Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Pretty bored.

Not alot happening with video games lately.

I got a crapload of PC games including Fable the lost chapters and KoTOR, salvation army dirt cheap and in mint.

I have NOT done the videos I wanted to do on my Saturn collection.

I am very tired today and the only thing I really have to do is get a $5 haircut. Wensday is $5 haircut day for men. My hair always looks horrible when it's long and I never can seem to make it look good. So short haircut. My hair grows really fast too. When I was skinnier back in college everyone thought I was in the military. No. Just lazy.

SO yeah just that and I am gonna rest up and do some cleaning later on today. Get all the trash picked up and then vaccuum and clean up the kitchen and bathroom. Do some laundry...Hmm. I will miss having laundry machines in the house when I move into my small apartment...

I have to get my car looked at tommorow.

Sat is my last day as a librarian at Syracuse library. It's kinda sad since I have just learned how to process serials properly (Something my boss librarian has trouble with). I have learned alot during that job and I learned to LOVE the Dewey Decimal system. You should love the Dewey Decimal System as well. Someone should organize all the decent websites out there by Dewey....oh God I am a library science dork now...

I have been thinking of making a point and click adventure with the AGI program.

Then people could download it and play it on a PC or Dreamcast using ScummVM.

That would be cool.

It will be nice to have some free time.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Angry Nerd makes a good joke...and everyone is too stupid to get it.

So the Nerd actually made a good joke in his last video.

After he reviews Rambo for the NES he reviews the lightgun game for the SMS.

For a joke he tries to play it on a flat LED screen. It doesn't work and it's plain he is making a joke because he shows a wide angle shot of the TV to show that it is a new flat panel TV.

Lightguns don't work on the new screens. At least none of the NES, SNES, SMS, Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast guns don't.

He has an old TV that he usually plays 8-bit games on so it's obvious that it's a joke. Why else have the extended shot the the TV to show it's a newer TV? He is making fun of people that don't know that old lightgun games won't work on newer TVs.

Evidently people on the Internet are so stupid that they didn't get the joke at all.

I read serveral comments on a Kotaku article about SMS games on the Wii that said the SMS sucked and the lightgun doesn't work. One directly referenced the Nerd's video.

So...I dunno. There are obviously ALOT of "gamers" out there that don't know that much about videogames or AV tech.

If these people don't know about lightguns and older video games, why the hell would they watch an entertainment video and then start spouting off and talking trash about Sega.

I don't know if I want to be pissed off at these people or just feel sad for them.

Why do they watch videos on Retro gaming when they can't get the jokes? Why do they diss a system if have never played it?

You are not going to learn anything much about Retro gaming from the Nerd videos. They are for entertainment. Not education.

If you just jump on the bandwagon and make snarky little comments based on shit that you see on the Internet, well, it's just plain lame.

Lamers.


Friday, January 25, 2008

I am not the only one to defend Uwe Boll.

I am not the only one to write a blog in defense of Uwe Boll.




My older blog.




This guy is out there getting the money and making movies.


It's become like a lame internet meme to say he sucks.


If you really have that much passion and think his work is totally without merit than go out and try to make your own media. In this age of affoardable digital stuff there is no reason not to.


But of course the internet people all just make fun of him to get hits on their sites.


They hardly ever come up with examples of big budget mainstream Hollywood stuff that is somehow "better" than Uwe's movies.


The plain facts is that there is alot worse stuff that cost alot more money to make that is in theaters right now. There is alot worse stuff that NEVER gets past production. That we NEVER see.


If you are out there actually producing media than I respect you.


If you are just sitting at a computer writing bad reviews for Indy movies instead of writing about how horrible MAINSTREAM media has become and how much money Hollywood wastes then no, I do not respect your opinions. You are writing those reviews for the wrong reasons.

If you want more SHIT like "Epic Movie" and "Meet the Spartans" than keep it up.
It's not going to be some dipshit sitting at a computer that is going to turn things around in the film industry. It's going to be Independent movie makers who somehow find a way to get their movies made. And Mr. Boll, if nothing else, shows IT CAN BE DONE.

Uwe Boll rocks.


Thursday, January 24, 2008

Wow.

This is what I always thought video games were going to be like in the future.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

LPs are back in style!

Times Article I found interesting.

I missed records and I was too young to appreciate the first vinyl comeback.

Now they are back AGAIN.

I think that LPs are cool. I have seen kids like ages 14-30 going through the old records at thrift stores and buying record players.

I am going to take my parents old record player since it seems like they are jsut going to throw it out.

There is actually a reason for this since actual resonent noise from the records has a much "warmer" sound that sometimes tinny digital formats like .mp3s.

Rock on!

Article from Times:

"Vinyl Gets Its Groove Back
Contents
COMPARING PRICES
Section: Life
TECHNOLOGY

Flashy new discs and that old cozy sound have got the iPod generation giving LPs a spin

From college dorm rooms to high school sleepovers, an all-but-extinct music medium has been showing up lately. And we don't mean CDs. Vinyl records, especially the full-length LPs that helped define the golden era of rock in the 1960s and '70s, are suddenly cool again. Some of the new fans are baby boomers nostalgic for their youth. But to the surprise and delight of music executives, increasing numbers of the iPod generation are also purchasing turntables (or dusting off Dad's), buying long-playing vinyl records and giving them a spin.

Like the comeback of Puma sneakers or vintage T shirts, vinyl's resurgence has benefited from its retro-rock aura. Many young listeners discovered LPs after they rifled through their parents' collections looking for oldies and found that they liked the warmer sound quality of records, the more elaborate album covers and liner notes that come with them, and the experience of putting one on and sharing it with friends, as opposed to plugging in some earbuds and listening alone. "Bad sound on an iPod has had an impact on a lot of people going back to vinyl," says David MacRunnel, a 15-year-old high school sophomore from Creve Coeur, Mo., who owns more than 1,000 records.

The music industry, hoping to find another revenue source that doesn't easily lend itself to illegal downloads, has happily jumped on the bandwagon. Contemporary artists like the Killers and Ryan Adams have begun issuing their new releases on vinyl in addition to the CD and MP3 formats. As an extra lure, many labels are including coupons for free audio downloads with their vinyl albums so that Generation Y music fans can get the best of both worlds: high-quality sound at home and iPod portability for the road. Also, vinyl's different shapes (hearts, triangles) and eye-catching designs (bright colors, sparkles) are created to appeal to a younger audience. While new records sell for about $14, used LPs go for as little as a penny--perfect for a teenager's budget--or as much as $2,400 for a collectible, autographed copy of Beck's Steve Threw Up.

Vinyl records are just a small scratch on the surface when it comes to total album sales--only about 0.2%, compared to 10% for digital downloads and 89.7% for CDs, according to Nielsen SoundScan--but these numbers may underrepresent the vinyl trend since they don't always include sales at smaller indie shops where vinyl does best. Still, 990,000 vinyl albums were sold in 2007, up 15.4% from the 858,000 units bought in 2006. Mike Dreese, CEO of Newbury Comics, a New England chain of independent music retailers that sells LPs and CDs, says his vinyl sales were up 37% last year, and Patrick Amory, general manager of indie label Matador Records, whose artists include Cat Power and the New Pornographers, claims, "We can't keep up with the demand."

Big players are starting to take notice too. "It's not a significant part of our business, but there is enough there for me to take someone and have half their time devoted to making vinyl a real business," says John Esposito, president and CEO of WEA Corp., the U.S. distribution company of Warner Music Group, which posted a 30% increase in LP sales last year. In October, Amazon.com introduced a vinyl-only store and increased its selection to 150,000 titles across 20 genres. Its biggest sellers? Alternative rock, followed by classic rock albums. "I'm not saying vinyl will become a mainstream format, just like gourmet eating is not going to take over from McDonald's," says Michael Fremer, senior contributing editor at Stereophile. "But there is a growing group of people who are going back to a high-resolution format." Here are some of the reasons they're doing it and why you might want to consider it:


Sound quality LPs generally exhibit a warmer, more nuanced sound than CDs and digital downloads. MP3 files tend to produce tinnier notes, especially if compressed into a lower-resolution format that pares down the sonic information. "Most things sound better on vinyl, even with the crackles and pops and hisses," says MacRunnel, the young Missouri record collector.


Album extras Large album covers with imaginative graphics, pullout photos (some even have full-size posters tucked in the sleeve) and liner notes are a big draw for young fans. "Alternative rock used to have 16-page booklets and album sleeves, but with iTunes there isn't anything collectible to show I own a piece of this artist," says Dreese of Newbury Comics. In a nod to modern technology, albums known as picture discs come with an image of the band or artist printed on the vinyl. "People who are used to CDs see the artwork and the colored vinyl, and they think it's really cool," says Jordan Yates, 15, a Nashville-based vinyl enthusiast. Some LP releases even come with bonus tracks not on the CD version, giving customers added value.


Social experience Crowding around a record player to listen to a new album with friends, discussing the foldout photos, even getting up to flip over a record makes vinyl a more socially interactive way to enjoy music. "As far as a communal experience, like with family and friends, it feels better to listen to vinyl," says Jason Bini, 24, a recent graduate of Fordham University. "It's definitely more social."

COMPARING PRICES
CDs and digital albums cost a bit less than new vinyl, but used LPs can go for as little as a penny

Average best-selling-album prices on Amazon.com

Digital $8.99
CDs $10.50
LPs $14.00""

Muahahahhaahha! ...NighTrap... Hahahhaahhah!

I posted something new at the SegaCD Junkyard.

It looks like people attempting to censor games have been doing the same thing for awhile.

NIGHTRAP!

Some gamer having WAY too much fun making his PSO character



He likes the game!


(I got a secret code that allowed me to use special costumes in my game)

Apparently the average age of gamers is 13.

I have always heard that it was 33 but I guess I was wrong.

I am glad FOX news is here to tell us the truth...



So yeah. The game is rated M for Mature.

A parent buying this game for an underage kid is the equivalent of buying a R-rated movie for an underage kid. It's their choice. And if they give the money to to the kid and DON'T regulate HOW they spend it then it's the SAME THING.

I NEVER had any money before I turned 16. I just didn't. I don't understand WHY American parents nowadays have to give their kids so much money. It's ruining the economy, not to mention music and media in general. Do you think a loser like Britney Spears would have EVER funded her current drug fueled existance if 35 million teens hadn't spent the money THEIR PARENTS GAVE THEM on her shitty music? Pretty much everything media-wise is aimed at young kids because it's an easy buck for companies. That's pretty much why everything sucks nowadays.

Back to the original point...

The Game "Mass Effect" does NOT have full nudity. You can see worse on basic cable.

If you live in Canada you can see EVERYTHING. I was watching a Canadian cable station the other day and I saw the movie "Gangs of New York". In the whore house scene...Yep. You could see full frontal for at least 5 minutes of the movie. In that five mintues you could see more breasts than in EVERY AMERICAN VIDEO GAME featured in 2007. (Well maybe if you count GoW it would even out I think there were alot of breasts in that game) Plus all the violence in the movie was uncut.

...hmm. Doesn't Canada have less violence and sexual based offenses per person than us?

Maybe that's because Americans think that someone else should be raising their kids for them instead of DOING THE JOB THEMSELVES.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Free Reading Material: My Tiny Life

http://www.lulu.com/content/1070691

The PDF is free. I don't know if it's worth having the real thing.

A somewhat interesting read.

Gordon Freeman calls "Coast to Coast" radio show.

Fictional Half Life character Gordon Freeman calls into "Coast to Coast", a radio show that features crazy stuff. I like it when the show discusses stuff like vampires, but normally they just cover alien sighting and consipiracy theories.

Friday, January 18, 2008

New interview with the inventor who came up with the Wii Controller.

A Man with a 'stach this cool cannot be in the wrong.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/16/joystiq-interview-patrick-goschy-talks-about-midway-tells-us-h/

Joystiq interview and overview.

I DO NOT understand why all these fanboys are siding with the corporation on this one.

The controller Patrick Goschy was patented and that patent appears in the Wii Patent.

Midway sold this dudes idea to Nintendo.

He knows that he is probably NOT going to get any money. He was under contract when he made it. He was FORCED to give up his ideas because of the dot com fallout. He just wants recognition for coming up with the idea.

The controller HE INVENTED was a light gun with accelerometers in it. In the video you can see it was used IN THE EXACT SAME WAY A WII IS. HE INVENTED IT. Put a patent on it and even created video proof that it he created it WAY BEFORE NINTENDO HAD ANY KIND OF WORKABLE CONTROLLER THAT LOOKED LIKE THIS.

I understand why Nintendo wants to keep everyone thinking that they came up the idea all by themselves. They have their money and company image to consider. The only move they can make is just say that their controller idea was different somehow. Which it is not.

What I DO NOT understand is all the people on the Internet that are rooting for the big corporation without giving the actual individual involved the benefit of the doubt.

Some people just plain ignored the facts and called this a money grab


They ignore:

1. - Nintendo lists his patent in the Wii Patent.
2.- He said that he mainly wants recognition, NOT money

....

I just don't understand why anyone would side with the corporation on this one.

Nintendo is NOT some friendly little corner toy store. They are a corporation that exists to make PROFIT. Sometimes, if they have to, they do horrible, unfair things to individuals.

And I am NOT knocking Nintendo at all. ALL Corporations HAVE to do this because if they don't they will cease to be. Until globalization magically fixes all the evil multinational corporations (which will never happen in my lifetime) this is the world we live in.

Corporations have to do what they can to survive and prosper. CORPORATIONS ARE EVIL. It can be loosely argued that sometimes they are a necessary evil created by out own consumer culture. But with the system we have in place now you CANNOT expect corporations to act honestly.

Even if they KNOW that this guy's ideas DID help create the Wii controller they will NEVER admit that unless it somehow profits them.

So this guy steps up with PROOF that he helped create this sort of tech....

...and people just automatically shoot him down.

I just CANNOT understand that.

Humans can lie and cheat and swindle.

Sometimes we all seem like scum of varying degrees.

But to AUTOMATICALLY take the side of corporation over fellow human? Without reading the story. With NO EVIDENCE THAT NINTENDO DID NOT USE THIS GUY'S IDEA????

I mean forget the whole story about some stupid video game shit.

Forget all that shit.

People automatically and without thought took the side of a corporation instead of a human being.

That is really fucked up.

Even if the dude had been lying and Nintendo had proof that they didn't use his ideas I really expected that people would consider the question before siding with a corp. Fine. If you read the article and decided for whatever reason Nintendo was right then fine... You can say what you want. Most people who have internet access can and they will. Fine..

BUT.

Even if the guy IS just some asshat trying to earn some quick cash in a deceitful way, why would you just automatically just post a negative response without even reading the article. Some people DID. They just AUTOMATICALLY started to write bad things about a fellow human being just because he was perceived as doing something negative against a video game company.

READ THE COMMENTS AND BLOGS ABOUT THIS.

A shitload of people did just automatically sided with the corp and started to insult the human EVEN THOUGH IT WAS CLEAR THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT THE SITUATION WAS. They just did it.

Nintendo just provides you with video games. Toys. In the long run they are largely unimportant. Meaningless lights dashing across a screen telling a story that you could have enjoyed in roughly the same manner through a number of different media. (Books, remember books people????)

Yet some people decided to defend this "thing" and insult a fellow human being.

Everyday, in little ways, I get more and more disappointed in the human race.

We no longer take the side of our families, our communities, our people or even in some cases our country.

Now we all just bow down to faceless machines who at the end of the day DO NOT CARE IF YOU LIVE OR DIE.

If you want to side with a corp, fine. That's your choice for now anyway.

If you want to say that Patrick Goschy is a liar and trying to pull something, well if you actually read the article and formed an opinion of your own, FINE. It's totally OK to have that opinion if you are basing it off something other than your love for a corp.

But LOTS of people didn't read the article, didn't really know what the hell was going on and STILL formed that negative opinion. That's NOT OK.

But if there is ever an dispute between a Corp and a Human please remember which one YOU are...please.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Holy Crap! The Dreamcast is NEXT GEN!

I NEED to use my VGA box more.

Take a look at these pics!

http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=2076

Honestly? Those IN GAME shots look like stills companies are using the promote current gen games...

I have played Soul Calibur and noticed how nice it looked on a computer screen but LOOK what a decent TV can do!

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Cops and Robbers

Jorma from the Lonely Island boys makes an appearance in this skit.



I give it about 7.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Nintendo ripped off Wii controller from the Dreamcast...FACT



Yeah the Dreamcast had a fishing controller that used this tech. So yeah I believe this video.

Comment from Youtube:

"This is not how the Wii controller came to be. If there is 1 gaming company out there that does NOT just steal ideas it is Nintendo.I mean for crying out loud the douchebag isn't wearing pants. That alone proves he isn't all there... literally and dressingly."

Hmm....Yeah...Nintendo NEVER Steals ideas...

In ANY CASE, the whole "boxers" thing. For a very short time in America during the Mid 90's there was a brief fashion trend of shorts like these that looked alot like boxers.

I used to wear shorts like these. They are not underwear. They are just like board shorts with a design that makes them look alot like boxers. Lots of people wore them when it got too warm for tattered jeans and flannel.

I stopped wearing them in 1999 though when I went to college.

You can't even BUY these shorts anymore. This adds validity.

As for the whole "Why now and why not when the Wii first came out?"

It takes YEARS to get the legal system working in the US. It takes LONGER when you are dealing with a huge corporation. If you try to rush something like this the attack dog lawyers every major corp keeps will TEAR YOU APART. It WOULD take YEARS to get a decent lawsuit that wouldn't be shot down before the press got to it.

How can you look at that video and not make the connection? It's the EXACT same Tech used in the EXACT same way.

No way this is a coincidence.

And SCREW YOU Nintendo Fanboys that say Nintendo never steals any ideas. It's a Freaking Corp. They ALL steal ideas.

Except for Sega. Sega is above all reproach.

That goes without saying.

All hail the undead console!

All Hail the Dreamcast!

Friday, January 11, 2008

Wow. Stupid people.

As more and more people use the net I am slowly reaching my limit of putting up with stupid people.

When someone asked a question on how to "hotwire" a Dreamcast controller for PC I gave excellent advice pointing out where you can buy adaptors online and pointed out some forums where he could ask his question and actually get it answered (he wasn't asking in the right manner or place).

The response was so insulting to me.

So he posted another question, asking the SAME thing.

He seems to think that he can just splice some wires from a USB cord to a Dreamcast cord and make it work.

Any working adaptor will require CUSTOM dedicated circuits.

This guy is obviously too dense to put something like that together.

Some jerk might eventually give him wrong instructions on purpose that will burn out his USB port.

I have seen people give advice on how to clean games by telling others to put their CDs in the Microwave on high for 5 minutes. [Yes that would ruin the CD and maybe the Microwave] Before this I never understood why people were being trolls like that. Now I somewhat understand. There is only much IGNORANCE you can take. Try to give some advice to someone and they will not respond like a normal human being because the internet 2.0 promises EXACT ANSWERS RIGHT NOW. Well the only problem is that more and more people are becoming ignorant slobs who can't take it when someone tells them "no you can't really do that".

People have to know their LIMITATIONS. They have to know that they can't just assume they can handle ANYTHING. There is no voice of reason on the 'net yet. It's just a bunch of assholes and the loudest asshole gets heard.

There is SO MUCH PRIDE IN THEIR OWN IGNORANCE. Instead of trying to learn they lash out against those that give constructive advice and criticism. They turn a blind eye to their own faults and look elsewhere for justification of their stupidity. AND THERE IS ALWAYS A FORUM OF LIKE MINDED ASSES WHO WILL SUPPORT THEM!

Is this the real face of humanity?

Has Technology shown us what complete morons the world is composed of?

Instead of delivering humanity into the next stage have we set the world up to be consumed by half-aware Luddites?????????

I have to stop looking around the Internet. I only depress myself.

Wing Commander Blueprints

http://kotaku.com/343621/please-check-out-these-awesome-wing-commander-blueprints

I HAVE these blueprints at home. Tres cool.

I remember beating this game without loosing any of my wingmen. (which was a PAIN in Maniac's case since the moron would run after any target without any thought).

All in all it was pretty awesome. I kick ass at the Win Commander games. I have not yet beaten "Black Ops" yet. I still have all the downloadable episodes in my older 'puter.

I am glad I have these. Game inserts have really gone downhill since the 90's.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

OK, it just made my top ten.

http://catandgirl.com/view.php?loc=347

So good.

Cat and Girl is slowing inching it's way to my Personal top ten of webcomics.

http://catandgirl.com/view.php?loc=270

http://catandgirl.com/view.php?loc=273

(I went to grad school and I have yet to make it to middle class status...I think I am still technically high-lower class with just enough cash to pay my bills, start up a new IRA every year, eat and waste a little money on retro video games. If I had a wife, kids or any kind of social life at all it would really screw up my personal economics.)

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

An answer to why it all fell apart after the 90's.

Damn you time traveling Cat and Girl!

http://catandgirl.com/view.php?loc=37

People still want to play Dreamcast Games.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Digital Devil Saga 2 for $19.99

I have know about different prices for games at EB and Gamestop for a long time now.

Of course to some people this is news...

http://consumerist.com/340872/eb-games-charges-two-different-prices-for-same-game

I got a copy of Devil Summoner (Same Series) new for 19.99 when it was used for 29.99 AT THE SAME STORE.

I guess when it comes to RPG pricing Gamestop and EB can't get their shit together.

I am sure that since there are like A MILLION new Atlus games out it isn't helping matters.

Pipmed out Dreamcast found in wild.

Kotaku has found what seems to be a Dreamcast "pimped out" in a thrift store.

http://kotaku.com/341288/thrift-store-treasures-the-ugliest-dreamcast-you-will-ever-see

This is why I love thrift stores. You never know what you will find.

Friday, January 04, 2008

Muahahahaha!

I thought this was funny. I guess this has been around awhile but it's the first time I have seen it. I love it when people do photoshops like this.

It's kind of sad that I never played WoW yet I still get all these jokes.

I just can't justify wasting monthly fees and all that cash.

*Click for larger, readable version*


Muds were cooler, larger, had more players and you didn't have to pay monthly fees. I still only played those for a bit before I got sick of them.

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Sitting at work during a Holiday...AGAIN!

Yes, Here I sit again. Not really doing anything.

Bored.

Lets see. I suppose I will just list off what's going on in my life.

-I have decided to do 50 situps everytime I play a video game. I have 100 that I have to catch up on. I figure I have done about 300 so far in the past 2 weeks. I have to set the heavy punching bag set up in the cellar so I can beat the crap outta it. Gotta do something for exercise in the winter.

-I have a very vivid dream last night. Lets just say I am not complaining. It's weird because mostly my dreams have been lame as hell. I hope this trend continues.

-My car has been making some weird shudders. It happens so infrequently. I thought originally I had some water or ice in the fuel line. I have used gas line HEET twice now. I will have to get it checked out when I get my car's spark plugs replaced.

-I put in my resume to a job offer I got in the mail. This is pretty much the first time an employeer has contacted me about a job and not the other way around.

-My parent's car Bandit is now in my care for awhile. He is a nice easy-going cat for the most part. We have gotten into the habit of using a window for him to get in and out of the house. The only drawback is that he seems to enjoy sleeping on the same places I use. So evertime I want to sit on the couch or sleep in my bed he is already sprawled out in the middle of it.

-I failed in my personal quest to avoid junkfood since I bought a ton of chocolate this morning. Boxes of Lindt and other quality sweets are on clearance of 75% off at Walgreens. I will have to freeze it and limit my intake.

-I updated the NYS divorce and annulment law folder at work. It took a LONG time. Note to self. Never get married or divorced.

-I got a copy of the Red Star. I also got another Sega Saturn with a ton of mint games (I plan on doing a video about that purchase). The lady who works at the goodwill store saved it for me. It pays to be nice to those people. Yesterday I got a NES complete with 12 games. Kick ass.

Ugh. Another 6 hours until I get to go home. Gotta get groceries today.