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Sunday, December 26, 2004

This is totally cool. Just the other day, I was thinking of what type of computer mod I want to try next time. I think I want to try to mod one of those metal suite cases into a James Bonds like computer. Ya, it would be bigger than a lap top, but who cares? I started to think about different things that would be cool. Of course one of the first things that popped into my head was a retina scan when the thing boots up, but that is too expensive. A finger print scanner would be cool too, but that is not very common. Then when walking in Sam's Club I saw the Fingerprint Reader for less then $40. Sweet!

Well I have been playing around with it, and it is rocking. You scan in any/all of you fingers, and then give it your windows password. When ever I log on with XP, I just touch it and it logs me in to the right account. What's more, I can use it to log into Yahoo messenger, and different web pages. It reads the prints upside down too.

I am not sure how secure it is, it warns you not to use it to protect sensitive stuff, but for $40 bucks it a cheep Secret Agent Man gadget. Well it is not a cheep as the decoder ring, or the x-ray glasses I got in my Caption Crunch, but it still brings out the kid in me. Beside, if someone wants my junk off my PC, a top of the line scanner would not stop them.

Tom's Hardware has an article on how to make your own projection TV!
Hum, very, very tempting. Maybe later...

This laser makes me wish I had an extra $700 to burn, no pun intended. The thing looks like a light saber!

I will be posting some pics and tips on how I fixed my Xbox soon. Just think of it as a late Christmas present...

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Saturday, December 25, 2004

Merry Christmas. Especially to all the men, woman, and the families of those that are serving and protecting over seas. I pray that you have a happy and peaceful Christmas, and I thank you for your sacrifice. Merry Christmas.


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Sunday, December 19, 2004

Happy birthday to me! 25 years old and hopping for a discount in my auto insurance.


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Saturday, December 18, 2004

What a great way to start a 2 week vacation. Congested, and coughing. Well at least I have plenty of games and movies to keep me entertained. Metroid Prim 2 Echoes, Prince of Persia Warrior Within, Chronicles of Riddick Escape from Butcher Bay.

Metroid Prim 2 is not too different that the first one. Happily things appear to move along a little quicker. After playing for a few hours I have collected three power ups. Things are still very linear; you are prevented from exploring some places until a power up is retrieved, so there is plenty of backtracking.

The Riddick has been pretty enjoyable for a game based on a movie. The lighting reminds me a lot of Doom 3. It can be a little frustrating figuring out how to get past an obstacle, but a few tries the answer does become evident, you just have to keep looking and trying new things. The game takes place right around the time Riddick gets his eyes shined, so the first few levels you cannot see in the dark. It is fun sneak up behind someone and snap their neck, or grab the gun out of a guard’s hands and use it against him. The game play reminds me a lot of Splinter Cell, but better. You are not just limited to sneaking around everywhere. Run and gun, or stealth.

Prince of Persia has been pretty fun. The fighting reminds me a lot of Ninja Gaiden. There are a lot of combos and different weapons affect the fighting style. I can definitely see myself getting addicted to this game. The beginning level is a tutorial explaining a lot of the different attacks, and combos. Sum of the attacks are really cool, like spinning around a pole, hacking off the heads of all that are around. I still need to get past the first boss.

I now also have all three of the extended editions of the Lord of the Rings DVDs. Around 12 hours of butt numbing movie bliss.


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Thursday, December 16, 2004

Just in time for christmas. Wondering what can top the Leg Lamp you got John last year? Why not get him the whole lap! Wondering what to get Jan? How about a nice muscular arm!

If it is really that hard to find a companion in an area that has over 120 million people living almost on top of each other, than I am screwed.

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Thursday, December 09, 2004

And here I thought my case moding skills were good. I wish I had half this guys time, skills, and money.

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Wednesday, December 01, 2004

The ESRB does not protect people from games that glorify murder and hate crimes. No, duh! It is the parents that have to protect their kids from the games.
"The report goes on to criticize the ratings system devised by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) to label potentially objectionable games, saying the system is too vague and enforced haphazardly at best by retailers. "
Too vague? How so? I am constantly surprised by the descriptions I have seen on the ESRB labes. 'Animated Blood', 'Comic Mischief', 'Fantasy Violence'. How can they get much more specific? 'Animated Blood from Noise Bleed in Cut Seen in Chapter Five', 'Comic Mischief due to Simulated Flatulance', 'Fantisy Violence by Jumping on a Koopa Trooper'.
"Other groups contributing to the violent-games list went further, calling on retailers to apply the same criteria to games they apply to other media. Dr. Martha Burk, president of the Center for Advancement of Public Policy, noted that leading retailer Wal-Mart bans sexually explicit magazines and CDs but continues to sell "Grand Theft Auto" games. "
I agree. Video games should have the same criteria held to them as other media. As it stands right now, video games have more info on there content than most movies or books. I can think of a popular blockbuster PG-13 movie that has Nudity in it. Even my conservative christen parents said that it was alright because it was 'done artfully and in good taste'. You think a hormone ravaged teen will see it as artful? Now before you go off saying that new movies have been sliding into this and old ones were much more whole some take a look at the rating on Jaws and Billy Jack. Jaws still has people afraid to go to the beach and Billy Jack dealt with rape, hate crimes, a police shoot out/stand off, and cop killing. Both movies are good movies that I enjoyed. I also know they only had a PG or R rating system back then, but still they were only given a PG rating

Why is it one moment Wal-Mart is the evil corporation, but then the next is held to this great expectations of protecting us from all the bad movies, games, music, and magazines?

Gioia said his own research showed retailers made no efforts to prevent
preteens from buying games rated "M" (intended for players 17 and older) in
the vast majority of cases.


Well that is not the case where I by games. I get carded more faithfully for games than I do going to the movies, or buying alcohol or spray paint.

As far as my feelings on the JFK Reloaded, I think it is distasteful. Is it surprising that it came out! No, not with all conspiracy theorists, and all the attention it continues to get. The description almost sounds like what you would get with any History channel special; it is just that you have the opportunity now to be the trigger man. Why someone would pay $10 for what looks like a cheep mod is beyond me. Conspiracy theorists may love it, because they may be able to see if was possible that JFK was shot form other places. I do not know, do not care. Next game to get huge rating boost due to massive media coverage, one that recreates the Lincoln assassination.

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Half-Life 2 Deathmatch has been released. Let the people rejoyce! I hope they have the map with the Nuke...

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