Borked Bits!

Why won’t you take my money?!?!?!

2011-12-09T10:34:00.001-06:00

I have had a long standing feud with the movie and music industry that led me to the decision that neither was getting any money from me. Over the last few months I have decided that it's not worth the effort to acquire movies and music by nefarious means and I would kiss and make up with the fat cat pigs. That's when all the fun started.

Music was easy enough at first, I can choose between iTunes, Amazon, Google, et all. Everything was going along fine until I started looking for the Lazlo Bane album, Transistor. Can't find it anywhere, f'ing anywhere. Now I refuse to pirate this album because I love the bands music and they deserve my money but someone doesn't want to take it. Luckily, I found a CD on Amazon so I can get it and rip my on digital copy. I didn't really want another CD to put into storage but I want this album so no big thing.

I still think this may be an exception to the rule though, if I were into the newest pop crap I feel confident that I could get it in digital form. Undaunted by this minor speed bump I trudge on.

I have a fairly large collection of movies, most of them I have created from the family DVD collection and some from, well; you know. I wanted to start replacing the films that I obtained from less than legal sources with legit copies and that has proven to be more of a hassle than it should be.

I use Windows Media Center and have a Windows Phone, my wife and oldest son have iPhones. This in and of itself would be an issue because there is no way that I can get legit copies of movies that will work on all three device types without either buying the movie multiple times or bootlegging it for one (or more) device. Luckily, my wife doesn't really care to have movies on her phone and my son would rather play a game. So now I decide to check out Zune because I can buy a movie, watch it on my Xbox, Media Center or my Windows Phone. This sounded like a great idea to me so I bought Halo Legends, it wasn't a bad price and I got a copy for my Media Center and phone and can stream it on my Xbox. The only thing that rubbed me wrong here is that the copy I have for the PC appears to be only 720p which, in the grand scheme of things isn't a big deal; but I would rather have 1080p.

The next roadblock was the deal breaker for me. I wanted to replace the Harry Potter series with HD versions. I had previously downloaded HD copies that were 720p so I figured the 720p from Zune would due fine. Only the thing is, you can't by any Harry Potter from Zune in HD. If I wanted an SD copy I could just rip the DVDs that I own and be done with it.

So here I stand, willing to spend my money but the idiots running the show won't take it. It almost gives the impression that they want you to pirate stuff doesn't it? In order to make this work I am going to have to go to multiple sources, mixing media types and what not. Screw that noise I'll just keep sailing the pirate ship Revenge and singing rousing sea shanties. Maybe in another decade these dopes will get their acts together, but I doubt it.

Need more time!

2011-12-01T12:54:00.001-06:00

We are steadily rocketing towards Christmas and all that I still haven't been able to spend quality time with any games. Hell, if it weren't for my Windows Phone 7 powered Focus S I would never get to play anything! I have put off buying some games (I'm looking at you Skyrim!) because I don't want to spend $60 on something that won't get played for months. As it stands now, I am still playing Modern Warfare 2 so I can't really justify getting MW3.I have picked up, and spent a few minutes with; Arkham City, Halo CEA, and thanks to my buddy John; Rage! All three are awesome games and I am envious that Mini-Me has played more than me! He is bursting at the seams wanting to talk to me about what he has done but I have him on a strict 'if you spoil it, it's gone' diet. There was no way that I was going to be able to sleep knowing that there was a Batman and Halo game that I didn't own, a good Batman game anyway.Here is to hoping that I can get some time in for Christmas.

Movin' and Groovin'

2011-10-05T22:29:00.000-05:00

The family and I are in the process of a huge move so I haven't had a lot of time to work here but I wanted to take a moment to pay my condolences to Steve Jobs, who passed away today. No matter what side of the PC vs Mac war you may have been on you have to give the man credit for his role in revolutionizing the modern landscape of technology. Rest in peace Steve.

Quakecon 2011

2011-08-09T10:23:00.000-05:00

Mini-Me and I made our annual sojourn to Dallas and Quakecon for a day of gaming goodness. Overall it was a great experience for him, unfortunately; I had a pounding headache and pinched nerve in my back that kept me from having too much fun but that's enough of the QQ from me!

There didn't seem to be many vendors there this year and only two games on display. Seeing as Rage is coming out soon, I was expecting a bigger showing from it on the floor. I didn't get to go to the BYOC this year and I really think that if you are going to experience Quakecon, you need to be in the BYOC.

The biggest highlight for me was watching how excited Mini-Me was when he met Fatal1ty. The concept of being a pro-gamer just blew his mind and he was a classy guy. He listened to him talk at a hundred miles an hour, signed an autograph for him and took a picture with him, he was a nice guy and great example for my son. Big props to him from this Dad.

My newest addition

2011-07-18T11:11:00.002-05:00

The many love of a Geek

2011-07-17T17:32:00.000-05:00

One of the bad things about being a lover of all things tech and gadgety, is that not one brand normally does everything that you want. For instance, I have fallen head over heals for a Macbook Pro and the Mac OS in general. I like the iPad but love the Motorola Xoom. I loved my old iPhone but my new Windows Phone 7 device has all my love now too. I also love my Google Apps account (even though Google doesn't love me back) but my online presence links mainly to my plain old Google account. What's a guy gotta do to make all this stuff work together?
It can be a bit aggravating at times when my OCD shifts into extra crazy mode, but I think that I make the most of what I am working with, and let's be honest, I wouldn't like it if it all just worked together out of the box. Half of the fun of doing what I do is hacking the square beg into the triangle hole and then back out the round one to finish off in the square hole.
On a loosely related note, I am on Google+ now, feel free to add me if you feel so inclined!

Zoom, zoom, xoom

2011-04-20T22:00:00.000-05:00

As we speak, I'm entering this on a Motorola Xoom, sitting on my couch and watching Red vs. Blue Season V. I have been using it for several weeks now and I have to say that I really like it. The iPad2 is thinner but the Xoom is in a widescreen format and easier to hold in portrait mode. I love reading comics on it and movies (once converted), look amazing. I'm not sure what Steve Jobs was going on about but there are a lot more than 100 apps and adding the Amazon App Store makes it even better. I have yet to reach the end of the battery life and have gone over a week without charging it. As a fan of the Android OS, I have to say that the Honeycomb OS is pretty nice. Between this and my new Windows Phone 7 HTC Surround, I have not used an iOS device at all. I'll be back soon to talk about the new phone. Here's a preview, Xbox Live games on a phone = epic.

Game Snobs

2011-02-26T08:35:00.001-06:00

We all know that you can’t please everyone and there are some folks who just have to complain about everything, but I’ve started to notice a trend in the game community against certain games or people.

Since I am recently getting back into a more “hardcore” gaming routine I have started watching some podcasts and following developers on Twitter to get the feel for it all again. In the course of doing so I have noticed that there is trend that the hosts (reviewers if you will) of these shows seem to have a bad taste in their mouths for Call of Duty and Gears of War.

They talk bad about the games, the people who play them, and in some cases; the developers. Normally I could care less what some goofball on the Internet/TV thinks, I play a game because I like it, not because a reviewer does. What I do take exception to is when they insult an entire group of people because they don’t like some of them.

I’m specifically referring to Max Scoville, co-host of The Destructoid Show. Since coming on board a few episodes ago he has seeming gone out of his way to complain about, insult the Call of Duty and Gears of War franchise and gamers. Specifically he referred to them as “meathead” games because only meatheads play the games. He also seems to have a large beef with Epic games’ CliffyB.

I’m not sure what Max’s problem with the games are. I’ll be the first to admit that there are some d-bags that play these games, but that is true of anything. Maybe some game enthusiasts are threatened by the fact that frat boys are playing these games.

All I can say is let it go man. If you don’t like the game so be it, but stop spewing your personal bias when you should be reviewing the game. I’m not a big fan of Pokemon but you don’t see me calling you out because you do. The fact of the matter is that these are all fun games to someone, don’t let tools in a multiplayer lobby define an entire section of gamers.

And before I forget, you and I need to have a sit down and discuss your tattoo, let an old school Star War fan drop some Fett knowledge on you Max, I think you’ll learn a couple of things.

Stop strangling digital downloads!

2011-02-17T12:24:00.001-06:00

I am a huge fan of digital distribution, I love the instant gratification of it and I love getting my games this way. The big problem I have with it is how the distributors are handling it.

For example; CoD: Modern Warfare 2 is over a year old and just became available via Games on Demand. I was pretty excited about this since I don’t have the game yet and rushed to check it out the day it was released. I was greeted with a price tag of $59.99.

So someone seems to think that a year plus old game is worth full retail price of a brand new game. To make it even more of a kick to the head, you can buy the game brand new from any number of outlets for around $30. Heck, I even came across a two pack that had both Modern Warfare games for less than fifty bucks.

I would really like someone in charge of these decisions to explain to me why I should pay sixty dollars for an old game that I can buy a physical copy of for much less. It would be great if someone could get consistent and fair in the prices of digital downloads, just think of the hard drive sales alone if money is all you’re worried about.

In Case of Zombie Attack...

2011-01-09T10:51:00.000-06:00

As I parent I am always worried as to if my kids are ready for trouble. This morning my oldest boy proved to me that he was.

He has been playing with this toy shotgun the last few days, pretending to guard the house and all that. Today he walked up to me and put it my belly, ordering me to put my hands up. When I asked him what would happen if I failed to comply and he promptly shot me, then told me he would shoot.

I thought for a split second and retorted with the fact that I wasn't hurt at all because I was a zombie! I threw my hands up and lunged at him as I said zombie, he shot again and promptly informed me that it didn't matter because he "head shotted" me and I was now an ex zombie.

I am so proud right now *sniff*

Don't make resolutions, make life changes.

2011-01-02T18:10:00.000-06:00

I was never really one for resolutions to begin with but this year I was determined to not make a resolution, I want to make life changes.

Some of the changes that I want to make are dumb (like play more games), others are very cliche (get our finances in order). The main thing that I want to work on the most is relaxing. I've spent too many years getting worked up about things that I have no power to change, that has to stop.

Think about it, what good does it do for me to get all mad and worked up because of the actions of someone else? The only thing that comes out of it is I loose time, and energy, make myself sick, and even bring that frustration home and releasing it on the ones that I love, who had nothing to do with it in the first place.

What it boils down to is, I am going to live my life to the benefit of me and mine, if you want to be negative and be miserable, go do it somewhere else.

Price does not equal quality

2010-12-18T18:14:00.000-06:00

I have really been getting back into gaming the last few months, I hooked up my PC to the LCD and it has been great gaming on a 42 inch screen. Now that Microsoft has linked the Games for Windows Live and Xbox Live profiles I am all about playing again.
Unfortunately, life doesn't care that I want to game more again. I still have kids, work, wife, dog and all that that has to be taken care of so I started looking closer into XBLA. I have picked up a few games and I found some really great games that I can play for a few minutes and feel like I did something or for a bit longer and really have some fun.
Most of the games are around ten to fifteen bucks but I really think that they are packing a lot of fun into such inexpensive games. Right now I jump between Shadow Complex, 'Splosion Man and Super Meatboy. All three very different but very fun games, now I just wish they would adjust the prices of the games on demand section.

For all the true players

2010-11-21T08:14:00.000-06:00

If you are a PC gamer you owe it to yourself to check out www.gamesforwindows.com. They just updated the site to go along with the new Xbox update and they have been throwing out some great deals. I have turned into something of an achievement junkie and it's nice to have a new place to get games that are linked to Live!

I feel like a corporate whore shilling for this, but I am a huge supporter of digital content, especially when it's at a discount.

Quakecon 2010

2010-08-19T19:24:00.001-05:00

I'm at Quakecon 2010 checking everyrhing out . Zephin and I just tried out a demo for a game that Microvision is working on where a gun is the controler. We went into what looked like an inflateable igloo to play. The game was sent to the weapon wirelessly from an Alienware laptop. The is a Pico projector on top of the weapon that projects the game on the surface in front of you. As you move the weapon around, you move around the game world. An NPC would yell that there was contact rear, I turn around and now I'm looking at what was behind me in the game. I can't really see me playing this at home but the concept was awesome!

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I like games.

2010-08-15T22:45:00.000-05:00

The family and I went to Quakecon yesterday and had ourselves a great time. I was going to try my hand at mobile live blogging but the needs of the one year old outweigh the needs of the blog. I do plan on doing a much better writeup soon, so stay tuned. G'night!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Kaaaaaaaaaahn!

2010-08-08T13:59:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I forget what a giant pain in the ass it can be to hack a piece of hardware. I have this WDTV that I have been trying to shoehorn a new firmware into, it's worked for the most part but not all of the options are playing as happy as I want them to be. At least I was able to get moviesheets working correctly, that is a huge change from the plain icon look that comes with the stock box. If you have the patience and a WDTV, look up b.rad's WDLXTV firmware and give it a run!

All I wanted was a pepsi.

2010-08-02T22:36:00.001-05:00

I hate it when a computer won't do what it's told, I have been told that is one of the biggest reasons I'm good at my job. It's even more frustrating when the computer belongs to me.
We have this little box to play video on our tv called the WDTV. All it really is is a specialized Linux computer for media playback. Tonight it just went on holliday.
It was a particularly fun day at work today so I was looking forward to watching last nights UFC fights so needless to say, I was a bit vexed.
After about 3+ hours of fighting with it, I get it back to running. Just in time for Stitch to watch some Elmo videos that he was waiting very patiently to see. Remind me one day to tell you how rare this is. When we call him Stitch, it's not the cute, hero Stitch, it's the evil one from the begining of the movie.
So I ask my wife if she would mind if I took my laptop upstairs to watch some of the fights and she agrees (go me!). I get everything setup just to realize my laptop doesn't have the ompf to play the 720p video I have. *sigh* It's good to be king.

I'm baaaaack!

2010-08-01T10:06:00.001-05:00