I was hoping to upgrade it into a gaming PC, so I got the case I wanted and built an OK machine by my standards.
I built it using the following:
1) AMD 64 Athlon 3200+ (2.0 Ghz)
2) JETWAY Mobo with 939 CPU bus, 6 PCI slots, and 1 AGP slot (no PCI Express)
3) 1.5 Gigs of Rosewill PC400 RAM (3-piece)
4) Western Digital ATA, 7200 rpm, 250Gig harddrive (not SATA)
5) ATI Radeon 9550 256MB, AGP 8X graphics card
6) Sony DVD-RW Drive
7) Asus 'A'-Drive
8) Aspire Case w/ 370w power supply
9) Standard Silitek $4 keyboard
10) Razor Diamondback lazer gaming mouse
11) An OLD monitor from our original Packard Bell computer, if anyone remembers them...
That's it. It's actually not too much better than any standard computer. But that all cost me $750 nearly three years ago.
Also, I may be able to build the PC, but I have no idea how to overclock it without murdering it. I haven't tried, really.
I just got the Wacom for christmas, so I'm still working on my digital art skillz. I'm updating a sketch I'm working on as I make more progress on it. I'm taking my time as it's my first real project on my Wacom. read more
For those still wondering how Heath Ledger is going to do as The Joker, I searched the Clogs and could not find someone who had posted this video yet. ODD.
He must've put alot of work into that voice, because that's nothing like anything I've heard out of him before.
As far as I'm concerned this is a must-see, and I think probably will be the pinnacle of Heath's career before death. Definitely a great movie to end on, though I'm sure that wasn't his plan, nor was it preferable for any of his fans.
Here goes. Last year, my fiancee of 1 year and 3 months spent all of my money, left me in July (the day after my brother's wedding) and dated some other guy 2 days later. Last year in July my DS Lite was stolen along with 9 DS games, 5 GBA games, and my case, AT MY OWN BROTHER'S WEDDING... guess what else was stolen there... my wallet... with $400 cash in it (I had just cashed my check, as I worked at Wal-Mart and we needed the money that day, so I cashed it really quick at Wal-Mart and we headed for the wedding,) my credit/debit card, my social security card, my ID, and my one and only E3 pass from 2005.
I guess I could specifically say July was a major part of the suckage. But she also lost me my job in August, then again in September. (I asked them to let me back, so they gave me a second chance, then she offered me rides in September wherein she took me to her house instead and tried to get back together with me...)
Basically I lost a lot and gained nothing. I've been applying to jobs all over the place, and none have called back (at LEAST not yet). My ex is still trying to get back with me, and I keep telling her that I don't think I can do that because she majorly stabbed me in the back (it wasn't my fault at all that we broke up... trust me -_-). I don't have a job so I have no money to replace the items that were stolen... so I'm DSless, which was my main platform. Thus I wanted to start my personal business up ASAP... because I think I'm well past capable enough, with my dad being experienced in running his own business - plumbing and heating - and the support that he'd bring.
So yeah... I'm starting to try to get my ideas off the ground, and with all the shit that's happened, I'd appreciate anything. Thanks guys... read more
... and they're like "It's bigger than yours?"
Damn right, it's bigger than yours.
He could eat you, if you extra-large.
ANYWAYS: I just got home from seeing Cloverfield. A movie that has received a broad range of reviews from "meh" to "don't miss it", and currently retains a 6.1 average score on Metacritic. As far as I'm concerned: don't listen to the mainstream media reviews. Reason being that at least half of them want everything to be completely professional, and see the "shakycam" as an obstacle more than anything.
The Review Foreword: I'm sure you've all heard this word in association with the movie more than once, but it's really the best word one could use to describe the experience: Intense. There was not a moment in this film where the characters or situations seemed at all unbelievable. The shakycam style helped to push into your mind that these were real people. They weren't professional cameramen. They were everyday people like you and me. What made the whole thing even more enjoyable was that the camera was being handled the entire time by Hud; the lovable bumbling best friend of Rob: a 20-something year old with a mixed-up love life who just scored a big deal with a Japanese company. It's debatable who the main character really is, as the movie is really about Rob's personal life and the major losses he overcomes, which in turn seem to drive him even harder to save the someone he truly loves. However, you'll spend the majority of your time living through Hud's eyes, wherein you'll see just what kind of mess he is.
"Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David) has just gotten a new job, except he's going to have to move from NYC to Tokyo to take it. On the eve of his departure, Rob's brother Jason (Mike Vogel) throws a surprise going-away party that's interrupted when a giant monster attacks the city. Receiving a panicked phone call from his ex-girlfriend Beth (Odette Yustman), Rob races through the destruction with several of his friends to save her."
What's the big deal?: The major comparison being drawn is Godzilla meets Blair Witch. Honestly I never cared for any of the Blair Witch movies. I didn't feel like I could connect with the characters, nor did I really care when something happened to them. Cloverfield does a massive overhaul to the shakycam perspective by throwing in lovable characters and giving them each their own individual character. Marlena is heavily sarcastic. Hud is excitable and funny. Lily is the innocent, trusting one. Rob is courageous and charismatic, and Beth is loving and also charismatic (also: hot).
Another piece of what ties you to the characters is that this is all being filmed over an old tape. So every so often you'll get tidbits of a video from Rob's past that explain a lot of missing pieces at the beginning of the movie, and help you see Rob's motivation. The miniature clips are silly and touching.
The visual effects in this movie really surpass most of what I've seen in any hollywood production. It's hard enough to map an effect to a steadycam. It's really impressive to me that they were able to do so much with the camera in constant motion. Everything looks completely awesome and damn-near real.
Presentation-wise I couldn't imagine the movie any other way. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll gawk and go googly-eyed. The presentation is never broken. You'll always have that feeling that you're reliving the horrible day that a small group of friends went through, even if you keep telling yourself "It's not real". They were even thorough enough to treat the credits like they were part of the film in some respect (no loud rock? CRAZY!!!). It's somewhat surreal to walk out of the movie theater after Cloverfield and back into the real world. Kind of a "cool... nothing's exploded..." feeling. :P
FINISH UP ALREADY: Take my babblings as you will. I'm no journalist and really just type what I think as the points cross my mind. But with all I've said, accept that I give Cloverfield a way solid 9.5 out of 10 (equivalent to 4.75 Dolphins out of 5. AMAZING)
This is not a movie you will soon forget. read more
For a long time now I've been thinking about ways to get into videogame retail. I've talked with my friend about opening up a store in one of the few busy cities near where I live, and tossed around other ideas as to what we should sell, and what the best location would be.
But now I think I've come to the decision to start out in web-based retail and distribution. I figure it would be easier for us to start in online retail, as I wouldn't have to relocate, or lease new space (I already have a 1200 sq. ft. garage for storage), and shipping is paid by the customer.
So why am I making a blog about it? Because I need help.
I need to know HOW I can get my paws on low-price BULK videogames, movies, CDs, Strategy Guides, accessories, books, etc.
If you know anything, comment here or email me at controlfreakbiz@gmail.com.
This is my greatest goal at the moment. I had wanted to start a local business, so that's obviously my ultimate goal, but right now I just want to start my online store ASAP.
Whatever help I can get would be much appreciated.
Any paypal donations, if you should feel so inclined, should go to controlfreakbiz@gmail.com. Right now I need information on how to get this started. Thanks guys! :]
[UPDATE: New email address and paypal location!]
Note: had to use tinyurl, because the paypal code in the link itself wasn't recognized as part of the link. read more
He's better than me. So my plan is to find out where he lives and challenge him to a rock-off on "Radio Song" for his soul. Since I perfect that song nearly every time I play it, I expect his soul shall be mine within a couple weeks.
Hey, whaddya know! Street Fighter IV has finally released a screenshot. And after seeing the above image, I really can't think of a better way to describe it than 2D/3D/Cel-Shaded...
It's definitely a different style. Sort of like a colored pencil sketch come to life.
It's not traditional 3D, it's not 2D, and it's not really cel-shaded either.
What would you call it? And more importantly, do we like it?
