List of Army Acronyms and Expressions

This site was linked from Penny-Arcade, and I found it to be very informative. Now I know what SNAFU means. I'm going to try and make it a point to use DILLIGAFF more often.

Million Dollar Homepage

I remember seeing this on G4's Attack of the Show several weeks ago. Apparently, the kid is pretty close to hitting a million. I have to admit; it's kind of cool to look at. I can't help but think that some dark secret of the universe will reveal itself if I stare at the page long enough. Or maybe I'll see a sailboat or something.

Yahoo! Mail Beta

Yahoo! recently invited me to try out the beta for their new mail service. Apparently, people have been using the beta for a few months now. Here's some reviews in case you are interested.

I've been using it for the past two weeks and I'm digging it. It's a little sluggish sometimes but that could be a result of all the feeds it's pulling. The whole thing feels more like a bona fide application with things being tabbed and with the preview window. Being able to drag and drop emails is also a nice touch. My favorite feature is the ability to read RSS feeds. You can see what I'm talking about in the picture below. It turns your mailbox into a robust communications hub for receiving and sending information of various types.

At this point my complaints are minimal. I'd like to see the calendar and the notepad become more integrated with the mail service. I don't know what shape this amalgamation would take but there is definitely potential there for these different services to interact more. Being able to organize your RSS feeds would be nice. Actually, the biggest problem I have with the beta is the fact that I can't scroll through the RSS feeds faster. The speed at which I scroll through web pages and emails isn't reflected in the feeds. If there's anything I submit feedback for, it will probably be that.

Oh, did I mention that Yahoo is offering email addresses with dots in them now. I jumped on that one as soon as I could and managed to get my first and last name. Booyah!

Pac-Man Goes To College

This makes me miss being in college.

Dad Replaces Kid's Xbox 360 with Coal

21st century parenting at its best. Even if it turns out to be fake.

The Last Days of Dereth

A journalist for Wired made his way into AC2 recently to see how things are going. You can read his article here. If you have problems with Page 2, try reloading the page. I will truly miss AC2 and I really enjoyed the time I spent in Dereth. If there was ever a type of game I was meant to play, it's definitely MMORPGs. I even went so far as calling Turbine billing to see if I could reactivate my account for a month. You know, just to see how my Lugian was doing. No deal! It looks like I'll just have to relive the good old days through screenshots. (Dusts off the old image folder)

This is my first picture taken shortly after arriving in Osteth around the Northeast Esper Outpost. I looked so young back then.

My first quest with Joe aka "Strat the Caster". The ghost is good old Rashan Twoblades.

I spent a lot of time looking at the moon back in those days.

I tried to be a nice guy most of the time but you're bound to piss someone off eventually.

My first Soulbound weapon.

Good times!

Gears of War Footage

This could end up being the first killer app for the Xbox 360. Some of the hit detection looks like it needs to be cleaned up a little bit but I'm extremely impressed. The game looks like some kind of mutant hybrid of Aliens and Pitch Black, which is red hot in my book. It definitely has a survival horror tinge to it, which I always find appealing.

WoW Christmas Content

Did you get a chance to celebrate the Feast of Winter Veil? I hear it's pretty awesome. If only I had more time to play. I sure would like to have a reindeer mount. Yes, it is most pimp! And yes, I meant to post this a long time ago. You still have until January 2nd though to enjoy the festivities.

Graverobbing For Freedom

Usually before I dig up the dead mothers of my enemies, I ask myself a few questions first: Is the cemetary heavily guarded? Have I figured out how to disable the alarm? How many shovels will I really need?

Read the ridiculous true story here.

Computer upgrade!

So I finally ordered my computer upgrade.

Athlon 64 3200
1 gig of Corsair memory
Raidmax X-1 case
Asrock 939 motherboard
Western digital 120 gig SATAII harddrive.

I got the case delivered today and the rest should be here tomorrow. More info to come once its built.

Drowning In A Sea of Advertising

I apologize in advance for the rant you are about to receive. It looks like theaters are gearing up to show you more ads before movies. Because if there is one thing the American public loves, it's more commercials. The article states the following:

The forecast was good news for theater owners depressed by the 6% slide in box office receipts this year. To attract more ads, they've spent about $150 million in the last three years to install relatively simple digital projectors just for ads. That's ahead of the much larger investment just beginning for full digital conversion to movie-quality projectors.

Here's a thought. Maybe people will go to the movies more if it wasn't so damn expensive and we weren't bombarded by every ad known to man before the movie starts. If I'm there to see a free movie, then I understand the need to have ads. I expect to be solicited when something is free. When I pay close to $9 to see a movie, then I shouldn't have to sit through 10 minutes of commercials before the movie begins. I used to work in a theater many years ago and I got so sick of hearing people bitch about the cost of tickets and how much concessions were. For me, going to the movies is one of those special events, like seeing a concert or a play, and I don't mind to put down a little cash for seeing a good movie on a large screen. Hell, I'd pay more if we had a really top notch theater in town with recliners and maybe a nice restaurant inside it. It's my favorite social activity, and I've defended it for a long time. My patience is wearing thin, though.

I'm just so sick and tired of being peddled to. I just got through winning a battle with adware on my computer, so I'm really sensitive about the subject. Then I see this article and the horns start to grow and my fangs start to protrude. I want BLOOD! I want to see the Michelin Man on fire, the Pillsbury Doughboy roasting over that fire, and the Jolly Green Giant choking on the ashes. Sometimes I wish I was in BFE, like my friend Alex. But then it would be really hard to keep up with Lost and play online games.

X3 Teaser and Photos

A teaser trailer is up for X3 at the official website, but I can't get the darn thing to load. My guess is that every fanboy in the known universe is trying to watch it right now. I also wouldn't be surprised if the intense focus by the geek collective caused some kind of rupture in space-time. History could be re-writing itself as we speak. At least the photo gallery is up. Do yourself a favor and check out Beast.

Update:
Ok. The trick is to download Quicktime7, which means you have to download iTunes. A necessary evil, I suppose. In typical teaser fashion the video moves at breakneck speed with lots of hard cuts and quick fades. That's why I love Quicktime. Frame by frame, baby! Here's some of the things I noticed:

• The first scene shows Wolverine and Storm in the X-Men HQ with several other members of the team trailing behind them. You got Rogue and Iceman in the back but it also looks like Colossus and Shadowcat are coming along for the ride. I really hope we see a "fastball special" in this movie.
• There is a shot of a class being conducted by Xavier and it looks like Siryn, Shadowcat, and Jubilee are sitting up in front. All three characters have credits in the movie according to IMDB.
• Magneto is giving a speech to what appears to be his army. Juggernaut is to the left of him and Pyro and Jean Grey are to the right. What?!? So the Brotherhood has Phoenix on their side now? The X-Men are so screwed. The woman between Pyro and Magneto looks like it could be Callisto. Does that mean Mageneto's army is full of Morlocks this time around? The plot thickens.
• Why is Iceman getting frisky with Shadowcat? Hmm.
• Magneto breaks Juggernaut out of solitary.
• Funeral scene. Not entirely sure who it's for but I have a few hunches. Close-up of mourners. You've got Rogue, Iceman, Shadowcat, Colossus, Beast (looking awesome I must say), and Dr. Moira MacTaggart.
• It looks like Beast is chummy with the President and the Joint Chiefs.
• Magneto and his peeps are heading straight for the camera. Same people I noticed before in the forest but this time you see Juggernaut in full costume and he looks really lame. Like an extra from Mad Max or something.
• Wait just a hot damn minute! Is that a fastball special? Because it sure looks like one.
• And some bridge collapses.....The End!

The cast and crew can be found here. The fact that Multiple Man is going to be in here could also help explain where Magneto's army comes from. The addition of Dr. Kavita Rao is a nice touch, too. For those who don't know, Dr. Rao was in a very recent storyline in Astonishing X-Men. She is the one who "finds" a cure for mutants. As you can imagine, hilarity ensues.

Keeping The Good Times Rolling

I made my way over to Heavy.com yesterday and proceeded to laugh my arse off for the next couple of hours. The site is heavily laden with ads...but it's manageable and they have to pay the bills some way. Trust me, the free content is worth it.

I recommend checking out The Unemployed Human TiVo and you can't go wrong with most of the stuff there. I just about lost it when I saw "Gay Props" though. Whoever made the decision to put Richard Simmons on Whose Line Is It Anyway? deserves a hefty bonus. That's comedic gold right there. Just scroll down a few screens.

I think you'll have a good time with the Dubbed and Dumber channel as well. If you love Office Space and Superfriends, you have to check out "Office Friends". You'll thank me later.

Stowaway Cat Is Coming Home

Now if this doesn't warm the cockles of your heart, then nothing will. I make good on my promises...most of the time.

Teenage Nazi Girl Gamers

Have you had your blood boil today? Did I mention they sing as well? As long as their music and the games they play remain within the realm of the mediocre, there is hope that they won't infect others with their misguided beliefs. I promise to follow this post up with something a little more on the sunny side of life. I couldn't ignore this article though. It was one of those things you find that gets underneath your skin and you just have to scratch it.