Hi Def DVDs Next Month?

Paper or Plastic?
VHS or BETA?
MAC or PC?
UK or UL (ok that's a kentucky thing...)

These questions have alway split us in half, dividing us into two parts of the same whole, further segmenting us away from our fellow brothers and sisters. In the next two months, we will be haunted by yet another meandering question: Blu-ray or HD DVD?

Everyone knows I've been on my high-deffinition kick for a while now. I make no subtleties about my love for 61 inches of hi-def, ass smashing TV with tripple the pixels, twice the brightness and 100 times the clarity. If you aren't watching your favorite programming in hi- def by now, then my cyborg heart and hyper evolved retinas weep for thee.

The one issue I have (other than I can't sit in front of it continuously, 24 hours a day) is the whole DVD controversy. We've hashed over this before, but it looks like Sony has released a May launch date for their Blu-ray DVD players and accompanying hi-def DVD titles.

Toshiba plans on releasing the competitor player, known as the HD DVD format, as early as March. The Hi-Def DVD Standard war is about to begin!

New Term For Screwing Your Best Customers = "Throttling"

Most of us use Netflix. I'd post a link to Netflix, but I'm a little mad at it right now. I'll get over it eventually and I'm not cancelling my sevice or anything, but this article really makes me upset that companies, once they get big enough, can not only slack off on customer service...but can get away with openly screwing their best customers. Most companies reward or offer incentives to their best customers, but not Netflix. They downright punish them.

Here's the blood boiling truth behind "throttling".

Also check out Hacking Netlix for more good info and news concerning these bastards.

Running Scared

Wow! I just got through watching the first 6 minutes of Running Scared and I'm blown away. I can see why they're offering the first 6 minutes online. Because you will want to see the movie after watching it! At least I do. The cinematography and the action is incredible. You have to fill out a small form to be able to watch the clip but that's for a good reason. The first 6 minutes are brutal and definitely not for the kiddies.

Video Game Addiction

Another ridiculous media segment preaching the dangers of video games. I grew up loving WGN too. That one anchorman has been on there since the beginning of time. I used to get my Bozo Show fix from them. The segment in question just goes to show you that parents have completely lost it and have no idea how to handle kids today. At what point in our society did it become okay to stop caring about what your kids are involved in? Where have all the level-headed responsible adults gone? You either have parents who have virtually no interaction with their kids or the parents who spend every waking moment with them. Shuttling them to one activity after another until everyone is too exhausted to realize that life isn't meant to be lived in perpetual motion. Stuff like this makes me bitter. Does it show?

Kudos to this individual for taking the time to upload the video. Let the inevitable gamer backlash commence.

You Knew It Was Coming...

Well I've been blabbering about the XBox 360 for a while now and I finally was able to get my hands on one of these bad boys. I thought I'd offer a quick review of my first impressions.

Although they are still selling out of stores in mere minutes, they ARE shipping and (believe it or not) there are ways to get them, but it involves using the archaic instrument used by ancient civilizations used to communicate before Internet...that's right....a telephone. I was making a list of phone numbers of every store in a 20 mile radius while I happened to stumble upon one after only making 4 phone calls.

Simply put: The system is amazing. More powerful than any computer you could build currently, the 360 uses a quad graphics chip configuration. I recently converted to high-definition this year, so the hi-def graphics falls right in line with everything you'd expect from hi-def gaming. Although there are hi-def packs for older game systems, these adapters are nothing more than "up converting" the signal (like the new dvd players), therefore the games, although somewhat clearer, are still grainy overall. The 360 outputs TRUE hi-def graphics which are breathtaking to say the least.

I was extremely impressed with system dashboard and media integration. I'm a newcomer to Xbox Live and was a little weary about getting started but I was signed in and chatting with a couple friends in mere minutes. Also, the PC/IPOD/Digital Camera integration is literally plug-and-play.

Another pleasant surprise is the ability to download small arcade games, many of which were maximized for hi-def, all with free trial versions from Xbox Live Marketplace. Arcade classics and Pop-Cap favorites download to the dashboard in just a few minutes and are incredibly addictive. Also, the demos and video downloads of upcoming xbox releases are loads of fun...much more than you'd expect from "demos".

And of course...there's the games, but I'll save those reviews for another post!

Autistic Kid Shoots Six Three-Pointers

You just have to see it to believe it. I spent some time today going through videos at ABC News and there's some good stuff there. I recommend checking out the Extreme section. There's also some new footage of the mysterious creature that inhabits Lake Champlain in New York. "Champ" is considered by many to be the US equivalent of the Loch Ness Monster. Definitely worth checking out.

Power of the GMs

Last post today, I promise. If you've ever wondered what it's like to be a GM in World of Warcraft, then here you go. I realize the video quality is awful but you get the idea. It's pretty bad ass! Where do I sign up?

VG Cats

I realize that web comics are a dime a dozen these days but there really are some talented folks out there. This one may have slipped under your radar though and is worth checking out. You can expect a new comic about once a week and some of them are just freaking hilarious. It's definitely a nice addition to your bookmarks or RSS reader.

Lost Pilot On Tonight

Probably one of the best pilots I've ever seen for a show is on ABC tonight. 9pm EST.

Cyber Snipa Game Pad

More ThinkGeek goodness. The Cyber Snipa Game Pad is for all those WASD fans out there that like to avoid Carpal Tunnel. In my opinion, game pads are where it's at. This one basically takes the keyboard keys you're used to and makes them more ergonomic. I imagine the learning curve for WASD gamers using this device is virtually nil.

A Song of Ice and Fire

Before I get to the topic at hand I want to say this rather profound statement:

Lord of the Rings is total crap.

That’s right boys and girls Ive got from modest Tolkien fan to genuine Hobbit hater. So what has fueled this rapid turnaround? A few months ago I picked up A Game of Thrones the first book of George RR Martin’s epic saga of A Song of Ice and Fire. Since that time I have been totally engrossed in the world of Westeros and its people.

The series revolves around the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and the people who occupy it. The story is told from the perspective of different characters, with each chapter switching to a different person. Each book has about 6-8 characters who’s perspective we see the story from and some of these change from book to book so we get to see the same situations from many points of view. Personally I found this structure to be extremely easy to follow and it helped give an extremely deep understanding of the thoughts and feelings of the protagonists. The cast of characters is extremely deep and well fleshed out. There are literally hundreds of characters introduced throughout the first four books. The extremely good writing however makes it easy to keep track of and I never had any problem remembering who is who.

One of the things which instantly struck me was the uncertainty of who was “good” and who was “bad”. In LOTR the conflict is very black and white; good guys over here fighting bad guys over there. In ASOIAF things are never this cut and dry. The characters who might be considered “good or bad” in the first book are very different by the end of the forth. There is a constant fluid change in attitudes of the people which makes them interesting.

Now the land of Westeros itself is somewhat different from most fantasy novels out there. First of all there are no dwarfs, elves, orc’s, or giant walking trees. At the beginning of the first book Westeros actually seems devoid of magic and it is talked about almost as legend. Dragons did exist but had become extinct hundreds of years ago, weapons were imbued with magic but that ability was lost long ago too. The people of the land almost resemble a version of medieval Europe. The Kingdom is ruled by a king and the lords of the seven kingdoms are sworn to him (the kingdoms being: Winterfell, The Vale, Casterly Rock, The Reach, Dorne, Storms End, and The Trident). The story really kicks off when (SPOILER ALERT!!!) the king dies and the battle for the throne begins. Sounds pretty straight forward? Well trust me theres way too much that happens for me to go into detail here, but it’s a great story line with more twists and turns then rollercoaster.

One thing, which struck me instantly when reading these books, is the somewhat adult themes. These books are NOT family friendly. As in most fantasy novels there are huge battles involving severed limbs, crushed skulls, blood, guts and gore. However there is also a freaky raunchy sex in here that you would expect to find your momma’s romance novels. Things ranging from brother on sister incest (lots and lots of it), to raping dead bodies, to detailed descriptions of a baby being smashed against a wall, ASOIAF really gets down to the dirty business.

Well that’s enough from me. I doubt my crappy book report will do much to convince anyone to read this series but once you start I guarantee you’re hooked. The series is planned for 7 books and the first 4 have been released so far with the 5th one coming out sometime this year. The books are: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and A Feast for Crows. Be sure to read them in order or you will have NO IDEA whats going on.

Remember the words of Levar Burton on Reading Rainbow: “Don’t take my word for it, go read for yourself!”

Second Life

Once again, my post comes in the form of another email from Warren Ellis, one of the greatest minds in comics. In this email, Warren talks about a free online game called Second Life, where unlike other MMORPGS, this one has no goals or purpose whatsoever. I've been playing for a couple days now and its unlike anything I've ever seen or heard of in the game industry. It is actually pushing the boundaries of what life is like in an online world. Mr. Ellis writes:

Over the last month or so, in free moments here and there, I've been fiddling around with something called Second Life. I imagine a lot of you have heard of it, but

SECOND LIFE

if you haven't.

It is, if you'll allow, an attempt to transpose the "Metaverse" of Neal Stephenson's SNOW CRASH to the real world. It's an electronic planet where you take on an "avatar", a human figure representing yourself (more on that in a minute) and move it/you around in the mode of a computer game. For the Warcrack tribe, it's like this: a massively-multiplayer online role-playing game with no goals. A game of (second) life with nothing there to actually achieve.
It has its own currency, pegged to the US dollar, and its own simple economy -- actually, a posthuman economy, since there is no hunger, thirst or need to sleep, and everyone can both fly and teleport.

In the orientation, when you first launch SL and get your avatar etc, there is actually a singular moment of oddness to be had; you'll be pootling around getting your clothes for your entry into SL and what have you, and suddenly someone in front of you will take off into the air...

There's quite a tribe of the transgendered on SL, which ties back to the avatar thing: you get to be whoever you see in your head. You choose from a limited list of surnames, create your own first name, choose your gender, how you'll look, etc, and so you can establish an idealised, experimental or alien identity on SL, and you fully live that identity while there, to the extent of buying SL property in that name and beyond.

Personally, it drives me slightly crazy. I do little more than explore, in the snatches of time I get to hook into SL. And -- and this is a purely personal thing -- I dislike walking around with a fake name. SL have set up a few of the Technorati, like Joi Ito, Cory Doctorow and Lawrence Lessig, with full transpositions of their real names to SL, where they do occasional public appearances, lectures and the like. But that's obviously not extended to everybody. Although I
understand that some Suicide Girls models are going to be set up with SG names in SL with appropriate avatars. I just have a strong sense of my own identity and would not want to walk around without my own name, so I'm never going to be involved in SL in any serious way.

But what fascinates me about it is possibly the same thing that makes me crazy -- it's goalless. You're essentially invited to be an electronic frontiersperson, to obtain parcels of land and learn how to build your own homes (from the ability to generate and morph & mutate generic building-blocks that comes with your avatar) and to, I guess, find and enter communities. And eventually, I presume the hope is, to make SL better in some way for the people you share the electronic world with.

Which is really kind of an interesting thing. An entire population released to do nothing but make art and fly...

-- W

Awesome Xbox 360 Commercial

Too bad you'll never see it anywhere except on the Internet. Don't you just love our politically correct Puritanical society? Most of the stuff you see on MTV and E! is more offensive than this commercial.

Brokeback To The Future

In case you haven't seen this already.

Post Powerball Wish List

If I win the lottery tomorrow, these are just a few of the items I plan on purchasing:

Kloss Recliner in Black - I can't even begin to tell you how good this would look in my office / inner sanctum. Pretending you're Captain Kirk and barking stuttered orders is just one of the many benefits that comes with the chair.

Star Wars Darth Vader Popcorn Machine - This will look good in my own personal multiplex I plan on constructing.

Flash Drive Wristbands - I'll be a big hit at Mardi Gras when I start handing these out to all the ladies. Forget the beads man! USB is where it's at!

Japanese Rescue Robot - I think buying a few of these and strapping on various armaments is a perfectly acceptable form of entertainment. There are peeps out there building catapults and trebuchets, so I don't see anything wrong with a little "Mech Rugby". Here's another pic to whet your appetite.

Awesome iPod Cases - If I win the lottery, I will finally be able to afford an iPod and you can guarantee my case will be coming from here.

And then I'll probably buy just about everything featured at The Cool Hunter. If you're not familiar with the site, I highly recommend checking it out. I'm a huge fan of good design and there's some great stuff on that site.

I finally talked some sense into myself.

Well I ALMOST just blew a crapload of money on an upgrade I didn't need to play a new online video game that I'll be sick of in 6 months. After some research and careful consideration (and accidentally stumbling onto this article right frigging here), I decided I'd rather spend 70 bucks on some more RAM and chill a bit on the major overhaul. I'm downright dangerous when it comes to spending money (having a job is good fun yea?), but with the XBox 360 on the purchase horizon, I think I'll give this PC another 6 months or so before upgrading it. Either that or I'll get angry the next time it crashes, grab my granny's sledge hammer and lobotomize it into mechanical tofu.

A look inside Newegg.com

Having personally bought my new computer equipment from Newegg I can say that the company is amazing at what it does. The prices are great (but not always the best) the customer service is outstanding and orders are shipped very propmtly. How do they do it? Well Anandtech.com has taken an inside look at a Newegg.com warehouse and how it operates.

Joe I know your about to buy stuff from them so you better check this out.

Newegg at work!

All The World's A Scam

And all the men and women merely scammers or scammees.

My high school reunion is drawing nigh and the organizers have started a Yahoo Group to keep everyone updated and informed. I decided to create a public profile on Yahoo, so that people in the group could contact me. Talk about opening Pandora's box! I have received more random instant messages in the past two weeks than I ever have. The majority of which are from people in Nigeria. It has gotten to a point where I am extremely bitter about it all and am likely to lash out the next time someone asks me, "a/s/l?" I remember back in the day when you could chat online and there was at least some degree of sincerity. Now, you can't be sure if the person is even the gender or nationality they say they are. What's sad is that some of the people who have messaged me recently may actually be legit. They were probably just looking for someone to talk to and weren't expecting to get the third degree from some redneck in central KY. That's why I like "dmayokun". He just cuts to the chase.
------------------------------------------------------------------
[Yahoo] dmayokun [ 11:56:29 AM ] good day man
[Yahoo] ME [ 11:56:59 AM ] Hello
[Yahoo] ME [ 11:57:08 AM ] Can I help you?
[Yahoo] dmayokun [ 11:57:42 AM ] am dolapo from sudan
[Yahoo] dmayokun [ 11:58:11 AM ] i have a bussiness deal for u
[Yahoo] ME [ 11:59:03 AM ] Yeah I bet you do
[Yahoo] ME [ 11:59:17 AM ] You just need my bank account number right?
[Yahoo] dmayokun [ 12:00:20 PM ] yes am the current chair of my town and we a building a new water pump
[Yahoo] ME [ 12:01:29 PM ] Haha....Nice try. Go and try to scam someone else.
[Yahoo] dmayokun [ 12:01:44 PM ] and we are about to build it and we need a let fund , the united nation as sent us so material and supply too
[Yahoo] ME [ 12:02:40 PM ] I'm sure they did. How fortunate for you. I suggest you leave me alone and bother someone else before I report you to Yahoo and have your account revoked. Have a nice day!
[Yahoo] dmayokun [ 12:02:59 PM ] so i dont know if u can help us sir
[Yahoo] dmayokun [ 12:03:49 PM ] no sir am not scaming u am just asking u for help
[Yahoo] ME [ 12:09:01 PM ] I would just absolutely love to help you. I really would. But I'm not a big fan of people stealing my money. I guess that makes me old-fashioned but I prefer to have my criminals work harder than that. Is it too much to ask to have them put forth a little effort to get my goods? So....yeah I got some things I need to do and need to get out here. Good luck with your scamming! I hope your life of crime is working out for you.
[Yahoo] dmayokun [ 12:10:59 PM ] thank u sir for ure help god would bless u alway and alway even u didnt not help us we are dieing of lack of help and how government is not helping us
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I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

Review of "Spartan: Total Warrior"

Several weeks ago I was contacted by a woman with m80 Interactive Marketing. She had come across my written gesticulations concerning Shadow of the Colossus and asked if I would be interested in reviewing Spartan: Total Warrior. This is the first time I've ever been asked to officially review something and I've taken it very seriously. You have to realize that there is a part of me that would love to do this stuff for a living. So without further ado...


Introduction:
Spartan: Total Warrior was developed by The Creative Assembly and is their first foray into the console realm. Their "Total War" series for PC has earned several awards. It appears that they hope to repackage that franchise's success and bring it to the console world with their "Total Warrior" series. Spartan: Total Warrior is the first game in that series and is available now for Xbox, Playstation 2, and Nintendo Gamecube. It is rated "M" for Mature by the ESRB. My review covers the Xbox version only.

You play an anonymous Spartan warrior, who has been called to service, right when everything is hitting the fan. The Roman army is right outside your door and it's up to you and your allies to repel the invaders. With an assortment of weapons and the god Ares on your side, you may actually prevail.

The Good:
It's pretty much accepted in most games that the beginning is like a tutorial. It's a chance for you to get accustomed to the controls before the action ramps up. Not this game. It starts you off in the thick of it and you have to learn on the fly. You will get pointers along the way but this ain't training, soldier. The gameplay is intense and the fighting is very fulfilling. If you've ever played Dynasty Warriors or EA's take on The Lord of the Rings (The Two Towers and The Return of the King), then you have a pretty good approximation of what this game is like. Imagine you versus an army in hand-to-hand combat and that about covers it.

The graphics in the game are good but the character animations are fantastic. You have to see the swords swinging and the shields clanging to understand what I'm talking about. The combat is varied without relying heavily on difficult combos. You have a centered attack which is specifically for single enemies and a radial attack for multiple enemies. Combining these attacks and learning to love your shield will keep you alive. As you deal massive amounts of damage, your rage meter starts filling up. Once it's full, you can unleash a rage attack that really messes people up. Enemies get skewered and heads start to roll. The violence in this game is pretty profound and there is a certain satisfaction that comes from dishing out brutal vengeance upon the Roman hordes. The scale of the fighting is epic, too. You really feel like you're fighting a whole Roman battalion. It feels like every soldier has their own agenda, their own identity. This is magnified by the fact that every enemy has a name. Start attacking a Roman soldier and you will see a health bar pop up with their name in it. At first I thought that this was just their rank or title, but then I noticed it was something different for each enemy I fought. That is a really nice touch!

If you're looking for a challenge, then this game is for you. I'm playing it on normal and have only managed to get through about 1/3 of it. The battle with the Roman General Crassus is enough to make you throw your controller. I like the way they've added replay value to the game by including secrets that unlock additional items in the Arena Challenge. This will keep you coming back to levels you've already completed. In terms of difficulty, I don't know if it gets any worse than the Arena Challenge. It's basically you in an arena versus the whole Roman army. You have a limited number of items scattered about and it's up to you to defeat wave after wave of soldiers. The first couple waves aren't too bad but once they start adding more and more archers, it gets kind of ridiculous.

The Bad:
The manual for the game is sub-par at best. It's almost as if it was written by people who've never played the game. The manual assigns weird icons to the controller buttons and uses these icons to describe the attack controls for the game. The Y button for jumping becomes the D button and Draw Bow (white button) becomes an I. You're almost better off just jumping into the game and figuring it out on your own.

Although I praised the animation earlier, the game engine does need some tweaking. I found shadows falling at really weird angles and actually showing through objects. You'll notice this in the Roman camps when you and Castor climb up walls and walk on top of them. Not a deal breaker but just something I noticed.

The camera can be extremely frustrating at times especially when your character is facing you and all of the enemies are off-screen. I really wish there was an option to just keep the camera directly behind your character. I can appreciate the fact that they were going for a free-form approach but when you're dealing with 20 Roman centurions, you don't have time to screw around with the camera.

The game is fairly linear and there isn't much exploring to do. If you spend too much time dillydallying, the game will keep reminding you where you need to be. Castor repeatedly telling you which way to go gets old really fast. This is more of a personal preference than anything. Some people prefer open-ended, walk around town all day games and some people prefer a linear experience. You don't have to worry about getting lost in the game or not knowing where to go. The game is really good about reminding you and basically holds your hand through all of the activities you need to perform. Most of these additional activities are nothing more than stand in this spot and press "X".

Most of my complaints are minor and just things I noticed while playing. Keep in mind that I'm also still playing the game. Probably my biggest issue with the game though is the lack of any multiplayer elements. This game screams for co-op. It didn't even have to be anything fancy. Just being able to use 2 or more people at one time would have fit the bill. Of course, adding some Xbox Live functionality wouldn't have hurt either. Online co-op! I get goosebumps thinking about it. I hope the developers are listening.

The Bottom Line:
I think Spartan: Total Warrior has a lot to offer and I love the premise behind the game. It's so refreshing to have games set in that time period, and so far I like where the story is going. The mythology elements are great and I'm really interested in seeing how this will all pan out. I like the idea behind the franchise, too, and I look forward to future games in the series. Is a Viking or Samurai: Total Warrior too much to ask for? If you're looking for a fast-paced action game with great swordplay, then you should definitely check out this game. It's far from perfect but it does manage to do a few things really well. It looks like the game has recently gone down in price, if you're interested in picking up a copy. You may have trouble finding it at your big-name retailers but you can always hit up Gamestop and EBGames.

7.5 out of 10 (Good)

City of Heroes Valentine Event

City of Heroes has reactivated my account this weekend to participate in their Valentine Events. I may pop in to create some new characters or see how my main is doing. Although I have no plans to ever subscribe to the game again, I appreciate the fact that NCSoft gives former users the opportunity to come back in from time to time. That's good marketing folks, and I wouldn't be surprised if they actually manage to reel people back in like that. I only wished Turbine would have given me a free pass to AC2 before it was too late.

Fast Game Reviews

Since it's been so long since I broke down and nerded out, I thought I'd post some quick, no nonsense game reviews.

XBOX

Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows - Awesome game with great graphics. The first Gauntlet game to feature Xbox Live, but the normal multiplayer mode is exceptional also. Lots of graphic candy going on all over the screen, especially when you're playing with your friends. A must have.

Matrix: Path of Neo - OK game but not worth all the hype and commercials. Graphics are good but gameplay gets old fast. Upgrades and unlockables are pretty weak.

Prince Of Persia: The Two Thrones - Graphics look great and gameplay is about what you'd expect from this francise. The gimick of playing the evil prince isn't as cool as it sounds but the game as a whole is fun to play overall.

Psychonauts - This game has been out for a while but it's still one of the greatest games I've ever plaayed for the Xbox. The graphics are outstanding and the conversion to high deffinition is enough to blow anyone's mind until they get the real deal with the 360. Original storyline and gameplay is fun long after you beat the game.

Ultimate Spider-Man - Cell-shaded action games are hit or miss. This one qualifies as a hit in my book. The animated cut scenens are graphically impressive and the playability is a blast. Any fans of the MTVanimated cartoon would love this one. A fully explorable, 3 dimentional city to web around in with plenty of races, missions and bosses to beat will keep you coming back to this one for months. Best of all...you can play as Venom.

PSP

Hot Shots Golf - Quite possibly the best launch title for the PSP. Way too much fun to have playing by yourself. Graphics are much better than what you'd expect and the gameplay and unlockables are outstanding.

Marvel Nemesis - OK so the reviews have been hard on the transition from console to PSP, but although they've made some valid points, this game is still a lot of fun. The unlockable fight system is unique and the use of power-ups that you randomly collect after beating battles is pretty fun.

The Con - A unique fighting game with a cool, behind-the-shoulder angle that reminds us of boxing/kickboxing games. There's also an interesting betting system that lets you bet on your oponent and throw fights. This isn't as easy as it sounds because if you blow the "believeability meter", then you just get your ass kicked and injured and no one believes your con and refuses to pay up. Fun for a while, but the game gets a little too tough towards the end.

Jack Thompson's Proposal Brought to Life

I'm going to assume for a moment that everyone knows who Jack Thompson is. You may remember a few months ago when he made a modest video game proposal. He came up with this ridiculous concept for a game and said he would donate $10,000 to charity, if someone made the game. When someone came out with a mod that captured the essence of the game he was proposing, Mr. Thompson retracted his offer stating that it was satire. It's obvious to everyone that this guy is full of it, and by "it", I mean fecal matter. Big 50 gallon drums of it.

Despite that, four guys came together and crafted "I'm OK". A game that captures what Thompson was asking for in his proposal. You have to see it to believe it. I recommend downloading it before Jack finds out and starts throwing around lawsuits and empty threats. That is his medium, afterall.

The game requires no install and the download is relatively small. It is fairly graphic though and is probably NSFW.

Boy O Boy

After reading the last post about financial heartache, I'm sure you're ready for something a little more effervescent. Hmm... Will something that is totally ghey do? If so, you're in luck.

Young and Broke

To say that my wife and I struggle with finances would be an understatement. I think most people do but it never feels that way. It feels like everyone else in the world is buying a Mercedes, doing Jello shots off supermodels, and using c-notes as toilet paper. Imagine my relief upon finding this little gem today. The article is a little on the long side but it really helps put things in perspective. I thought our debt was bad. One person in that article is paying more on their student loans than we pay on our mortgage. That's just crazy!

Auto Assault Beta - Frustration

The beta window for PA readers closed yesterday and I'm sure everyone is excited to know what it was like. And by everyone, I mean the two other people who read this blog. I wish I had something to report. I never got past the server login screen. After four or five emails to customer support, their last recommendation was to bypass my router. By that point, I didn't really have the time to play and disconnecting my router affects my ability to work from home. I'm pretty disappointed about the whole thing but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. I probably should have signed up for the general beta but I've already removed the software and I don't really have time for it. I keep deluding myself with the belief that there exists this magical bag of free time which I have unmitigated access to. This bag can usually be found next to the well of unlimited wealth.

Fusion: Congrats to your guild on their achievement! On a related note, I was exploring the Redridge Mountains recently and actually walked into the Burning Steppes to see what it's like. I went all of 15 feet, relieved myself, and proceeded to run back to Lakeshire as fast as I could.