Matt's Blog: The Geek Life

That did not take long

2009-02-22T03:41:00.003-05:00

Since I last posted, the obvious happened: my car broke down (twice!) and now I'm in the market to get a new car. The period of being debt-free was indeed quite short.

Until the next thing comes up at least

2009-02-16T22:29:00.003-05:00

I am happy to say that I have just scheduled the last of my student loan payments and I am now completely debt free. Form an orderly queue, lenders of the world. I'm sure you'll find a way to get me.

2008-12-19T02:54:00.001-05:00

...
Algiers Point has always been somewhat isolated: it's perched on the west bank of the Mississippi River, linked to the core of the city only by a ferry line and twin gray steel bridges. When the hurricane descended on Louisiana, Algiers Point got off relatively easy. While wide swaths of New Orleans were deluged, the levees ringing Algiers Point withstood the Mississippi's surging currents, preventing flooding; most homes and businesses in the area survived intact. As word spread that the area was dry, desperate people began heading toward the west bank, some walking over bridges, others traveling by boat. The National Guard soon designated the Algiers Point ferry landing an official evacuation site. Rescuers from the Coast Guard and other agencies brought flood victims to the ferry terminal, where soldiers loaded them onto buses headed for Texas.

Facing an influx of refugees, the residents of Algiers Point could have pulled together food, water and medical supplies for the flood victims. Instead, a group of white residents, convinced that crime would arrive with the human exodus, sought to seal off the area, blocking the roads in and out of the neighborhood by dragging lumber and downed trees into the streets. They stockpiled handguns, assault rifles, shotguns and at least one Uzi and began patrolling the streets in pickup trucks and SUVs. The newly formed militia, a loose band of about fifteen to thirty residents, most of them men, all of them white, was looking for thieves, outlaws or, as one member put it, anyone who simply "didn't belong."
...

Katrina's Hidden Race War

Bert being evil

2008-12-05T03:14:00.000-05:00

Bert Loves W... too much

Random Dan Quayle Anecdote in 3... 2...

2008-11-14T05:23:00.003-05:00

"At one time, the President and Vice-President were given three-inch-high models of the Washington Monument to put beside their beds. They had simply to knock them over to summon the guards.

But the models were abandoned after Vice-President Dan Quayle - noted for being clumsy - knocked his over late one night while making love to his wife.

In seconds, the door burst open, the lights went on and Mrs Quayle was thrown out of bed to the floor as bodyguards flocked around her husband to ensure his safety."
The Mirror

Update for extra zaniness:
"Presidents and their families quickly learn that even trips to the bathroom come with security precautions. Lyndon Johnson, never very subtle, had perhaps the most direct way of expressing his frustration. Once, after pulling his car over to the side of the road for a pit stop, agents quickly surrounded him as he relieved himself. A sudden breeze prompted one agent to alert the president, "Sir, you're pissing on my leg." Johnson, not budging, replied, "I know. That's my prerogative.""
President Johnson being a jerk

What

2008-11-14T04:17:00.003-05:00

The translators for Ar Tonelico probably should have taken another pass at the dialog in this (possibly NSFW) scene.

Seizures for Jesus

2008-11-05T05:26:00.001-05:00

Seizures for Jesus

This will lighten your day

2008-11-04T05:32:00.001-05:00

Actually, no it won't.

Kicking some butt

2008-10-31T04:48:00.001-04:00

Pandemic has released a little patch (see the video!) for Mercenaries 2, a FPS of some kind. Yeah, just watch the video.

If you're poor...

2008-10-30T00:36:00.002-04:00

... it is your fault because you are immoral:
America's poor are poor because they are immoral

So, if you lost your manufacturing job when your corporate overlord shipped the factory overseas, yeah, it is because you are not ethical. (Plus, I thought the poor were more likely to be devoutly religious?)

As the last one disappeared

2008-10-24T06:24:00.001-04:00

Here is another YouTube: (which also happens to be not work safe in the slightest) Johnny Mac and Joe Lieberman make a porno

VLAD AND BORIS' SONG

2008-10-21T04:10:00.001-04:00

Vlad and Boris make YouTube for Sarah Palin.

Steal some uniforms

2008-10-20T04:57:00.002-04:00

Clichéd "steal some uniforms" gag leads into political burn:
Seth MacFarlane, a LIBERAL!?

"Triumphal" vs. "Non-ideological"

2008-09-22T13:25:00.002-04:00

... Their goal is to restore what conservative and other critics see as leading casualties of the campus culture wars of the 1980s and ’90s: the teaching of Western culture and a triumphal interpretation of American history.

“These are not ideological courses,” said James Piereson, a senior fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute, ...

Conservatives Try New Tack on Campuses (NYT)

How, exactly, is a "triumphal interpretation of American history" not an ideological stance? Was Andrew Jackson's Trail of Tears a triumphant moment in US History?

World War I isn't so bad this way

2008-09-17T05:20:00.002-04:00

World War I as portrayed by dogs.

Things like this

2008-09-17T04:40:00.002-04:00

Things like this are why its gonna suck to not have Don LaFontaine around.

I like this Palin 4 Prez

2008-09-11T06:35:00.001-04:00

Vote Michael Palin

It doesn't seem very safe

2008-09-08T06:01:00.002-04:00

I'm the most crazy person I know, but this seems a bit too much: Speed skating. Extra bonus: the Metallica in the background.

It shouldn't be a surprise

2008-09-06T04:56:00.001-04:00

Sarah Palin: "Racist, Sexist, Vindictive, and Mean"

Abstinence ONLY!!!1

2008-09-01T18:24:00.004-04:00

John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin said Monday that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant, an announcement campaign aides said was aimed at rebutting Internet rumors that Palin's youngest son, born in April, was actually her daughter's.

Source

About those "Internet rumors," it turns out that Sarah Palin went on a mountain hike while seven and a half months pregnant. No one on the hike noticed this. She also started contractions after an event in Texas and then decided to take the eight hour flight to Alaska (followed by a two hour drive to her hospital of choice). Not exactly what you'd expect.

But the real point, however, is that we have a hardcore abstinence only freak who cannot prevent her harlot daughter from having two babies out of wedlock. This is one of those special times where the obvious failures of a policy is so close to those promoting a policy, which just warms my heart.

Update:
The father of the illegitimate child. A real class act!

On his MySpace page, Johnston boasts, "I'm a f - - -in' redneck" who likes to snowboard and ride dirt bikes.

"But I live to play hockey. I like to go camping and hang out with the boys, do some fishing, shoot some s- - - and just f - - -in' chillin' I guess."

"Ya f - - - with me I'll kick [your] ass," he added.

Classy as all hell.

C-C-C-combo breaker! update

Sarah Palin laughs at cancer survivor.

Jerome Corsi is a tremendous shiteater

2008-08-15T03:59:00.003-04:00

The Politics of Bitchslapping Jerome Corsi: Unfit for Publication

Jerome Corsi, of course, is the shitweasel who lied about John Kerry in 2004 with his anti-American book Unfit for Command. I just wonder if this will reach the NYT Best Seller list.

Attention US101 Drivers

2008-08-09T00:42:00.003-04:00

You do not have super human reaction times. I realize that on crowded roads you will want to pack in close to everyone else, but at 60mph you have less than half a second at that distance. Now I realize that you are like to think you are important, but physics has no ego distortion field.

The four second rule is the only thing stopping you from winding up eating that windshield you dumbass. (Now, I haven't been tailgated this bad, but you see it all the time).

O'Reilley, Savage, Hannity Cause Violent Shootings

2008-07-29T15:03:00.002-04:00

Jim Adkisson, the man who shot two people to death in a Tennessee Unitarian church this week because he was angry at “liberals and gays,” had an array of right-wing books at his home. Inside his house, “officers found ‘Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder’ by radio talk show host Michael Savage, ‘Let Freedom Ring’ by talk show host Sean Hannity, and ‘The O’Reilly Factor,’ by television talk show host Bill O’Reilly.”

via ThinkProgress

Russian History Expressed as a Zombie Metal Music Video

2008-07-18T03:21:00.002-04:00

Bigger and Russianer

There are no words.

And to think this guy isn't syndicated yet

2008-06-25T04:58:00.003-04:00

you'd think the soviets would have won

2008-06-21T03:16:00.001-04:00

with moves and beats like this
Soviet Roots of Breakdance

Ron paul oh ate

2008-06-19T02:42:00.001-04:00

Yup.

That is how you pwn

2008-06-19T02:06:00.002-04:00

Slanderous douchebag gets arrested partially due to efforts of bloggers: Larry Sinclair arrested after NPC appearance.

Keep on Talkin, Michelle Malkin

2008-06-13T05:26:00.001-04:00

I want this painting so bad.
Details

I feel bad for them

2008-06-09T04:39:00.002-04:00

The Onion doesn't even have to try anymore: Judge bans accurate wording

It seemed relevant with the recent court decision

2008-06-05T04:24:00.001-04:00

This is how you troll in real life man

We salute you

2008-06-03T05:20:00.002-04:00

Space Pig Fedya

God speed, Fedya.

Time traveling atheist activist judges

2008-06-02T03:38:00.003-04:00

Despotism and Democracy
Pay attention around 60 seconds onward and you will witness first hand the nefarious time traveling activist judges at work!

If you need a hint, say the Pledge of Allegiance along with them. You should notice it.

Just when you thought the internet was fresh outta crazy

2008-06-01T16:38:00.003-04:00

Wisconsin Feminist Science Fiction Convention

You cannot get more specialized than that, really: average midwestern state and science fiction. Oh, and throw in some tangentially related socio-political movement. Sounds good. The schedule does not work anymore, but some of the featured panels included "The Joys of Fat Sex." I am not sure how that relates to science fiction.

This is how I (Rick) roll

2008-05-25T17:56:00.002-04:00

I recently attended a good friend's wedding. And yeah, during the reception, I Rick Rolled him.

Dark side, psah that's nothing

2008-05-20T04:37:00.002-04:00

Vader kinda being a dick

Not even safe for work

2008-05-20T02:50:00.001-04:00

Yeah, flying dongs are not safe for work. Flying dong interrupts Russian political gathering.

Attention: If you don't know your history

2008-05-15T19:10:00.003-04:00

... someone will call you on it if you try to use it for political gain. "What did Neville Chamberlain do?"

Liquor Store Archaeology

2008-05-15T00:19:00.004-04:00

I was minding my own business at BevMo when this bright orange liquor caught my attention. I give you: KRUSKOVAC!
1 and 2

It actually is not half bad, but with certain caveats. It is fairly syrupy and sweet, so a little bit goes a long way. (These traits might make it a decent aperitif or digestif.) It does contain Yellow 5 (Tartrazine) and Yellow 6 (Sunset Yellow FCF). Both allegedly will cause hyperactivity in children, but if your kid is drinking this, well, your parenting skills should already be called into doubt. There is also a chance of an allergic reaction if you are sensitive to aspirin. (Yellow 6 is banned in Norway, so you cannot enjoy a hearty KRUSKOVAC cocktail after a long day skiing on the Norwegian slopes).

Colbert is not immune either

2008-05-14T14:24:00.001-04:00

We'll do it live!

Because Bill O'Reilly is a poop head

2008-05-14T01:02:00.001-04:00

Because they decided to take the YouTube video down for Copyright Violation or whatever, here it is on Huffington Post.
The video again

Ladies and Gents, Bill

2008-05-12T02:08:00.001-04:00

Bill O'Reilly (NSFW)

I can make an exception here

2008-05-11T22:29:00.003-04:00

I normally think that weather is not divinely inspired, but this is just too good: God Sends Thunderstorm to Jenna's Wedding

Holy lol

2008-05-09T02:05:00.001-04:00

Vidcons

how daft can one get?

2008-05-08T02:09:00.002-04:00

You know, I usually hate those "Find the dumbest guy on the street and make him look stupid for our TV show" things, but I can't believe this many people do not know something like this: Stupid people

I wonder how many of them will still use the thoroughly debunked "Saddam did 9/11" thing when it comes to Iraq...

This guy wants to take Sen Ted Stevens' seat

2008-04-28T23:41:00.004-04:00

Mark Begich is the Democrat running for Senator Ted "Series of Tubes" Stevens' spot in the Senate. This parody website, however, is perfect. Series of Tubes II

Amazing, Amazing

2008-04-25T00:51:00.003-04:00

Listen to these wonderful NSFW MP3s.

I found the source for the video I posted earlier (conspiratorial ramblings).

Computer god communism.

Fox News hates Catholic priest, etc

2008-04-19T06:27:00.003-04:00

A catholic priest is interviewed by Fox News and basically destroys the increasingly adverserial reporter's questions in his comments on Rev. Wright and that whole furor.

I love "Did Bill O'Reilly serve in the Marines?" A complete non-sequitor really, but still priceless.

McCain is pretty good at the ice burn (NSFW)

2008-04-08T07:23:00.003-04:00

NSFW:
McCain says a lovely thing to his wife:
At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you c---."

So much for that analysis

2008-03-25T03:43:00.002-04:00

Bill Richardson on the Today Show

Fast forward to about 2:50 and you'll hear about a Franklin and Marshall poll. (The rest is old news by now. Bill Richardson the Judas blah blah blah.) I wish I could find the source material being cited, but 26% of Obama supporters would not vote for Clinton if she was selected. One in four is quite a lot. 37% of Clinton supporters, though, would not vote for Obama (nearly two in five, even worse).

First off, I think most sane people would agree that change in the Executive Branch is absolutely necessary. As it stands now Bush regularly polls in the mid-twenties on job approval ratings. Clearly, people should reconsider the foot-stomping temper tantrum attitude here. McCain is positioning himself as the sequel to Bush (whether or not this is him just pandering to shore up the base, I am not sure), so I'd hope the choice is clear.

What bothers me though, is an assertion I have seen on a variety of political sites that Obama supporters are by and large younger and more selfish who, in direct contradiction of the above statistics, are naive and are so accustomed to getting their way that they are the largest part of the "my candidate or nobody" feeling. I have never identified myself as part of any particular generation, but I have to say that baselessly claiming that all young people in this generation are wholly spoiled is just downright offensive. I wonder if they had paused for a moment, they would have realized that when they were 19 or whatever, the crowds of smug 30-somethings through 40-somethings were all clucking about how spoiled these kids are these days. Who knows, next they will be dancing.

Full disclosure: I do support Obama and have donated to his campaign. OpenSecrets.org does not have all of it yet, but some is there.

Random YouTubes

2008-03-18T23:44:00.004-04:00

Schizophrenia: Conspiratorial ramblings!

Don't Be A Sucker: Why is it that sixty-one years later we still have not learned this lesson. Holy shit people.

Farewell

2008-03-05T14:03:00.000-05:00

Roll d20 for condolences

If you believe this...

2008-03-04T03:22:00.003-05:00

The View From the Top

2008-02-17T02:17:00.001-05:00

02080817502
Originally uploaded by fearmattdotcom

Looking north from the top story of 555 California St building (Bank of America building).

Probably not true

2008-02-09T00:31:00.000-05:00

But it is still funny. Geeks are better lovers?

Welp, we're boned

2008-01-22T09:58:00.000-05:00

"In the first hour of trading, the Dow was down 293.70, or 2.43 percent, at 11,805.60." -- via MSNBC

It is probably in part reacting to the meltdown everywhere else in the world, where South Korea and India markets lost enough value to trigger automatic shutdowns.

Very Local

2008-01-14T23:05:00.000-05:00

I don't think I've gone through a power brownout that only affect just one set of outlets. I don't want to call PG&E because it is obviously a local distribution issue, but I figure I need to work on my cranky person routine and raise hell for my own amusement. Basically, the TV still gets full power, but my PC's UPS is beeping and I'm on the laptop posting about it because I'm crazy.

Using SCIENCE! I discovered that the affected outlets are providing just ~68VAC while the rest are at 128VAC. The apartment hallway lights are giving off a fierce buzz and dim light -- perfect for zombie shoot outs.

It needs spinning rims though

2008-01-12T03:08:00.000-05:00

Fast forward to 1:15 to see the ultimate in lowrider technology:
New Korean Tank

Behold

2008-01-07T20:53:00.000-05:00

Behold the new god of the home theater: 150" plasma TV

I'm just curious how you fit it through a door without resorting to chainsaws.

It is Shocking That He'd Act This Way

2008-01-06T05:12:00.000-05:00

Bill O'Reilly acting like a petulant child? Who would have guessed?

Vacation Bullet Points

2008-01-04T03:46:00.000-05:00

Went crazy packing

Barely made it on the flight to O'Hare

United or American lost luggage en route to Pittsburgh

Saw family, etc. (this one was important)

Had the return connection delayed three hours in O'Hare

Got back late (see above)

Oh hey it is 2008

Nova: ID on Trial

2007-12-05T02:48:00.000-05:00

A documentary about Kitzmiller v. Dover. Seeing Behe's claims utterly smashed is pretty awesome, but the obliteration of the case for ID is very satisfying.
Intelligent Design on Trial

Of course, Judge Jones is a complete "activist judge," who was appointed by that anti-Christian liberal president G.W. Bush.

Password advice

2007-08-16T18:27:00.000-04:00

Wikipedia on strong passwords. Be sure to scroll down to the last example strong password.

It is Called the Constitution

2007-08-11T05:04:00.000-04:00

I wonder how many people actually read it these days.

Last month, the U.S. Senate was opened for the first time ever with a Hindu prayer. Although the event generated little outrage on Capitol Hill, Representative Bill Sali (R-Idaho) is one member of Congress who believes the prayer should have never been allowed.

"We have not only a Hindu prayer being offered in the Senate, we have a Muslim member of the House of Representatives now, Keith Ellison from Minnesota. Those are changes -- and they are not what was envisioned by the Founding Fathers," asserts Sali.

Sali says America was built on Christian principles that were derived from scripture. He also says the only way the United States has been allowed to exist in a world that is so hostile to Christian principles is through "the protective hand of God."

"You know, the Lord can cause the rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike," says the Idaho Republican.

According to Congressman Sali, the only way the U.S. can continue to survive is under that protective hand of God. He states when a Hindu prayer is offered, "that's a different god" and that it "creates problems for the longevity of this country."
via One News Now

Senator Sali clearly isn't acquainted with the Constitution, which, if I understand correctly, he swore to uphold. At the very least, the very first amendment of the constitution clearly contradicts his assertions. Other clauses in the Constitution clearly disagree with him as well; see the "no religious test clause". One should also examine Article 11 of the Treaty of Tripoli, unanimously agreed to on June 7, 1797, well within the lifetimes of many of the "Founding Fathers:"

As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion;...

He also fails at history. Quite a few of the Founding Fathers were deist -- a common trait among many late Englightenment intellectuals -- and at least one was atheist. This sort of thing has been debunked so many times it is quite ridiculous that someone in such a position could get it so very wrong. Then again, people all over the country get it wrong all the time, so is not a surprise to hear it.

It is so inane that those who are loudest about being patriotic are the exact opposite, spouting anti-American and un-Constitutional views.

If Cramer Says So, It Must Be True

2007-08-10T04:07:00.000-04:00

After reaching all time highs only just a few weeks ago, the DJIA is having volatility of staggering magnitude; the prime factor in all of this is the latest financial issues with the mortgage market. This caused CNBC's Jim Cramer to go into his usual hysterics with even more vigor.

The Dark Side

2007-08-09T21:15:00.000-04:00

Colbert asks for help in thinking of new extremes to go to.

Server lockdown 101

2007-07-23T05:32:00.000-04:00

From this digg post:

Nice. (Though if FoxNews decides to take it down, I've got a copy; it is a picture of a velociraptor and the caption "Scientists reveal... UNDERAGE DINO SEX.)

They left the whole directory open. Go check it out.
For a professional news agency, quite a bit of the images are really poorly done.

Edit:
I see they're keeping it real classy at FoxNews as well.

Even more updates:
They left a script used to FTP into ZiffDavis for anyone to grab. Get grab_zd_files.sh. It has full credentials available, but it won't be up there for long once they figure out they've been had. This is a fine mess that Fox News' sloppy security has gotten them into.

2 Weeks

2007-07-18T06:18:00.000-04:00

This footage, by the Guardian's Sean Smith, is hard to watch, and probably not work safe. I feel, however, that Americans should see it.
2 Weeks with Apache Company
HOO-AH, soldiers.

WinXP Themes

2007-07-17T17:21:00.000-04:00

The standard WinXP theme looks pretty terrible these days -- no surprise there. I've been using the blue "Royale" theme Microsoft released on whatever XP I'm running these days, but I've found that there is a new "Royale noir" theme that is even nicer looking.

Genius!

2007-07-11T00:59:00.000-04:00

I have to say, G4TV is pretty smart, I mean, they're broadcasting the latest Halo3 trailer on live TV, and what do they do? They cut to commercial right in the middle of it! Way to piss off your viewers!

Update:
YouTube clip showing what I'm talking about.

Chen-pwn

2007-07-10T21:34:00.001-04:00

Cheney gets pwned

Galvanic skin response, yeah

2007-07-08T06:25:00.001-04:00

The other day, I was at the local supermarket, shopping for some random item. Upon leaving the store with my purchased wares, I witnessed organized stupidity. Some enterprising cultists set up a table offering "free stress tests." The accursed and infernal device they wielded was a mockery of reason and science, the E-meter. Right, this thing measures stress through the galvanic skin response. Yeah, that barely works.

I'm sure they had some sort of books to sell as well. Or maybe vitamin supplements. Who knows. Heck, I've got a digital multimeter, maybe I can hop onto the insanity train and fool people with hokum.

And Justice For None

2007-07-02T20:21:00.001-04:00

Scooter Libby had the prison sentence of his sentence commuted. So much for "law and order" conservatives! He was found guilty by a jury of his peers and was sentenced by a conservative Bush appointed judge.

In other news, Karl Rove is getting his security clearance renewed, despite being the probable source of the leak that endangered national security. (Revealing identities of intelligence agents for political purposes is dang close to treason, in my opinion. Sure, if the agent is being irresponsible or doing illegal actions, go ahead, but this was not the case here.)

Something we hear all the time is that "Clinton did it!" This has no relevancy on the current issue. Someone else committed the act of burglary before the Watergate incident, but it did not excuse the conspirators there. Another tack used by apologists: "There was no conviction for the underlying crime. / There was no underlying crime." A quick look at the Libby case shows that this was about obstruction of justice and perjury, not the leak itself.

Clearly, I was in grave mortal danger

2007-06-21T03:36:00.001-04:00

I was leaving work late Monday night when disaster nearly struck. Or did. Something.

Anyhow, I get on the elevator (I work on the 8th floor) and do the usual elevator stuff, like pressing buttons. The elevator whisked along, doing its elevator thing. All was well in the Republic of Elevatoria.

That is, until it hit the bottom. Hard. The entire car shook strongly and I instinctively began analyzing the situation. If I had to die in a freak accident, I guess a Monday was a good day for it. The elevator seemed to stop for a moment, collect its thoughts, and decided it was a good idea to go up to the fifth floor without being told to. I figured it wanted to try and pile drive itself to death, with me inside. It started back down and arrived at the first floor without incident.

How very anti-climactic. I was hoping for fire shooting out of the control panel, just like in Star Trek. (I always wondered why Starfleet designed its control surfaces with goddamned C4 that blew Ensign "Red Shirt" Ricky to bits.) I knew the whole time I wasn't really in much danger, because basic mechanical safeguards would reliably stop anything serious from happening. But come on, if we're going to have any sort of fun, there must be explosions involved.

As it turns out

2007-06-19T02:53:00.001-04:00

As it turns out, the abuses at Abu Ghraib were even worse than portrayed in the media, and the investigation was completely obstructed, as detailed in this interview with retired General Taguba. The amount of CYA done on the part of the senior staff of the military is pretty preponderous, but given the track record of failure this administration has, it is not surprising.

Ha

2007-06-14T00:59:00.000-04:00

I wonder if they also dumped some of these kinds of bombs into the oceans with the rest of the radiological and chemical munitions. I can just the headlines now: "Radioactive Mutant Gay Fish Monsters Threaten US with Lewisite and Mustard Gas."

Good idea

2007-06-12T15:10:00.001-04:00

Munitions dumping at sea

In with the new...

2007-06-03T04:31:00.001-04:00

And out with the old. I've spent a lot of time digging through tons of old files on poor old Rexorg, and I think I've got everything backed up. I'll do a test run migrating a single hard drive, and then move the rest over.

And I tested the memory, and it does seem like a stick is bad. I'll have to get it returned and get a new set. I really do not need four gigabytes of memory, but it just future proofs the thing, while DDR2 is still cheap.

500th Post From...

2007-06-02T05:35:00.001-04:00

This is my five hundreth post, and the first from my new system. With an Intel quad core processor on the Asus P5K, two gigabytes of RAM (more on that later), and a ripping GeForce 8800, my new machine (which I dubbed Centurion) runs Windows Vista x64 with a performance index of 5.6 (5.9 in all scores except memory).

For some reason, I was only able to get the system to POST once with all four gigabytes of DDR2 I had installed into the thing. I spent a good bit of time rebuilding the thing, trying to figure out why it wouldn't POST. I narrowed it down to the memory, and removed two sticks, and now it seems to be booting just fine. I'm not sure if it is the brand (OCZ) or the speed at which it runs (1066mhz). For some reason, this Antec case does not have a case speaker, which is a bit odd, considering how useful the beep codes are in diagnosing problems. I'm going to swap out the various sticks to see which exactly is bad, if any at all (it could be a compatibility issue between the motherboard and memory brand/type for all I know).

I've run Vista once before for a short time, but on another box. I've heard all kinds of flack about x64 and drivers, but everything has worked right out of the box to start with, and everything I have put in it has signed and stable drivers available. I haven't even experienced the horde of UAC prompts either; I'm pretty sure the hassle is overblown. Of course, being a person who is going to tweak and install things all the time, I'm going to experience more than usual, because I'm going to be running things that need elevated priviledges often.

My impressions with the motherboard in particular is pretty good. The Asus P5K Deluxe comes with a built in WiFi card, which is a pretty neat add-on. I have always gone for the more fully-featured boards, and I'm not displeased with the feature set here. The thing I'm worried about is the possibility of RAM incompatibility, so I'm hoping that I have a bad stick.

Next, I need to migrate at least two more hard drives over to this machine. Rexorg has two drives I'd like to use on this one, another WD Raptor and a 250gb storage drive. Given that this motherboard only has one parallel ATA connector, I'll probably leave those in Rexorg.

Finally, the Antec case I got (P180B) is dang slick, once I got around to learning how it actually works. It is also very well ventilated and nearly dead quiet. Rexorg had a whole bunch of noisy 80mm fans and a loud power supply, and this thing has nothing but 120mm fans and a silent power supply.

Rap Sheet

2007-05-30T18:14:00.001-04:00

My profile on MobyGames

New computer!

2007-05-25T19:16:00.000-04:00

I've just finished ordering all the necessary parts for my next system. This one took a bit of work to find all the parts I wanted, as some were out of stock in various places. I've ordered an Asus P5K motherboard (with the new P35 Intel chipset) and a quad core Intel Core 2 Duo chip. Four gigabytes of RAM and a GeForce 8800 GTS card round out the build. I've already got several hard drives I plan on using, so there was no need to get more.

I wanted to get the Gigabyte i-Ram add-on, but it seems to have disappeared. Someone on eBay was selling it for almost twice MSRP. Gee, thanks. In any event, it isn't integral to my build, as it was going to be the swap space for the thing.

Settlers of Catan, what?

2007-05-25T03:13:00.000-04:00

Settlers of Catan is a dang good game, and the Xbox version is pretty fun. Thing is, I expected the people in the Halo beta to be the one filled with idiots. My first online game of Catan, the absolute first thing somebody says is "So, is anybody here gay?" How polite. After fumbling for the mute control, the game was much more enjoyable. Though the idiot pulled out a surprise win at the last second with two victory cards, when I was at 9 points, just waiting for the chance to do anything to win.

Halo 3!

2007-05-24T20:30:00.001-04:00

Comcast came by today and fixed my connection problems: it turns out that the signal was far too weak to get a decent connection. Some futzing around (technical term) by the technician in the building's cable box got me working. (Probably at somebody else's expense... heh)

Now that I have a Intertube pipe, I popped in Crackdown into the trusty Xbox and lo, I could download the Halo 3 beta. (Crackdown is a good game on its own merits, mind you.) I just can't wait to be cursed at by pre-teens over Xbox live.

Harmony 880 and things

2007-05-23T16:28:00.000-04:00

To better control my home theater, I got a Logitech Harmony 880. This uber remote control is the absolute best way to control a complex setup (not that mine really is). The task oriented control scheme is perfect, and I love the color screen. Essentially, you tell Logitech's software what you have in your home theater, followed by what you plan on doing with it. It asks you some questions (for instance, if you have a 5.1 speaker set, it will ask if it should use the speakers or the TV's volume), and it will generate a macro of commands that the remote can perform on cue. So, if I want to play a game on the Xbox, it will power on the speakers, Xbox, and TV and each will have the appropriate settings (TV set to VGA connection, speakers set to optical and so on).

The biggest problem I had was that the thing was that it did not know about my television's VGA port. As it turns out, there are more command codes than buttons on the remote, so I was able to find the hidden IR command and map it to a new function in the software, and everything started working.

The color screen is nice, and you can even customize that with your own backgrounds and slideshow. The tilt-sensing technology is pretty neat too, instead of having to press a button to turn the screen back on, if you pick it up and tilt it (as if to look at it), the screen turns on. Very subtle but cool idea.

Also, I just had Comcast come in to install cable and Internet connections. Neither work. Hooray!

Most certainly NSFW

2007-05-19T07:53:00.000-04:00

But funny. It is a good thing the Gizmondo gaming device failed, because then we'd have this Colors game out there.

Holy Crap

2007-05-15T18:17:00.000-04:00

Oh man, the members of the band "Fall Out Boy" are creepy as all hell. Their creepy mugs are plastered all over Pandora.com. Great, now when I vote on a song, I get a nice vision of creepy McCreepyPants of some crappy hipster band (I really have never heard any of their work, but my guess is that it is your typical emo-ish hipster band)

Well then

2007-04-17T11:27:00.000-04:00

In the New Dating Scene, the Attraction Is a Beautiful Mind

More of the usual

2007-04-17T11:21:00.000-04:00

Of course, after a tragedy like what happened at Virginia Tech yesterday, all the cheap political tricks come out. The gun lobby uses it to support crazy new levels of gun rights. (Sure, Joe Student would have a CCW .22 or 5.7mm pistol, but then Crazy Psycho would have a drum fed Klashnikov. Yes, there are NRA idiots who support YOUR right to have military grade weapons and more ammo than a depot in Iraq.) Of course, I'm hearing that some people are trying to bring hatred onto various religions/ethnic groups. And of course, Jack Thompson is blaming video games.

Have some respect for the dead, FFS.

What the...?

2007-04-11T06:49:00.000-04:00

Mickey Mouse is emo!

What the heck?!

At noon taxes

2007-04-07T23:38:00.000-04:00

I filed my taxes today. What fun.

What is nice though is that I'm getting two refunds, according to the e-filing. Decently sized ones, even, even though I have crap for deductions. The best I have is the interest paid on my loans, which is sizeable enough, but it isn't like having ten kids or anything. Not that I want ten kids.

Things I learned from my friend's MP3 library

2007-03-27T00:06:00.000-04:00

As per the title: Things I learned from my friend's MP3 library

75% of all music is by Incubis, and has been sorted as such. Even if artist tag on the MP3 says Audioslave, Daft Punk, Alien Ant Farm, or anything else, put it in the goddamn Incubis folder! Incubis is responsible for all of Western Civilization, even. There will be a folder for music by Eminem in the Incubis, but his music sucks so we'll leave it empty.

As a corollary to the above, obscure bands with one song get a folder unto themselves.

People always install software into the music folder.

Cat Stevens isn't insane. Really.

Duran Duran was totally underrated. Or something.

Wouldn't it be nice if...

2007-03-20T23:50:00.000-04:00

You know, it would be great if manners and civility returned to the public discourse of politics. Just imagine:
"I DISAGREE WITH YOU SO MUCH THAT I insist you come over for tea and further discussion."
"ONLY IF THERE ARE SCONES!"
"It wouldn't be a proper tea-time without!"
"QUITE!"

Madness, I say, MADNESS!

Nonsense dreams

2007-03-13T01:22:00.000-04:00

I usually don't remember my dreams, and even when I do, they're most likely nothing special. This one was way too bizarre, though.

*wavy dream sequence!*
I distinctly remember sitting in a car, at the stop light nearest to where I live. In the passenger's seat was a blue haired girl who didn't look like anyone I knew. She jokingly complained, "I put out way too much." I leaned over, kissed her, and said, "That really isn't a problem." (or something to that effect)
Then I woke up.

Stoplights? Cars? Blue hair?! WTF!?

I kinda prefer when my dreams are more straightforward, like the time I dreamt I was the Doom Guy from Doom II. That was fun, and relatively easy to interpret.

As if we expected anything else

2007-03-12T02:13:00.000-04:00

Fox News

Blegh

2007-03-06T00:42:00.000-05:00

Since I've dedicated my 5.1 speakers (Creative Inspire 5700, which I happen to like quite a bit, except when the receiver drops out for half a second) to my home theater, my computer was lacking in the whole audio department. Kind of a real buzz kill when playing a first person shooter and there isn't any explosion, scream of pain, or other auditory feedback. I went ahead and bought a Creative I-Trigue 3400, hoping it would be satisfactory.

Of course, I can never identify the proper output on the back of the sound card, so I set up WMP11 to loop some Beethoven and start poking at it. At some point, I hit the magic combination of audio settings and audio connection. When I did, I was kind of disappointed with the bass. The subwoofer puts out a muddy sounding bass that doesn't do the First Movement of the 5th Symphony justice. The high end was spot on, but you really have to fuck up in order to break the high-end. Turning the bass up does give it a bit better sound, but that really isn't necessary (or really fix it), and will probably annoy the neighbors.

Granted, this isn't the world's best recording of it, and I did get used to having (essentially) a higher-end home theater hooked into my PC with a pure digital connection, and it sounds, well, just better. I consider myself to be a practical audiophile -- that is, I am more than willing to invest in something that will provide definite enjoyment, but not buy each speaker one at a time for >$200 a shot -- and I guess I was hoping for slightly better. In the end though, this thing is entirely useable and provides what I need.

Jury Duty

2007-03-04T22:00:00.000-05:00

I just received a jury selection questionaire. From Johnstown, Pennsylvania. I'm all for civic duty, but I doubt they'll be able to select me, since I'm living on the opposite coast. Oh, darn.

Rexorg is wounded, but alive

2007-03-04T06:17:00.000-05:00

My poor computer. It hasn't been upgraded in nearly three years now, and in the great journey across the states, the plexiglas window was seriously shattered, and the case dented in. Everything still runs fine though.

I have, of course, been building furniture since 4:30pm. It is now 3 in the morning. Yeah, it was fun.

This happens all the time

2007-03-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

Via xkcd.com

New stuff

2007-03-02T23:27:00.000-05:00

I just love it when stuff from NewEgg arrives. I've been meaning to get a monitor for a while now, so I got a 22 inch Samsung LCD. Now that Rexorg (my main desktop) is here, I can actually use it.

Also, one of the CompUSA stores that is closing is very close to me, so I went ahead and picked up a bunch of discounted stuff. I got another Western Digital Raptor for cheap, and a damn good gaming mouse: Microsoft/Razer Habu. This is the best mouse I've ever used. Undoubtedly, I will be pwning even more noobs than before.

The usual

2007-03-01T17:45:00.000-05:00

Here's a real gem:
Some idiot who doesn't understand C++ blames Microsoft instead of his own ignorance.