Video Games

I like video games. Can’t you tell?

Adium+GLaDOS

I’ve been compiling a list of great OS X programs for a couple of my friends, and thought this is a perfect little tidbit to bring up.

My chat program of choice is none other than Adium, a great, free little program. I love it to death, due to its amazing customization it brings. So when trying to find a perfect replacement for the sound effects, I came across this:

http://www.adiumxtras.com/index.php?a=xtras&xtra_id=4996

The villain from Portal, GLaDOS. She spouts off little things like “Who are yoou?” when someone IMs me, or “Are you coming back?” when someone disconnects. I find it all too hilarious. My family, unfortunately, finds it too annoying. One day, when I left I accidentally left my Adium open. Coming home, i found my speakers on the floor, and the cables frayed. I freaked out, thinking someone broke into my room. As it turned out, I left the volume up high, so my mother kept hearing “ARE YOU COMING BACK?” and “WHO ARE YOOU?” over and over again and went crazy and trashed my speakers trying to get rid of the sounds.

The speakers are fine. I kept the sound set so i can drive her crazy some more. I did get to change the adium icon set to Mia Fey from Phoenix Wright….

I am everything nerds love to hate.

After seeing

‘s recent return to Macs (receiving a shiny new MacBook Pro), I came to a realization- I am everything nerds love to hate. It’s an odd conclusion to come to, yes, but it’s kind of… well, true.  I am a big Mac fan and a Playstation 3 fan to boot, both of which aren’t very popular to represent in some online communities I frequent.

I’ve been a Mac fan… well since I started using computers, which was back in the second or third grade, if i recall correctly. My elementary school was populated with Macs, and I used both the regular LC 520 and the Performa 5300 in the computer labs. I distinctly remember preferring the Performa 5300 due to the better sound that would come out of the games i would secretly install on them (Command and Conquer, anyone?). But at home, I would use a PC, so growing up, I had been accustomed to both computer types. But the impressions Macs left me were undeniable- I even requested a colored case, “Just like a Mac” on my Pentium III machine.

Today, I still use my PC from time to time, but I am a huge Mac fan, as i have discovered the ways of QuickSilver and its productivity brethren that have risen out of the Mac application community. I await eagerly for the “next big thing” from Apple, downloaded the iPhone SDK, and wear black turtlenecks. I don’t go on angry tirades to support Apple, I don’t defend them even when the situation is hopeless (I still don’t really use the iTunes store unless the tracks i want are in DRM free format), I do think the Macs are utterly hopeless at playing video games (that’s what my video game consoles are for!) – But to have a creative and powerful machine for high end applications for sound, image, web, and video editing- my Mac does it all wonderfully, and I’ve been happy with it so far.

I’ve been a Playstation fan since… well, the PS1 days. My friend Primo used to own the original back in elementary school, and I loved to play Armored Core games (god, that’s one series that have gone downhill). I owned a PS2 for three years before it stopped working (dead laser). So I just played games for a while on my brand new PC at the time (now, the system barely qualifies for minimum system requirements, if not, at all). At the time, i was looking forward at the “next-gen” consoles, and I started leaning towards the Xbox 360, for the games (Halo 3 caught my eye early). But as reports of console failures started leaking out, I was getting worried about having another dead console on my hands. Plus, I realized that I didn’t like the Halo series at all, finding the story to be rather cheap, in my opinion. With the coming of Metal Gear Solid 4, I used the high paying job I had at the time to buy the 60 gig PS3 with full backwards capability.

And you know what? I don’t regret it. I had a keep my mouth shut for a while on owning the system, as forums I frequented declared early victory to HD-DVD, as porn would have decided a victor. I had to hold myself back from gloating when Blu-Ray became the victor… because I found it to be not so sportsman-like of me to do so. Yeah, the Xbox360 got some games I really wanted (Dead Rising, Mass Effect), but I did get some great games on the PS3 to play (Echochrome, PAIN, Ratchet and Clank). Plus the games I really wanted- Rainbow 6 Vegas 2, Rock Band- are multi-platform on the PS3.
The jokes I get for using both the PS3 and the Mac are… well, rather endless. I had a freshman in high school attempt to mock me for using the PS3, commenting, “Great, the PS3! You can play all the game it has!” (oddly enough, this same joke was used by a webcomic artist I know). I also get similar ridicule from mostly gamers on using the Mac, not understanding that the biggest application I use for the Mac- Final Cut Pro- IS ONLY AVAILABLE ON THE MAC. For what it does, the Mac gives me what I want, and does it damn well. Same goes for the PS3- I use the multimedia capabilities on the PS3 almost daily, watching DiVX-encoded films and episodes of my favorite shows without having to be sitting down at the computer all the damn time.  So yeah, I’ll be mocked for what I have. But I’m a silent supporter- I’ll stay with both the Mac and the PS3. It’s a source of ridicule, yes, but they work, and I’m happy enough with that.

EDIT:
IF i may indulge my Mac loving for just a little while longer, this is an excellent blog post on the advantages of the Mac platform, as done by a former windows programmer:
http://chris.pirillo.com/2008/02/14/50-reasons-to-switch-from-microsoft-windows-to-apples-mac-os-x/

super smash brothers brawl

i have it. i’ve been playing it obsessively. who has it?

my friend code:
3093-6758-5763

organizing.

I’m sitting in the computer lab of my college, eager (ha) to start my first week of classes. Most of my friends have all but returned to their respective colleges, and i was probably one of the last to start. I’ve been in a flurry, just continuing the classes i need for my general education courses needed to transfer to other schools. I’ve also started to organize myself a bit better now. I’ve realized that my current system of organziation is woefully lax, and as such, have begun to use my palm pilot a bit more now, as before, i used it as a method to play old school SNES and Genesis games on it (wonderful little emulator called LittleJohn, i think), but with the coming of my mac, i’ve started to sync it more often and keep at least a reasonable schedule on it. I’ve also found myself rather happy with the way i’ve been managing my time and my efforts in the variety of projects i have strewn about. iSync does a wonderful job of connecting itself with the Palm HotSync manager on the Mac, and i can be able to keep my address book now on my mac, my palm pilot, and my cell phone, to boot. Simplicity at its best.

Two sites that i’ve found that have helped me along the way is Lifehacker, an amazing blog with little tricks to help manage your time and your basic way of life, and Plaxo, a retarded sounding networking site. Both have their ups and downs that are remarkable to me and have helped me try to get stuff organized for now. I’ll be using Plaxo to sync my calendar with google calendars so i can have that running about as i’m on the go. I’ve been considering getting my own personal site with its own domain name just in case i need to get some… hub site of sorts together.

‘s own hub site is an excellent example of one for comics, but i want one that would combine my personal and professional work in one simple site. I was thinking about making it as a WordPress site, but i don’t want to abandon LJ. I guess I’ll have to weigh the pros and cons of everything I have so far and see if having my own separate blog would be a good idea. I was thinking of creating a unified RSS feed for everything i have so far, using Yahoo’s excellent Yahoo Pipes, which was used to create the unified Cornstalker Collective feed back in the day. What’s coming out of this, you ask? i have no idea. First off is to learn the new template systems for Joomla 1.5 and for the PHPBB3 forums. From what small glimpses i’ve had so far, it looks like the stuff is relatively easy to use and whatnot, so we’ll have to wait and see on how everything goes.

True Blue

Okay, so I found a random torrent of Sonic The Hedgehog. I downloaded it, not knowing what exactly i’d get myself into. its a Japan only CD by the looks of it… but it’s all these great sonic themes. I even found the opening song from Sonic Adventure 1, which all too amusing for me. Even the disco-esque theme from the old Sonic R is in here, making me laugh to my family’s distaste. I’ve been playing Sonic Adventure 2 now again. Thanks, sonic. you ruined my work ethos due to nostalgia.

I caaan’t hold on muuuch loooongerrrrrr…

so the big massive update.

So yeah, i promised myself i would write this entry for the past two weeks now, but i keep forgetting to do so over the amount of work i have piled up on me. I haven’t written in this since december of last year, so i have some shit to talk about…

Well, for one, I am currently working on multiple websites. Six, to be exact, and that number is to grow by two or three soon. I’m hoping that I can improve my skills with CSS and conclusively working on design at the same time may help my portfolio, and the planned launch of my own personal site come next month. I’ve been trying to play around with other colors in my scheme, as i’ve found that i’m wayyy too fond of black background sites. The Team Mayhem site, coincidentally, will still be all black, baby. The Joomla 1.5 code finally got out of beta and release canidate status, so it’s all good, baby. I don’t know why i keep saying baby, BUT I AM.

I now have a TV in my room, which i have my PS3, DC, and Wii hooked up to, but it distracts me, so i had to leave the PS3 out over at my friend’s house so i wouldn’t be tempted to play it. My bouts of playing Pain as well as Super Puzzle Fighter 2 HD Remix (i blame soap committee for that. crazy white girl…) have slowly turned into addictions i had to get away from if i can actually try and get some work done around here.

I’ve also attempted to keep a microsoft free working enviroment- working on mac already is a no brainer, but i’ve been keeping up on the open source community. no MSN messanger, no word, nothing of the sort. i’ll probably write a bit more on that later.

oh, and new icon. its an old picture my friend primo did. i’m still as fugly as ever.

pride of the video game kind

I haven’t had my Playstation 3 over at my house for the longest of times now, and it’s only recently going to be placed into my room, as a small television is also going inside the already cramped room. I’ve kept it at my friend’s Primo’s house for a while now, leaving it in his care as a Rainbow Six: Las Vegas machine for him and his brother. Thinking about it, i feel an immense sort of pride. Not the fanboy type of pride, or else I’d be spending too much time trying to defend the system on some unknown site, which would be a complete and utter waste of time.

My family hates video game systems. They find them too noisy, and i don’t try and play them much around them. They did get a kick out of playing the Wii, but that infatuation died pretty quickly. The only video game system that was bought for me was the Game Boy Pocket- it was a clear one, if i recall correctly. I lost it at Vons, a supermarket, after i forgot to take it with me after hopping out of the cart. I remember being devestated. Wanting another one, i saved up my money and bought the exact same model. I had pride, joy- i bought this all for myself, and i felt proud for doing so. This emotion held on as i bought the Game Boy Color, and the Game Boy Advance. I kept both the GBC and the GBA, not because I’m a pack-rat, but it’s a source of pride and memories for me.

I had never had a console of my own- sure, I borrowed a neighbor’s nintendo 64 long term, but i had nothing of my own. Finally, after playing a friend’s Dreamcast, I wanted my own. Hell, my friend Primo and i used to walk around four miles as kids down to Sears, where there was a stand for playing Crazy Taxi 2. We would switch off playing the game, enjoying just the demo of it. I started to crush and collect cans, save my allowance, and whatever money I could scrounge. I was a smart kid, so i decided on a refurbished Dreamcast from Gamestop- it had a warranty, and it would do just fine. I saved enough money to get the system along with a memory card, and bought it on my own. I remember being so happy that when my mom asked what games I would play on it, i froze- i forgot to buy a game. She took pity on me and let me rent a game from Blockbuster- Shenmue. I bought the system late in it’s lifespan, but i didn’t care, i had my own console, dammit! And besides, there were plenty of games on the system to keep me occupied. I was enough of a Sonic fan that Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 (along with the subsequent purchase of Crazy Taxi 2) that made the system worthwhile.

I did a similar thing with the Playstation 2. I bought it refurbished, and it lasted me a damn long while. When it finally died on me, I was incredibly sadded. I was able to convince a EB Games representative to return for store credit, at full cost- unbeknownst to them, the system didn’t even read disks anymore. I went a while without a system then, but I had a job that was playing awesome amounts, and I began thinking about another system- the Wii. I’ve detailed my Wii experience before (see previous posts)

Now, the PS3. That was fun, as i had to walk a block after buying it, alone, trying to hide the fact that I had a giant PLAYSTATION 3 box cradled somewhat underneath my arm, wondering how I would be able to get past the various people i eyeballed and suspected to be theives (everything went according to plan- i still have my ps3.). I still have the same amount of pride as the first Game Boy Pocket I bought for myself. It’s not just a video game system for me, i suppose. it’s a sort of childish pride i still hold.

I don’t know where i went with this. i just felt like writing it.

quick tidbits

Got the strangest spam subject ever.
“If your girl cannot be satisfied with your weewee, you have to turn it into a schlong!”
… this is the first time i actually laughed at a piece of spam, outside of those annoying Nigerian prince bullshit that i get once in a blue moon.

So yeah, I just passed my midterms. Or actually, finished all of them exempt for one. That one will be done on Thursday. With that, I can focus on my… final project for english. From one stressful annoyance to another. I am working on a script for my screenwriting class, a romantic comedy, if you can believe it. It was an idea that kept swimming around in my head, and i finally decided to bang it out and get it out of my head sooner or later.

I’m working on a couple of sites. Not sure when they’re done, but I’m banging out content so they’re not bare when they launch.

Having troubles sleeping now and then. Can’t get to bed until say, 12-1 am in the morning. It’s hell waking up in five hours or so.

Family is visiting from Chicago- some I’ve never met before. I get to be my usual wonderful self. With this whole family thing, I’m interested in my geneology. The little tastes I’ve gotten have turned out to be pretty awesome.

Download Saul William’s The Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust! Then buy it. I know i am. The album is a spectacular mix of industrial rock and rap. its wonderful.

It hit me- my 2.4 ghz Pentium 4 machine can no longer be supported by the new games coming out. I’m definitely going back to consoles now.

Rented Manhunt 2 for the Wii. meh. just… MEH.

Meh should be in a dictionary.

I need to beat Phoenix Wright to get the new game coming out.

I bought Ratchet and Clank. It’s wonderful.

back from hawaii

Well, i took a vacation and didn’t tell anyone two or three days beforehand. yes, i am back from the wonderful trip in Hawaii, where i spent 7 days with family. It was fun, admittingly so, and just gave me an itching to get back home to work on projects. (I had ideas for scripts while floating in the pacific… mmm).

Here’s one of the many pictures:

that’s at a hindu monstary on the island of Kauai’i. I want to get all of my pictures up, but i think i’ll try to move most of my pictures to a flickr account. I’ve been using a yahoo account to play with its Yahoo Pipes program, so i guess i’ll pop the pictures up there soon enough.

oh, and i got this in hawaii.

OH YES. K-Dawg‘s told me to go and get Pokemon, which i might will… funny, i think i still have my original copy of the game somewhere around here…

wii and ds, oh my.

So, an interesting adventure this weekend revolving around the Nintendo DS and Wii.

I’ve been really tempted to get a DS for a very, very long time. Friends such as , , and  have ranted and raved on how great different games are, so i started looking for one. AND I COULDN’T FIND ONE.

And here’s the worst thing, i picked up Phoenix Wright (the sequel), and i don’t have a DS. so it sits unused. Oh forgive me, amusing lawyers!

So then, this past Saturday, i got news that Circuit City was going to receive a shipment of Wiis. As an almost spur of the moment idea, i convinced my best friend Primo to wake up early with me the next day (being 11:30 PM at the time). So we did.

We stood in the middle of the line from 7:30 to 9:30, when they started handing out vouchers for the Wiis. They stopped 3 people ahead of me and yelled out “SORRY! NO MORE WIIs!”

My heart stopped. I looked at my friend Primo, who looked like he was going to kill me and use my entrails to floss his teeth. I was about to turn away when the manager rushed out of the store and said, “wait no! We have 26 Wiis! not 22!”

Little cherubs came down from the sky. I was number 25 out of 26. I couldn’t turn around to watch the other people leaving in dismay.

I walked into that damn place, and walked out with a Wii and Legend of Zelda. Now I have Phoenix Wright, a Wii, and Zelda.

now to get monys for a DS.