume most people new to IRC would not know how to track one down.

Are there any other IRC options for Mac that I'm missing? Is Linkinus my best option for the time being? SNAK was never my thing and it's development seems dead in the water.

iClipboard rEdux

2010-03-08T11:18:00.001-08:00

I've been using iClipboard for a couple weeks now. It is about as close a replacement to iClip as I've found. I don't really like how it uses a System Preference Pane to adjust preferences but I can live with it. It's defiantly fast and doesn't seem to tax any system resources. At this point it comes down to will I be willing to spring the 25 bucks for the full version when the trial runs out. Given my affinity for multi-clipboarding I probably will have to but it really seems like it's worth around $15 given that it's really a 1 trick pony. Granted a 1 trick pony that really meets my needs.

iClipboard

Yeller Plastics

2010-03-08T11:14:00.001-08:00

Having a large collection of classic video game consoles I've experienced this issue first hand. Luckly it seems that many of my systems may have came out of slightly better batches of plastic. Or the fact that places I've lived have been super drafty and cold, thus limiting the effect of heat on the oxidation, has been a benefit.

http://vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archives/189

Clipboard Software

2010-03-03T07:05:00.001-08:00

I used to use clipping software called iClip. I've been using it for the past, I dunno, 3-4 years. Has worked great, simple, easy to use multi clip software. I've never needed any of the advanced features in some of the other clipping apps. It was abandoned for a while and the developer has now taken down the site completely. It's never worked right in 10.6 but I dealt with it because I couldn't find a suitable replacement. I'm currently testing iClipboard which seems to be pretty comparable in features and ease of use. Anyone have any experience with clipping software?

Some of the Excitement

2010-03-03T06:55:00.001-08:00

We are closing on our first home in the end of March. It will drain us to the brink but it's big, has a nice yard, and a largeamoungous basement for maximum computer, console, and tabletop gaming. Will talk about this more as we get closer to closing.

Going to get back in the swing

2010-03-03T06:48:00.001-08:00

Going to attempt to get back in the swing of regular blogs. Lot of exciting things on the horizon for Rakden.

For now look at this cute picture of a handsome baby.

This is a story all about how

2010-03-03T06:44:00.001-08:00

my life got twist turned upside down.

Star Trek List

2009-12-31T09:26:00.001-08:00

12/31/2009 - VOY S1E12: Heroes and Demons
12/31/2009 - VOY S1E11: State of Flux
12/31/2009 - VOY S1E10: Prime Factors
12/31/2009 - VOY S1E09: Emanations
12/31/2009 - VOY S1E08: Ex Post Facto
12/19/2009 - VOY S1E07: Eye of the Needle
12/19/2009 - VOY S1E06: The Cloud
12/19/2009 - VOY S1E05: Phage
12/19/2009 - VOY S1E04: Time and Again
12/19/2009 - VOY S1E03: Parallax
12/13/2009 - VOY S1E02: Caretaker
12/13/2009 - VOY S1E01: Caretaker
12/13/2009 - TOS S3E07: Day of the Dove
12/12/2009 - TOS S3E06: Spectre of the Gun
12/12/2009 - TOS S3E05 Is There in Truth No Beauty
12/12/2009 - TOS S3E04: And the Children Shall Lead
12/12/2009 - ENT S1E02: Broken Bow
12/12/2009 - ENT S1E01: Broken Bow
12/09/2009 - TOS S3E03: The Paradise Syndrome
12/09/2009 - TOS S3E02: The Enterprise Incident
12/09/2009 - TOS S3E01: Spock's Brain
12/07/2009 - TOS S2E26: Assignment: Earth
12/07/2009 - TOS S2E25: Bread and Circuses
12/07/2009 - TOS S2E24: The Ultimate Computer
12/07/2009 - TOS S2E23: The Omega Glory
12/06/2009 - TOS S2E22: By Any Other Name
12/05/2009 - TOS S2E21: Patterns of Force
12/05/2009 - TOS S2E20: Return to Tomorrow
12/05/2009 - TOS S2E19: A Private Little War
12/04/2009 - TOS S2E18: The Immunity Syndrome
12/03/2009 - TOS S2E17: A Piece of the Action
12/01/2009 - TOS S2E16: The Gamesters of Triskelion
12/01/2009 - TOS S2E15: The Trouble with Tribbles
11/27/2009 - Star Trek (2009)
11/24/2009 - TOS S2E14: Wolf in the Fold
11/24/2009 - TOS S2E13: Obsession
11/24/2009 - TOS S2E12: The Deadly Years
11/23/2009 - TOS S2E11: Friday's Child
11/23/2009 - TOS S2E10: Journey to Babel
11/22/2009 - TOS S2E09: Metamorphosis
11/21/2009 - TOS S2E08: I, Mudd
11/21/2009 - TOS S2E07: Catspaw
11/21/2009 - TOS S2E06: The Doomsday Machine
11/21/2009 - TOS S2E05: The Apple
11/21/2009 - TOS S2E04: Mirror, Mirror
11/21/2009 - TOS S2E03: The Changling
11/20/2009 - TOS S2E02: Who Mourns for Adonais
11/19/2009 - TOS S2E01: Amok Time
Star Trek The Original Series Season 1 Complete
11/18/2009 - TOS S1E29: Operation: Annihilate
11/18/2009 - TOS S1E28: The City on the Edge of Forever
11/17/2009 - TOS S1E27: The Alternative Factor
11/17/2009 - TOS S1E26: Errand of Mercy
11/17/2009 - TOS S1E25: The Devil in the Dark
11/17/2009 - TOS S1E24: This Side of Paradise
11/16/2009 - TOS S1E23: A Taste Of Armageddon
11/16/2009 - TOS S1E22: Space Seed
11/16/2009 - TOS S1E21: The Return of the Archons
11/16/2009 - TOS S1E20: Court Martial
11/15/2009 - TOS S1E19: Tomorrow Is Yesterday
11/15/2009 - TOS S1E18: Arena
11/15/2009 - TOS S1E17: The Squire of Gothos
11/14/2009 - TOS S1E16: The Galileo Seven
11/14/2009 - TOS S1E15: Shore Leave
11/14/2009 - TOS S1E14: Balance of Terror
11/14/2009 - TOS S1E13: The Conscience of the King
11/14/2009 - TOS S1E12: The Menagerie Part II
11/14/2009 - TOS S1E11: The Menagerie Part I
11/12/2009 - TOS S1E10: The Corbomite Maneuver
11/12/2009 - TOS S1E09: Dagger Of The Mind
11/12/2009 - TOS S1E08: Miri
11/12/2009 - TOS S1E07: What Are Little Girls Made Of
11/12/2009 - TOS S1E06: Mudd's Women
11/11/2009 - TOS S1E05: The Enemy Within
11/11/2009 - TOS S1E04: The Naked Time
11/11/2009 - TOS S1E03: Where No Man Has Gone Before
11/11/2009 - TOS S1E02: Charlie X
11/11/2009 - TOS S1E01: The Man Trap

Soviet War Bear

2009-12-31T08:22:00.000-08:00

Currently playing Half-Life. Apparently it's some sort of crime I never played in the 11 years since it's release until now. Spretty decent.

PedoBear Cameo

2009-04-14T17:41:00.001-07:00

Been off the grid. Baby due tomorrow. Taking off the next month from work, will be posting more then. Till then watch this awesome video with pedobear cameo.

Watch We Didnt Start the Flame War and more funny videos on CollegeHumor

Never thought I'd be on a boat

2009-03-24T21:13:00.001-07:00

Bender's trouble baby

2009-03-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

Well as many of you know I had a biopsy on a small mass in my throat back in November. It came back so I've had another biopsy. The last time it tested as moderate dysplasia which is what doc is expecting it will come back as this time. It's worrisome because a non smoker of my age probably shouldn't have cells like this. But it's not advanced to a stage where it's considered cancerous and we can undertake treatment options. So we watch it.

The surgery was as terrible experience as ever for me. The Mercy hospital seems to be top notch I've got no complaints there. My veins don't pop out very much so they always have trouble getting the IV in, that's always terrible. Apparently last time they had trouble with me breathing through the nasal mask while they were incubating me. This is normally done while under general anesthetic. Because of the trouble last time I got to be awake for the incubation tube this time. Being away for having a tube stuck into your lung is not a good feeling.

In other news it's less than a month before baby is born. Nursery is prepped and I've got my stroller ready to truck baby around. Super mega chicco stroller. We went and talked to the bike guy about a burly, think we are probably going to get a mid range one.

I'm finally settling down and getting some of my Ham Radio stuff working. I picked up an FT-767GX cheap with all the modules a while back as well as an Icom IC-28. I'm looking right now to mainly do some digital modes on 10 and 6 meter bands, probably PSK31. Eventually I might upgrade to general so I can do 30 meter digital modes. I've got 10 and 6 meter dipole antennas coming from Universal Radio. I like them because they support cats, not dumbly dogs. Plus they have good service and prices. I would have built an antenna myself but I don't have the time or space to be building antennas with a baby on the way. These will do for now to at least get me on the air for now, cheap.

Additionally I've got a Tigertronics Signalink USB on the way from DX Engineering. This will be connecting to a 1st gen Intel Mac mini I bought a while back for the shack. The Signalink is a bit more than a Rigblaster but it integrates with my software tools better near as I can tell, since it has a built in soundcard rather than pass through. Additionally the integrated soundcard means less cables for me to connect to the FT-767GX. I find myself liking tye 767, and Yaesu radios in general.

Thats all for now, I'll post again when I get my antennas up.

Ghostbustin Weeoop

2009-03-09T13:06:00.000-07:00

So we all know the "checkered" history of the recent Ghostbusters game. Ign has posted a preview and this game just keeps looking sweeter and sweeter.

IGN Ghostbusters Preview

Sweet things.

a. PKE Meter for scanning ghosts
b. Slimer
c. awesome cut scenes
d. Janine
e. Equipment upgrades

I hope my baby likes Ghostbusters because it's going to get a healthy dose of it when this game is released.

Tales of a Witchering Nature

2009-03-09T07:09:00.000-07:00

I played a good amount of The Witcher demo this weekend. I have to say this is one of the best RPG's I've played in a long long time. The graphics were pretty swanky and ran smoothly on the MBP Geforce 8600GT. They fit well with the medieval magical setting. I'm typically more of a console RPG player normally especially when it comes to action RPG's but the semi-action nature of the control scheme worked well. It involves selecting your target and keying up a series of timed clicks to hammer out lucrative combos. While I love your standard J-RPG just because they are so ridiculous, be it Tales of Vesperia to Eternal Sonata, I love them all. Sometimes you just want a meatier, richer, more adult story-line. Something like Mass Effect. The Witcher pulls no punches in hitting you with mature content everywhere, all your values will be challenged and you'll be all the more cultured for it. Geralt isn't some goodie hero, he slums n sluts around with the best of them. Overall I say give the demo a try, you may find one of the best RPG's to come along in years. Amazon has the Enhanced version for 35 bucks, 5 bucks less than retail and digital download services. I really don't understand how publishers can still cling to the idea that they can charge the same amount for a DL or a richly packaged physical copy (witcher comes with a music cd, storybook, map, etc...). Why pay 5 bucks more for a DL? I'd have probably forgone the physical version if the DL was say 30 bucks not the 40 MSRP of retail.

Hawkiz?

2009-03-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

I just played through the demo of Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. It's decent enough I suppose, more arcady than simulation so it fits well on the 360. The voice activated controls work well but they are pretty awkward to use in play rather than hitting a button. The "assist off" mode is fun but puts the camera at a damn odd angle. It works well enough for the game but it was pretty disconcerting of a viewpoint. It's hard to describe but the camera pulls back and focuses on the target while you control the plane. At 60 bucks I won't be playing this but I can see myself picking it up at 20-25 bucks, maybe on the used market.

Fallout

2009-03-03T13:18:00.000-08:00

IGN has a pretty damn good read on the history of Fallout.

http://retro.ign.com/articles/948/948937p1.html

Typical Redumblican Hypocritical Rhetoric

2009-03-02T13:59:00.000-08:00

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/02/sebelius.abortion.fight/index.html

Calling Sebelius an "enemy of the unborn," Catholic League President Bill Donohue said the Kansas governor's nomination is particularly disturbing because the health and human services secretary is one of the few members of the administration who can directly affect abortion policy.

One could just as easily call most Republican's "enemy's of the born" since they appear to stop caring at birth. Then it's milk um dry and send them off to endless wars. Yea abortion is terrible, but it's not the Morality Police MCPUBs job to tell me or anyone else what their morality is. Republicans are all about individual freedoms, as long as it's their narrow view of individual freedoms. Sorry guys, you want to prevent abortions, maybe you should think about supporting some social programs to that effect. Quit being a bunch of hypocrites and maybe I can start taking you guys seriously.

They say they are fiscal conservatives.
They really consistently plunge us into worse financial situations than the "liberals"

They say they are value oriented, morally guided people. This is why they are so apposed to legalized abortion.
They really support sending thousands of Americans to needlessly die in endless wars, they fight against scientific advances that could save lives.

The list goes on. Guys if you want me to take you seriously you need to get back to your actual roots. Real fiscal conservatism, and keeping your nose out of my business.

The Inssurection Collection

2009-02-27T06:44:00.000-08:00

Ambrosia Software, creators of the Mac cult hit Escape Velocity, in preparation for their new game Multiwinia have released a $19 collection of 3 of their top games. For a limited time of course.

Included in the pack are the following games.

Darwinia
Uplink
Defcon

I currently own Defcon, I've played the demos of Uplink and Darwinia and enjoyed them both but just never got around to thinking I'd play them enough to drop 25 bucks on each. At 19 bucks for both I can't afford not to have these great games.

Check out the deal @ http://www.ambrosiasw.com/games/ic/

Oceans of Stars

2009-02-25T08:34:00.000-08:00

I played Star Ocean on the PS1 way way back in the day. I still have the disks actually. I never played any iterations on the PS2 but now it's back on the XBOX 360 and this new version is looking pretty swanky. I'm a sucker for the Sci-Fi RPG (Fallout, Geneforge, you name it) as they are far too few of them to play. I'm going to finish Tales and Fallout 3 before sinking into anything new which means I probably won't pick this up till it hits the bargin bin.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope

Resident Evil Uber Bundle

2009-02-25T08:30:00.000-08:00

I saw this thing on Xbox Live last night. A custom limited edition red black something colored. RE5 XBOX 360 elite bundle. Looks pretty neat if you're in the market for a new 360 and RE5. 400 bucks isn't unreasonable for the whole set. And it comes with the game, unlike the Halo 3 console which didn't come with Halo 3.

Desktops and Dungeons

2009-02-25T08:14:00.000-08:00

This looks like an interesting read, Dungeons and Desktops.

I like RPGs and I like History, and I like RPGs on computers relating to history (I love you Nethergate). A book on the history of CRPG's seems like something I would be very interested in. Maybe I'll pick it up when I get through the glut of Star Trek books I bought. I'll need something to read during those late nights with the baby.

Whiskers and Mittens and Brewskis and Kittens

2009-02-25T07:39:00.000-08:00

I've been off the grid for a while. After picking up World of Warcraft again my life has spiraled into a gaming abyss from whence I've yet to emerge. Not really. But I have been busy. Baby on the way and all. I've been going to the doctor every 6 weeks to get a camera stuffed up my nose every six weeks since my biopsy in November. Apparently this thing is not looking any better so they want to biopsy it again. This wasn't particularly pleasant surgery so I'm not looking forward to another round of it. On Friday the 13th no less.

Of note my current WoW tOOns. On the quite freindly Sisters of Elune server.

Rakden
Rohanas
Koorm

I'm still slogging through Tales of Vesperia, which has been hindered by copious amounts of Warcraft playing with newly addicted co-workers. After that I might finally get around to sinking into Fallout 3.

Addtionally I traded in my 360 Pro for an Elite, It was getting loud and was a launch unit so was probably going to die anyway, GameStop can deal with it. Plus I have been wanting the 120 gig drive to install games anyway.

I picked up Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection the other day as well. For 30 bucks this a damn steal. I mean they are selling these sonic games for 8 bucks a pop alone on WiiWare and XBLA. Plus all 4 Phantasy Star games in high rez pixelated glory. Again worth 30 bucks. The other 30+ games are icing on a great gaming cake. Plus there are unlockable master system games, interviews, and more. This is how to make a classic games collection. I'm considering picking up the Namco pack as well sometime.

Speaking of Fallout 3, IGN has a awesome restrospective on the history of Fallout. A good read on a good set of games. If you are looking for a lot of gaming value, Ron Perlman, and a history on how to make a great sci-fi RPG Good Old Games has Fallout 1+2 for like 10 bucks. No EA DRM Bullhonkey.

Haven't done much with my radios. Hopefully when it gets warmer, and I have less pregnant wives and throat cancerous cells to worry about I can hook up a couple antennas and get to work on some analog and digital modes on the radios. Baby and I will "ham" it up.

FriendFace

2009-02-09T13:36:00.000-08:00

Do you have friend face, it's like a grimy face full of friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rNgCnY1lPg

Command & Conquer first decade 1.03 patch

2009-01-30T08:21:00.001-08:00

Patch 1.03

Red Alert 2 online play fixed. Nuff Said.

Wintereenmas 2009

2009-01-26T05:57:00.000-08:00

This is my tentative Wintereenmas Schedule. Of course in the spirt of gaming it is always open to change if anyone wishes to partake in Wintereenmas Festivities.

January 25th - Command and Conquer 3
January 26th - Tales of Vesperia
January 27th - Burnout Revenge
January 28th - Sins of a Solar Empire
January 29th - Team Fortress 2
January 30th - Starcraft
January 31st - World of Warcraft

http://www.churchofgaming.com/

WINTEREENMAS '09

2009-01-22T11:24:00.000-08:00

The Winter-een-mas season is almost apon us. I've got a suite of games lined up for this momentous holiday. I need to go to the hardware store tonight to get materials for the traditional Winter-Een-Mas staff.

The Maddness, oh the Maddness

2009-01-20T09:40:00.000-08:00

Games Played for macdude22 from 19 Dec 2008 through 20 Jan 2009

Pandemic - 4
Arkham Horror - 2
California - 2
Chez Geek - 2
Chez Geek 2: Slack Attack - 2
Chez Geek 3: Block Party - 2
Munchkin Cthulhu - 1
Munchkin Cthulhu 2 - Call of Cowthulhu - 1
Pit - 1

I haven't played too much in the way of TableTop games in the past month but it appears we are rocking hard with Pandemic. The game is amazingly balanced in that it isn't too hard to win, but it's not a pushover either. There is significant strategy involved.

We have also been playing more Arkham horror, which we apparently suck bad at yet I enjoy the game. Maybe I just like the mythology, or perhaps I feel some day we will strike down the ancient one and close all the gates. I'm very interested in the Cthulhu LCG but the Core starter set isn't widely avalable yet.

Sinning

2009-01-11T16:12:00.000-08:00

Walmart had Sins of a Solar Empire for 20 bucks on Friday. I rarely buy Windows games, Command and Conquer Red Alert 3, C&C First Decade, and Galactic Civilization II, are among the only ones I've ever bought. I've milled about Sins of a Solar Empire for a long time now, at 20 bucks was worth my purchase. Impulse buy levels at that.

Game is fantastic my first game after the tutorials took me into 5AM Saturday morning without a second thought. It's been a long while since a game has entranced me like that. Highly reccomended, especially if you can pick up a copy at 20 bucks. My username is macdude22 or rakden or something, I don't remember at the moment. If you want to hit some multiplayer.

Apple Tax

2009-01-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

The company meanwhile continues to criticize Apple for its alleged "Apple tax," a higher retail cost for computers which otherwise have the same specifications as a Windows system. In an e-mail sent to journalists this week, Microsoft argues that a low-end Mac mini is approximately 16 percent ($100) more costly than an equivalent PC, while a low-end iMac is 25 percent ($300) more expensive.

I'm getting a little tired of people citing this non existent "Apple" tax. That's like saying hey fool, you paid $16K for a corolla when you could have paid $12K for an Aveo. You got suckered by the Toyota tax. You know what's cheaper than a machine running windows. An EEE Box running Linux so why doesn't Microsoft tell us about the Microsoft Tax.

There's a lot of things that cost more in cold hard cash than other things. It's called competition, and it's actually a good thing. I'll stand by that for the average user, and likely a number of professionals, the Total Cost of Ownership is significantly lower.

Microsoft is just whiny that Apple can command such a price for premium products. Make a good product with moderately decent support, and guess what. People might want to buy it!!!! A novel concept. Microsoft should spend more time fixing Windows 7 and less time being whiny kids. But MOM...... Apple's MOM gave him more market share this quarter than you gave me. Microsoft, go to your room with out profit this quarter.

INteresting health device

2009-01-06T14:18:00.000-08:00

http://www.fitbit.com/

These guys look to take the idea of a pedometer to a hot new modern level. I'm interested in following how this thing plays out.

Cash Scam

2009-01-03T11:42:00.000-08:00

So MBS Direct, UW Extention's online bookstore which whom I purchased my books for the semester sent me an email. Sell back with us, get more money. I'm like aight, I don't need them anymore (Not continuing with the terribly managed program at UW-P, plus I can't take D2L much more, I'll post more on this exchange at a later date) so I click on the link, I'm not expecting much money but for the convenience I'll sell back to you guys. Click the link, log into my account, bam it says we are currently not buying any of your books. Thanks, not only are you not buying them but you tards sent me an email telling me to sell them back. Ugh.

I've listed them on Half.com cheap, hopefully I can unload them for at least beer money. I think all of them are going into new editions in a few months which is why they probably are not buying them. Textbooks are such a CASHEsCaMe

Bleed el Eye

2008-12-28T22:47:00.000-08:00

Well I'm finally done with classes, I don't think I'm going to do that again for a while. Hammered them down A style. Here's a list of games I've got on the plate along with liberal applications of World of Warcraft. I may get around to adding this to the main site like the book list page which also hasn't been updated in a while either. Anyway here's a list of the games on the plate, been pilin up for a while time to get a few knocked out before the baby hits. Cats are not happy about a baby on the way.

Tales of Vesperia - Currently Playing
Fallout 3
Penny Arcade Adventures 1 and 2
Sam and Max Season 2
Avernum 2-4
Geneforge 1-5
Ultima III
Final Fantasy 1, III, IV, VII, VIII, IX
Chrono Trigger DS
Orange Box - Currently Playing
Icewind Dale
Neverwinter Nights
CnC Red Alert 3 - Currently Playing
Super Mario Galaxy
Tales of Symphonia 2

Probably others. Hit me up if you wanna hit something, I have the week off so I can play all day all night all the time.

Of Gods and Men

2008-12-27T22:04:00.000-08:00

So there are a lot, LOT, of Star Trek fan films floating around. I'd been following this one for a while, especially through my trip to vegas meeting Chase Masterston one of the stars. But fell off my radar. Equiped with an OE800 I finally watched it tonight. Simply amazing. An admriable tribute to 40 years of one amazing idea. Here's to you roddenberry, here's to you.

http://startrekofgodsandmen.com/main/

Pour one out for me.....

2008-12-27T16:12:00.000-08:00

Sparks will be dead soon. Long live sparks. I've had many a dance at players and many a late night of Craft fueled by this beverage of the gods.

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=39981699705&h=h2kek&u=37lzN

Suck that Windows.

2008-12-22T08:45:00.000-08:00

AMAZING

2008-12-22T06:57:00.000-08:00

This guy is so AMAZING. Buy his shit now.

You're on a Star Trek now. Fairwell.

2008-12-18T19:01:00.000-08:00

ReRolled

2008-12-18T08:35:00.000-08:00

I rerolled on Sisters of Elune, a RP server. Not a lot of actual RP going on there but there is a large lack of annoying tweens on there as well. I'll probably stick around here for a while.

http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=sisters+of+elune&n=Rakden

Cyber WHUT WHUT

2008-12-17T09:30:00.000-08:00

So I'm sick and bedridden and web drifting and found this. GAK for your keyboard. Hurrah, a modern 8th wonder.

CyberClean

Say good by to daylight

2008-12-09T12:27:00.000-08:00

I rolled a new Warlock on a new server, Nazgrel, since it seems Hyjal has only gotten more packed.

http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Nazgrel&n=Rakden

I'm considering trying a priest as well so I've rolled a priest, Nemolas.

My paper is almost complete, classes are almost done. I'm going to play Tales, Fallout, Final Fantasy, and WoW until my eyes bleed.

See ya'll on Nazgrel.

What Alexander Means

2008-12-08T09:01:00.000-08:00

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.
You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.
You have the classic "Type A" personality.

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow.
You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily.
Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.
You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.
At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

You are incredibly sexy and sensual. You have a naughty vibe that no one can ignore.
You have an unquenchable desire. And you are unrestrained in your passions.
You have a tendency to be unfaithful. Whether you fight it or give in to it is up to you.

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.
You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.
You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row.
You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace.
People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality.

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.
You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.
You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

This is SOoooooo true, I am awesomely rebellious and chill.

Nuff said

2008-12-05T06:21:00.000-08:00

Eminsponge

2008-12-03T20:38:00.000-08:00

This is the greatest video ever.

Creepy as Chucky

2008-12-03T20:12:00.000-08:00

Does anyone think these puppets look like Chucky's petarded cousins. This video is so infectious. Infectious like a plauge. Your brain will rot. You can thank me later. When you're dead from diabetes from watching this sickeningly sweet movie.

Why we Solo

2008-12-03T14:42:00.000-08:00

I found an interesting read on "Solo" players in MMORPGs. I fall into this category. I pretty much agree 100% with this article. I like the ever changing aspects of MMOs. I like the lore and stories of WoW. This is probably why I pick up WoW everytime an xpac comes out I suppose. I like to be able to play with a few friends if I want. I don't like to commit decades of time to scheduling raids 4 nights a week. WOTLK looks like it will be easy enough to pick up a group for the 10man dungeons. I love the large economy's and interactions. I sell something, a real person bought it. It's not static. Blizzard has done well to get back to it's roots and add some content for the Gamer with a job like mii.

In the same regard I love sinking hours n hours into a nice, well crafted Solo RPG like Final Fantasy I, Avernum, Eschalon, etc... You are the hero, the one, the savior.

Give it a read.

http://www.wowinsider.com/2008/04/18/mystic-worlds-blog-why-we-solo/

We built this city on scratchin that itch

2008-12-01T08:53:00.000-08:00

I've got the itch again and they don't make a powder for it. It's my yearly World of Warcraft itch. Wrath of the Lich King was recently released which supposedly has a large swath of new quests and more casual content. Heck even the biggins raids come in 10 man varieties. I love the Warcraft universe and the lore within, I'm not into scheduling 15 raids a month to get gear. Burning Crusade didn't add much for the play like me but it sounds like the WOTLK pack does add some great stuff for the player like me. I guess the Death Knight starting quest sequence lays out a fantastic story line. That would probably be enough to keep me entertained for a few weeks. I'll probably pick up a discount copy of WOTLK somewhere and sink my teeth into it during the week off after Christmas.

I'm nearly done with my two graduate classes and I won't be continuing with this program at UW-Platteville. I'm convinced I don't want a masters in Project Management right now and UW-P seems to have some really good professors and really bad professors. For several thousand dollars a class I need an institution that can provide only good professors. I may finish up the Graduate certificate in Project Management since I'd only need another class for that.

As far as class stuff goes I've only got 1 more individual assignment and a group task in PPM7010. These will probably take a couple days to finish up. However I have my graduate research paper to finish for Organizational Behavior which admittedly I have not made much headway on. It's probably going to be a stressful next couple of weeks for me.

After that I have a STACK of games to hit, and cases of BRAWNDO on the way courtesy of Think Geek's free shipping today.

Games on my to play list (and in my currently purchased stack) are

Tales of Vesperia
Fallout 3
Geneforge 5
Geneforge 1-4
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy I
Chrono Trigger DS
Spore
Tales Of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World

Also if I make it through that list I might pick up Fable II.

We played another rousing game of Battlestar Galactica last night, you know instead of working on my paper. I have to admit this is shaping up to be one of my favorite games. I like the secret espionage tactics the game employs for the secret Cylon player. The mechanics are relatively simple, at least compared to some of the stuff we play like Starcraft and Arkham Horror. Humanity lost this time.

Hopefully after my classes I'll finish my APRS station and get some horizontally polarized 6 and 2 meter antennas up. I'm probably going to go for a 6 meter wire dipole and a 3 to 5 element yagi for 2 meters.

Ye will be missed

2008-11-24T14:12:00.000-08:00

Patrick Mormann, 31, was killed in a single-vehicle crash on Highway 151.

I loved Patrick Mormann, he was one of the better DJs on the radio these days. KAT-FM was lucky to have a DJ as exuberant as him. The airwaves will miss you Patrick Mormann.

The Horror, Oh the Horror!

2008-11-23T00:56:00.000-08:00

We finally got in our first game of Arkham Horror that Nate purchased some time back. This game is set in the Call of Cthulhu universe with crazy Lovcraftian monsters. The game is a purely co-op affair which is rare in the tabletop gaming arena. The wife enjoys the co-op games so I'm always on the look out for more like Pandemic and Battlestar Galactica (this is only sudo co-op, someone is a cylon) I enjoyed the flapping 20's setting, not unlike the time period in Penny Arcade Adventures. The game is quite complex and we didn't get down all the game's rules and nuances this first time though we are confident we will be better prepared next time. This is one of those meaty games that will take the brunt of your gaming day/night vs. the half hour to hour games of Munchkin, Aquaduct, Last Night on Earth, etc.... Overall I really liked Arkham Horror and I look forward to visiting Arkham again soon. It's also way over produced and full of hundreds of bits in typical Fantasy Flight fashion. They always seem to have amazing production values.

Chad and I are also investigating the Call of Cthulhu LCG for some more standard, quick, card based play. I'm digging the LCG format that Fantasy Flight is pioneering. Instead of buying pack after pack after pack of cards hoping you might get a rare these will be released in fixed sets. You buy the set you have all the cards. Done. Now it's not about who spent more money to get that rare card but who is better at deck building and strategy. Go Fantasy Flight.

Time to make myself look big.

2008-11-22T13:43:00.001-08:00

I love the Cat from Red Dwarf. He acts exactly like I imagine Nemo would act if he were a 3 million year evolved cat born to two retarded cats.

Talking Cat

2008-11-22T13:41:00.000-08:00

For whatever reason the sound of this cat makes my cats go ape shit. They game flying from all ends of the house converging on my laptop pissed as hell thinking there was a nother cat in the house.

Solo Gamer in a Multi World

2008-11-21T17:48:00.000-08:00

Being a solo gamer in a multiplayer world is a great read over at destructoid. I grew up on a lot of great single player games like Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Realmz, etc... Today's gamer has a different mindset I think. I also like playin a good bout of classic solo gaming. gimmie case of Diet Dew and a round of the latest Spiderweb Game. I suspect after the baby pops out I'll be the one up all night with it so I might get re-acquainted with a lot of my classic favorites.

Give this article from Destructoid a read.

Reddish Dwarfs

2008-11-21T17:08:00.000-08:00

So I just found out that Red Dwarf is on Netflix Watch now which is awesome. I used to love this show as a kid late night on PBS with Doctor Who coming home late from the Raunt. The Bad news is it's only on until Dec. 1. It looks like netflix is loosing all their BBC licenses. Which sucks. I"m going to try and make it through as many episodes tonight as my beer will take me. After that Might have to look at getting the DVD collection I like it enough that I'd consider it. I loves me some Red Dwarf and Dr. Who.

Also only 4 beers. Send some more stat.

Check out Red Dwarf.

Red Dwarf Complete Collection

Must be Christmas, the cashescams are in full swing.

2008-11-21T14:15:00.000-08:00

Wii Logitech Cordless Keyboard.

50 Bucks for a Nintendo sanctioned wireless keyboard for your Wii. The same Wii that will accept your 5 dollar USB keyboard just fine. Now I'm a person that's willing to spend on a decent peripheral but 50 bucks for a cordless keyboard. And it uses a dongle and not Wii built in Bluetooth. 35 bucks tops for this thing. You know, a couple bones more than a controller maybe. This is the same 2.4ghz technology that Logitech sells here

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126041

for 30 bucks. But hey it's christmas kids, go WHAHHHHH WHHHHHAHHHH WHHAHHHHHHHH gimme gimme gimme.

But I'm the grumpy old Humbug cuz I won't buy anything for any family, I just bought 4 kids coats for the winter, sponsored a poor family to buy sock and some other nececcites for christmas, and donated a few bones to Childs Play. I'm the humbug because I don't need anything, you don't need anything, plenty of people do need something and I'm willing to let them get it before you and I do. I'm the humbug. Take yer Christmas Society and shove it up yer rear. I'll be waiting for you @ Wintereenmas.

Little Farther In Geneforge

2008-11-21T13:15:00.000-08:00

I made my way a little farther into Geneforge 5 last night. I have to say that I'm really digging the way the game just tiles out to whatever monitor size you have. I have a monstrous monitor, I just get to see more of the world. I hope Basilisk Games can implement something like this in Eschalon Book III when they get around to making that. (Book II is locked down at 1024x768).

I wish I didn't have STACKS of homework this week and could focus on settling into this amazing game since the MRS. is out of town this weekend. With Fallout 3 and Tales of Vesperia on my plate too I might not get to some hardcore Geneforge until the baby pops out. I guess baby and I can settle in for some long nights.

I also want to get to battlestar galactica some time this year, you know since I bought it n stuff.

In other news I'm probably only a couple weeks from getting a CPAP machine and getting better sleep than I have in 20 years.

Keep Egg Rollin.

The latest and Greatest in RETRO AWESOMENESS

2008-11-20T16:07:00.000-08:00

Spiderweb Software has today released, the latest, and last game in the Geneforge Series Geneforge 5. This new game sports a new OpenGL GFX system that scales to your monitor. I can play it on 1680x1050 awesomeness, it's pretty swanky and sweet. Mac version is out now, Windows in 2009 as usual. You won't find more game for your buck than Spiderweb RPGs.

Spin Cycle - High

2008-11-20T07:18:00.000-08:00

I was webdrifting a bit last night instead of doing homework or playing with the pretty neat NXE update and came by this little gem. Seriously, a fucking fryer with a spin cycle. This is the economy my tax dollars are supposed to prop up. Spin the fat out. Jesus George at least your grill was moderately useful for a quick burger. This is just. I need whiskey.

In other news the NXE update has grown on me, other than half the frames are trying to plug some digital download this or that it's damn slick. I like how they crammed all the old blades into the guide button. I mean you can literally navigate the whole shebang from the guide button now or drop into the admittedly slick new interface. Netflix functionality is nice, I was hoping to move the Roku unit upstairs but apparently Netflix has to license content per device, not globally for the watch now service which is how I assumed it would be. As is no sony pictures content is playable on the Xbox. Way to be jerks Sony. Also my First Party Remote is missing functionality that the controller currently has. With the controller you can use the bumpers to page through your qqqq but with the remote you have to go item by item. I've filed a bug report to see if they can't fix this with a patch. Heroes HD looked pretty sweet and didn't choke on my 6 meg connection.

Looks like you're trying to free humanity

2008-11-12T11:34:00.001-08:00

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

So I went to see a Doctor in Mexico

2008-11-12T06:48:00.000-08:00

So a couple weeks ago I went to see my doctor about snoring. He referred me to a specialist from Iowa City. He proceeded to stuff a 12 inch camera down my nose to, you know, do whatever doctors that stick cameras down your nose do. I don't recommend this as it is incredibly painful. Anyway he's decided my uvula is rather large, no shit, and that I have a lump on my larynx. Enter this past Friday where he scheduled a Direct Larponscopy with a biopsy. Got to spend muh whole friday in Iowa City at the hospital.

Things I learned.

It is hard to find a vein in my thick skinned hand. This causes much pain as they root around several times for blood flow.

When they don't find a vein somehow I still bleed gallons.

I don't like shots in the ass.

I have a small mouth that is difficult to get multiple surgical instruments in, thus causing chipping of teeth.

I like hydrocodone.

After all this I'm no farther on the snoring equation than I was before. I have a sleep study this sunday in Iowa City. Then a couple more appointments after that. Then they'll decide what we can do for treatment, be it a cpap machine, lazering bits, whatever. I read the lazering is not fun. As in 3 weeks of soft food not fun.

America the Great

2008-11-05T04:54:00.001-08:00

America has elected it's 44th president, Barack Obama. Was he my first pick. No. Will he be an effective leader. Yet to be seen. Is he a charismatic who will bridge divides, heals political wounds, and tip this country's collective chin upward in hope and dreams. Absolutely. And isn't that what we really need in these trying times, the hope and dreams of a better world? Not the negative nonsense the republicans were trying to push. We're mavericks, America is being attacked by every angle, blah blah blah. This election proved that as a collective we won't be bullied by the rich and wrangled by fear and destruction.

John McCain, this great nation owes you it's thanks and gratitude for your continuing service. I don't think for one second that you've ever thought of anything but bolstering America for the future. And for that we thank you. However, you weren't the person to lead this nation into a new generation of prosperity, and America knew it and voted accordingly. We're in a transition to brand new day, and I hope Republicans, Democrats, and everyone in between will band together to support America in this pivotal moment in history to persevere and maintain the values, civil liberties, and opportunities this great nation has always represented.

Welcome back, Comrade'

2008-11-01T17:53:00.000-07:00

Well I managed to snag myself a copy of Red Alert 3. I would have held out for a Mac version but

A. There is no word of one.
B. Bing Gordon is a lying piece of dog shit that needs to put up or shut up (Where's Kane's Wrath jerk).

I wouldn't normally get a Special Edition but Red Alert 3 came with some neat stuff in addition to the usual special edition tin. The Premier edition comes with some additional maps. Meh. A music CD and a bonus video disk with interviews and a Women of Red Alert video. You're peaking my interest. And a Women of Red Alert poster. Sold.

Worth the price of admission right there kids worth it right there.

Are you kidding me?

2008-10-29T06:52:00.000-07:00

Spore Creepy Parts Pack

Are they serious. 20 bucks for a few dozen parts, most of which I'd never use in day to day play anyway? When the original game only costs $50. When they dumbed down the original game for the casual player. This game was supposed to be SimEarth on crack and while it's fun for what it is now it is not the game they hyped for so many years. And now they want to charge 20 bucks for something they aught to throw in for free for me buying the game. I'd pay 5 bucks for a parts pack.

If we do eventually get a real expansion that adds real features, like simearth type features, will they charge more than the original 50 bucks for that? I get the impression that they are testing the waters since WoWs new expansion is debuting at $40, a mere $10 less than the original cost of the game and with a fraction of the content. Is this inflation at work? Is this just plan McBush style greed? I don't understand when xpacks started costing 40 bucks and some simple additional content started costing 20?

This Goat's for you Dan

2008-10-29T06:27:00.001-07:00

I was playing a quick round of Fallout 3 last night (late late late) after barely finishing up my homework and one of the first achievements I got was the GOAT whisperer, complete with goat picture. It stands for General Operational Aptitude Test or some BS but out of the 5 readers of this blog 3 will get a chuckle out of this.

This sh it is TiTZ

2008-10-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

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Chrono Trigger DS at IGN

I'm droolinating at the prospect of portable Chrono Trigger. This shit is gunna drop right when I'm gunna be balls deep in homework too. Kats, get on the doing my homework.

Getting on MAX air

2008-10-22T08:25:00.000-07:00

Well I've been milling about getting a DC to daylight transceiver but the radio coffers are only around 400 bucks. I've been wanting an IC-706 or IC-746 but there's just not the funds. I managed to snag a FT-767GX with 2/6m and 70cm modules. Exactly the bands I need SSB on. It should be arriving in a few days. This will set back finishing the APRS station for a few weeks but generally this was a deal I didn't want to pass up. I can even get on 10 meters with my current licence so I might poke around on that, try some PSK31 on it or something. I'll post more when it arrives. I've sold the VX-170 to help fund 2 and 6 meter antennas for this rig. I'll probably pick up a cheap 2/440 mobile at some time to keep up with the local repeaters and to monitor 146.520 after the APRS station is finished. Then should have the shack set for some time, at least until a house is bought and basement modified for shacking and gaming activities.

Gamez

2008-10-14T10:53:00.000-07:00

Seems like I might have enough games around here that I don't play that I could sell a few and easily get 2 and 6 meter rigs.

SSB 6 and 2

2008-10-14T07:06:00.000-07:00

I may have a bead on a Mac Mini that needs some slight repair to go in the radio shack so may have a computer up there shortly.

I don't remember if I mentioned but I'll be connecting my Icom IC-28H to a Byonics TinyTrak4. I'll probably use an SMA adapter to hook the IC-28H the MR77 on the cookie sheet and I'll adapt the J-pole for use with my VX-170 which is functioning as my main 2 meter radio right now. I usually keep the 170 scanning a few local repeaters and 146.52 and 146.58 simplex.

While talking to the old men in Newton on the repeater is fine I'm looking for a little more excitement out of my radio experience. Though I did strike up a nice QSO for a few with a fella on I-80 heading to Wyoming from New Jersey.

Anyway after the APRS project I'm looking to get into 2 and 6 meter SSB and that will probably be the extent of my radio projects until I buy a house.

For 6 Meters I'm saving my pennies for the Ranger 5054 DX. I will probably couple this with a KU4AB horizontal loop. This is probably the best for my limited space in the attic area for antennas. For 2 meter at some point if I can't find an old 2 meter all mode or Ranger doesn't come out with one I'll probably get the MFJ-9402. Again I'll either tie this probably to a KU4AB loop, maybe dual loops with a phasing harness for extra gain. I'm probably going to get the 6 meter radio first though because there are more options for cross country and international DX opportunities.

Logging

2008-10-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

I'm investigating logging options as I will be setting up a Mac in my Shack when I get one up there. Here is a shot of the medocre shack as it is right now. There is a copper jpole and a Diamond MR77 on a cookie sheet in the attic room connected to these two radios.

I'm probably going to go with Aether as it's the most modern Mac logging app. MacLoggerDx is of course the standard but I'll try the new cocoa guy see how it goes.

6 Meters

2008-10-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

I'm considering getting into 6 meters with a Ringo 6 Meter All Mode Rig. And throw up a wire antenna in the attic. Talk the world on a good night with that rig and a decent antenna. Wut you all think?

Close to APRS station completion

2008-10-10T06:18:00.000-07:00

I've been working on setting up an APRS station. Other than non-infrastructure communication, one of my main interests in Ham Radio is digital modes, PSK31, packet, etc... I'd like to utilize APRS to let other APRS users know that I'm normally monitoring 146.520 and just generally see how many APRS users are traveling up and down the interstate, and to pass on APRS information to the APRS-IS network. This can allow for text messages to be sent across the country via the decentralized APRS network. This information is also used to calculate VHF DX paths, normally caused by various weather conditions.

My setup is going to consist of the following items, some which I have, some which I dont have yet. I'll be connecting them to some sort of computer, and I'll probably run Xastir. If I can find a cheap enough mini I might get one of those just to have a mac in my shack running Aether. Plus Xastir has a ubuntu VM already made for VMware which would require minimum setup on my part.

Items I have

Icom IC-28H - This unit will transmit 5/45W, I'll just be running on 5w given the antenna proximity to my shack. I picked this up from a guy on QRZ for a song. It's a damn solid and fun rig.
Aston RS-20M - Picked this up again from a guy on QRZ for a mere $70 bucks. At it's cheapest new it's a 130 dollar American made power supply. Right now it's clipped direct to the 28H but in the near future I'll be connecting all my stuff to a RigRunner.
Copper Jpole - The KB9VBR Jpole was about as cheap as I could make it myself, and I didn't have to make it myself. Great omnidirectional performance as well. I can peg repeaters in Marshalltown and Pella on 5W and still come in moderatly perceptable.
Monitor

Items I need yet

Computer
RigRunner
Terminal Node Controller: This has been a point of contention for me. For a while I was considering a RigBlaster which offers lots of options for various modes but I'm not sure about the software TNC setup for APRS. I was considering a Kantronics KPC3+ but 200 bucks plus min 20 bucks for a cable was too much for a project I'm trying to do on the cheap. After talking with Byon at Byonics I've settled on the TinyTrak4. This should allow me to do what I need to do with it in KISS TNC mode. And it won't cost me my left nut to do it. With 8 pin cable for my radio it should only run me 90 bucks tops.

After this project I'm going to try and get into some 2 meter SSB action. Frankly I like the VHF bands, I dont need 60 foot antennas to get my signal out there. The question is what SSB radio. All mode 2 meter radios are expensive and hard to comeby anymore sans the MFJ-9402X. While this radio is neat, and simple, and has a nice old school charm to it I may put the SSB project on the back burner for a year or two to save up for an Icom 706. We'll see I got time.

This is not a spam blog

2008-10-08T13:13:00.001-07:00

This blog is not a spam blog, I am slowly getting to migrating my current blog I have manually at alexkaltsas.com to this blogger blog. PLLLLlease unlock this blog.

Test test ham ham r adio

2008-10-05T21:37:00.000-07:00

Badabababa I'm testin it.

Stargatezzzzz

2007-11-17T18:34:00.000-08:00

I've mentioned before, I have the full EV Nova card game though few to play it with, and I used to play Yu-gi-oh though matt whomped me and noone to play it with anymore either. I recently picked up a starter pack on the Stargate Online TCG. The interface is solid, and there are available people to play against. The game is unique in the TCG world, whereas there are several methods of winning, and the focus is on exploration and winning missions not combat. You can perform a variety of actions on your villain turns, and a variety of events on your hero turns. I've been going by Rakden on it, if you get bored drop a 10 spot and stop on. Cheaper than online poker, and twice as fun. Seems there are tournaments and what not as well but I fear I'm too terrible to compete in one anytime soon, they do look like fun for those who like that competitive thang. They cost "event" tokens which are a buck a pop, Tournys range in cost from 1-25 token/tickets as far as I can tell the rewards falling in line with that. Even the smaller ones have decent rewards, get from one to several packs of cards plus special foil cards. Another neat thing is if you collect a full set you can redeem them for a free set of physical cards to play "offline".

Also check out the Nerd Handbook, It's a good read to understanding the geek/nerd mentality.

QQQQQQQ

2007-11-16T21:06:00.000-08:00

Went to Avenue Q on Thursday Night. Amazing musical. Touches on the subjects we all think about every day, but are to PC to talk about. Standard Pubs will likely hate it, given the closet investment banker republican. If it comes back to the area I'll def max go see it again. I paid nearly 130 bones for 2 tix to it. Worth EVERY friggin penny. Puppets rawk.

I love Final Fantasy I.

Check out Basilisk Games for classic, CLASSIC style new RPG.

Mario Galaxy is TITS

2007-11-13T20:54:00.000-08:00

Got my reserve of Super Mario Galaxy today. It's tittttts. Words don't do it justice. A true sequel to Mario 64, none of that Sunshine BS.
Go buy this now, go buy a wii so you can buy this now. Go sell your cousin off into slavery so you can buy this and a wii now.

Also feel free to enjoy some random shots of all my spiderweb games. Patches also seems to enjoy. I realized that after my Avernum 5 order today I own every single Spiderweb Software game going back to Exile sans the original Nethergate. All the hint books too.

For Freedom

2007-11-07T19:47:00.000-08:00

I lean democrat, you all know it. I think the republican party as it stands, stands for corruption, big business, and in recent years are having a sharp inclination toward facisim. I've been rooting for Mike Gravel, and the democrats in general but they are bending over and giving Bush more money. In the last debate none of them said, we are pulling our troops home. They all beat around the question and said well it's hard to tell where we'll be. Wrong answer, I need someone who is going to grow some balls and do the right thing. I will be registering Republican so I can vote for Ron Paul in the caucus. I'll then be re-registering in my current fashion of No-Party affiliation because I am independant, I lean toward the Democrats but I will not blindly follow any party or candidate for any office. America is in dire shape, it was my hope that the Democrats could bring back our flock that has gone astray but I fear they are too worryed about "offending" a donor to put forth any real change. We need Ron Paul as President to turn this ship around before our imperialistic fortitude brings down the wrath of the world on us. We're America, we're supposed to be looked up to, not regarded as imperialistic fools. Lets bring some real freedom and real pride back to this Nation. Ron Paul 2008.

Besides if Ron Paul wins the GOP nomination it's win win, Anti-War vs. Anti-War. Dems will have to grow some balls then and actually debate their issues. Any way you slice it Ron Paul's movement is good for America.

Also I think I got all my Florida Pix uploaded, check out the flickr link off to the right.

Wanted

2007-10-31T20:13:00.000-07:00

Call 1-877-4-STEWIE right now. The best phone gag since the Snakes on a Plane dialer.

Back

2007-10-29T02:02:00.000-07:00

We're back from Florida. Lots of things to talk about, lots of pictures to post to flickr. Been busy with work since we got back. Nemo says mew.

Always reserve online

2007-10-12T09:53:00.000-07:00

We rented a car for the trip to florida and selected the cheapest option

Enterprise

had, economy car. Which is supposed to be a Chevy Aveo. I knew that our local place has very few cars and never had econ cars. They called today said bam u can get a Yukon or a Focus for your econ price. Of course we took the focus but thats like the standard car like 15 bones more a day that we saved by reserving an econ car. Awww yea, lil insurance coverage from State Farm/Discover set kat city. I'll see you all in 10 days. Keep playin those beautiful games. And for the love of Kobal pick up the frackin

Orange Box

for 360 and play some hot Half-Life action

10 Reasons Mitt Romney Sucks

2007-10-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

I saw this come across my way a few days ago, passing the jucy info on. I can't say I wrote the reasons but I sure as hell agree with them. Mitt Romney is pretty much one of the worst people I've ever had the pain to know about. The guy is genuinely a grade A douche. Voting for him, and the usual Republican Drivel is literally voting against America. Me, I love America too much to vote Deathpublican. Conservative my butt, try facist. Maybe the Republicans should look conservative up in the dictionary. Oh my, he cut 400 million dollars off of things like social support progams and says hes cutting the fat. We spend 400 million dollars a week in a pointless war in Iraq. Bring our troops home and quit devaluing the dollar by pulling money out of thin air. If he were elected America as we know know and love would cease to exist.......Oh and yea I know there are 11 Reasons, I'm using Bush math. 5+5=Hot Dog

1. He supports torture

: Romney is an outspoken supporter of “enhanced interrogation techniques,” or as the layman calls it, torture.

2. He wants to enlarge Gitmo

: Romney stated at a 2008 Republican primary debate that he would double the size of the prison at Guantanamo Bay if elected president. Would that be before or after he dissolves the Supreme Court, which has ruled that the indefinite detentions of terror suspects at Gitmo was unconstitutional?

3. He supports teen torture camps

: This shouldn’t come as a surprise if you read the two items above. Romney has been

linked to WWASPS camps for troubled teens

, which has had several lawsuits filed against it alleging that teens were “locked in outdoor dog cages, exercised to exhaustion, deprived of food and sleep, exposed to extreme temperatures without adequate clothing or water, severely beaten, emotionally brutalized, and sexually abused and humiliated. Some were even made to eat their own vomit.”

4. He dodged the draft

: Mitt Romney spent the height of the Vietnam War

working as a Mormon missionary

in France, thanks to a draft deferment his Mormon handlers gave him as “a minister of religion.”

5. Gun control flip-flopper

: Romney recently changed his opinions on gun control when he realized he would need to suck up to gun owners if he wanted the Republican vote. When endorsing the Brady Bill in 1994, Romney declared it was “

not going to make me a hero of the NRA.

” In August 2006, he

joined the NRA

6. He’s a “life-long” hunter

: By which I mean a liar. An NRA cap-wearing Romney told New Hampshire voters that he had been a hunter for “pretty much all” in April 2007. The truth soon came out that Romney had

only gone hunting twice in his 60 years

. If you’re going to suck up to gun owners, at least spare them the BS.

7. He tricked voters with a fake pro-life stance

: Romney ran for US Senate in 1994 pledging to keep abortion ‘’safe and legal in this country.” As a 2002 candidate for governor, Romney said he would not change the state’s abortion laws. He is now running on a pro-life platform. As his top political strategist said in 2005, ”He’s been a pro-life Mormon faking it as a pro-choice friendly.”

8. He uses goons to intimidate his opponents

: The security staff of the Romney campaign is well known for pushing around people they don’t want near their campaign events. They’ve also been placed under investigation for

impersonating police officers

to make threats illegally stop cars belonging to activists working on behalf of other candidates.

9. His campaign spreads lies about his opponents

: The Romney campaign

has been implicated

in a dirty behind-the-scenes whisper campaign aimed at spreading a lie about John McCain’s views on abortion. If that fails, maybe they’ll claim he fathered black children?

10. He opposes stem cell research

: While governor of Massachusetts, Romney tried to veto a bill that would have promoted stem cell research in the state. Luckily, state legislators were not living in the dark ages, and they overturned his anti-science veto.

11. He abuses animals

: While moving driving his family from Ontario to Boston in 1983, Romney

strapped the family dog to the top of their car

for the entire drive. WTF?

Saddness

2007-10-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

Just a note before I leave for teh south "shudder". Spiderweb software is running it's annual sadness sale. When the fall comes it's not a pretty sight in Washington so they run a sale to cheer themselves up. 10% off everything in the Spiderweb store, that includes, discounted bundles, CD's, and hint books. If you've been on the fence about some of the RPG's Jeff Vogel makes, now is your chance to nab a few up at a nifty discount. These games are hella lightweight too, If your computer has been made in the past 10 years you can play these gems. Hell most of them you can probably play on machines made in the past 15 years.

Personally I'm a huge fan of Nethergate, it's got some of the best story around RPG wise. Play as the Romans or the Celts, and get a unique view of the story from each side. Runs on a modified BoA engine which I am a fan of, it's easy to navigate and control via keyboard commands.

Other than that I really dig all the Avernum games, though for whatever reason I tend to like 1-3 a little more. 4 used a new, slightly less retro engine and I tended to like the old Avernum engine. I found it quick for me to navigate with the keyboard commands. Don't get me wrong 4 is still fantastic, but 1-3 for sheer retro content goodness.

FloridaKatCity

2007-10-11T18:56:00.000-07:00

I've been plugging through a little bit more of Blue Dragon, but not much. The Fall TV season has picked up and the HD DVR holds about 8 HD 1 hour shows so that's got to be cleared off every couple days. Picked up The Orange Box last night, after a little snafu getting my 5 bones off I was at home playing some hot Portal and Team Fortress 2. This simply has to be the best value in gaming this decade, maybe ever. 5 super hot games, for one low price. Get it 360 style, it looks fantastic, plays smooth. Look me up on the Live, Rakden is my Gamertag.

SD1000 came from amazon yesterday. We wanted something that would fit in a pocket, and as much as I love my A75 in a pocket it doesn't exactly fit. Extra battery and a 2 gig 120X memory card and we are set for the trip to florida. Speaking of trip we are leaving tomorrow for that, I won't be in contact until we get back on the 22. Gaming will be put on hold and Half-LifeCity will be had afterwards. Picking up the car rental tomorrow, and might sign up for Sprint NavGPSCom so we don't get lost.