Saturday, March 29, 2008

Pearl Jam in Rock Band

Of all the bands I want in Rock Band, I want Pearl Jam the most. Here's the short list of songs that would be awesome.

Friday, March 28, 2008

A Question of Community

Warthog Stick 1
Today was a pretty interesting day. I had a very good discussion on Twitter about the gaming community. I think it was well received. I try to make good points without sounding like an idiot. Today was one day that I was successful.

The gist is this. DirtyDiva asked the question "Do you feel like you're well represented within large companies' walls?". Personally, I don't think that I am well represented inside Microsoft. I do believe that my habits, usage, and general stats are kept somewhere in a giant database. Is that a proper representation of me? Kinda, but not really.

As I'm sure anyone would attest, I'm a little more complicated than my gamer data would let on. I'm a complex human being with complex thoughts. Well, sometimes my thoughts aren't that complex, but still! :-p

I honestly believe that the community focus Microsoft has is purely for marketing. It's great for everyone that's involved, don't get me wrong. But at the end of the day, people like Major Nelson and Trixie aren't getting a paycheck because Microsoft loves us that much. They get a paycheck because somebody at Microsoft realized the power of word of mouth. They realized that a bunch of guys running a website can be a very valuable tool. And they are.

I'm not pointing fingers at anyone in particular. I'm merely stating that the perks you get as a community leader or MVP aren't simply due to MS loving you and wanting to be your BFF. It's a marketing scheme, pure and simple.

It certainly benefits those of us that are in the community. Who doesn't want free games? And honestly, I have no problem with it. Microsoft should be pouring money and resources into this community because we have a lot of influence on people. It's a good thing.

I just don't want people to be so naive as to think that Microsoft really wants to be your friend. They have another agenda, and that is to come out on top in the console war. If, for one second, you think that the community is any less of a pawn than HD-DVD or Xbox LIVE, then you need to wake up and smell the RROD.

We are just another chess piece to move around the board. How we take advantage of that fact will determine who really comes out on top.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Dick Day Every Day

I've been pretty busy lately, but what's new? There's been a lot of stuff going on, both in my life and in the gaming community.

I've been formulating a blog post about how much I can't stand the 70's music that's in Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Some of it is ok, like The Who, but other stuff like David Bowie and Boston just sucks. I know most people disagree with me, and that's fine.

I really just prefer stuff that came out in the 90's and up. I understand that the music in the 70's paved the way for a lot of what we hear today, but that doesn't mean we have to keep reliving it. Live in the now!

I downloaded the free Heroic Map Pack for Halo 3 last night. The new maps are pretty sweet, but I'm really looking forward to the new "re imagining" of Lockout and Sidewinder. I haven't decided if I'm going to drop 800 points on the pack yet.

Microsoft did a couple things this week. One good and one bad. First, they set all the gamerscore cheaters back to zero. I think this is fair. If you cheat, you should be punished. I pay $50 a year in order to use a system with a high degree of integrity. The only thing that concerns me is why they let some gamers amass over 200,000 points before they dropped the hammer.

Second, they are forcing a gamer who was in Trixie's spotlight to change his gamertag. I feel bad for Cow Moolester. If it were me, I would definitely fight Microsoft on this one. Not that he'll win, but you gotta put up a fight. Otherwise they'll think it's ok to do it to anyone.

I understand that it's their system, but if it wasn't caught on the initial signup, then I think Moolester gets a pass. He made it passed the man! You can't let someone walk around with his dick hanging out for a couple years, then one day decide he can't do it anymore. You gotta say something immediately, or he's home free and it's dick day every day.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Triple Kill Video

I recorded the video of my triple kill in SWAT yesterday. One of the kills is Phoenix8424. Haha!

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Games For Sale

I have a few games I want to sell, and instead of going to Gamestop and getting pennies on the dollar or Ebay where I will have to wait a week, I thought I might just post them here and see what happens. Send me an e-mail or leave a comment if you're interested in any of these 360 games.

NHL 2K6 - $8.00
Major League Baseball 2K6 - $10.00
Ridge Racer 6 - $10.00
PGR3 - $15.00
Splinter Cell Double Agent - $20.00

I also have Madden '06, but my sister is borrowing it to boost her gamerscore. ;-)

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Triple Kill


Triple Kill
Originally uploaded by Gemini Ace
I love this shot!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Really Big Show!

blue october

We saw Blue October last night at the Ridglea Theater last night. It was a "special" show. We didn't know what that meant until we got inside. Turns out it was a show sponsored by Camel cigarettes. Some people were getting in for free. We only paid $20 each for our tickets, which isn't much so it's no biggie.

The Ridglea used to be a movie theater, so there was some limited seating. We were fortunate enough to get a couple seats. The opening act was Pretty Baby, a 3 piece band. They were decent. We got free download codes for a couple of their songs, so I'll be checking that out.

Camel was actually giving out a bunch of free stuff. We got a couple free packs of cigs, a free beer ticket, and a 64 mb flash drive. You could go get your picture taken and put on the drive, but we didn't do that because of the line. All I wanted was the delicious cigarettes anyway!

I snuck in our camera to the show, as you can see above. Digital cameras are just not meant for concert photography. I think the effect is kinda cool, tho. I was shooting the video below when one of the venue guys told me to put it away. Apparently the guys in the band don't want us taking pictures. I don't get that, but whatever Blue October!

My only complaint has to be with the song list they chose. Justin let us know that they had filled the set list with all of their most rocking songs. I just knew that would include the song Somebody, which is my favorite it BO song, but they never played it! It hurts! It hurts on the inside where my soul should be!

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

30 Days of Dancing with the Stars

We went to Hooters last night for some green beer. It wasn't very busy, which was a surprise to me. Our service was quite lackluster. I suppose you don't go to a place like Hooters for the service. Our waitress wasn't exactly packing in the boob department, so it makes me wonder about the state of affairs over there. Who cares if it's discrimination, let's get some jugs in there!

I watched part of Dancing with the Stars last night. I'm a big fan of Adam Carolla, so I wanted so see his performance. It was...underwhelming. I didn't think he would set the dance floor on fire, but still! I hope he doesn't get kicked off too soon.

I also ended up watching 30 Days of Night. Rhea fell asleep, but that's probably for the best. It wasn't her type of movie. I, on the other hand, thought it was awesome! Josh Hartnett has officially redeemed himself in my eyes. Redeemed from what, you say? Wicker Park. That movie is still on my Worst Movies of All Time list, but I won't avoid Josh like the steaming pile of poo that was Wicker Park anymore. (That sentence is questionable, but I stand by it.)

We are going to see Blue October tonight. I should post some pictures tomorrow.

Friday, March 14, 2008

The Iron Man Game

Can't wait for the movie, can't wait for the game!

JumpCut.com

I like this site! I like it a lot!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Halo 3


25605347-Full
Originally uploaded by Gemini Ace
I've been playing some Halo 3 lately. Feels like spending time with an old friend.

I would have played some Team Fortress 2 last night, but there were no games available. Friggin' awesome!

Speaking of The Orange Box, I tried to hop into some Portal action after TF2 was a bust. None of my save information showed up! Same with Half-Life 2. I looked on my HDD and the files are there. What gives? The Orange Box is near worthless to me now.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Why I Hate Burnout Paradise

I got Burnout Paradise from Gamefly. I finally got around to popping it in tonight. I really hoped it would be better than the demo. Much to my dismay, it was not. Here are my top 10 reasons I hate Burnout Paradise.
  1. No crash mode
  2. No crash breakers
  3. No aftertouch
  4. Open world
  5. Can't jump to events via the map
  6. Can't check traffic
  7. Stunt runs
  8. Learner's permit
  9. Crappy starter car
  10. Guns 'N Roses
The franchise is dead to me. Thanks, Criterion!

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Sword Spree

Video of my sword spree.

Saturday, March 08, 2008

Bottled Up

Today at the P.O. went a lot better. Somehow I was able to get out on the street by 12:30, which is at least an hour earlier than before. The street only took me 4 hours. Needless to say, I'm the greatest postal worker to ever live! At least until I get shot.

I did have a couple funny things happen to me today on my route. First, the ice cream man was out today driving around the same roads as me. That wasn't annoying at all. The best part was when I saw the ice cream truck roll by. It was followed by a chubby little mexican kid running, trying desperately to catch up to the 2mph rocket that is the ice cream man.

The second thing that happened wasn't funny at the time, but in retrospect it's kinda hilarious. I realized after about 30 minutes on the street that I had to piss like a racehorse after a keg of beer. Normally I just ignore it, but this was some serious pain.

Now, my route has over 500 stops and none of them are conveniently located near a bathroom. As I drove, I started working through different scenarios in my head. No where was sheltered enough or inconspicuous enough. And my luck, a customer would walk up and ask what I was doing.

I finally hatched a plan in my head that was feasible. I had a Propel water bottle with me. I had only drank a third of it by then. I decided that my best bet would be to stop in the new residential area that had just opened. I had 2 houses to deliver in that area, and nobody would be around. So, I pulled up to the first house, dumped out my bottle, and proceeded to the back of my LLV to relieve myself. Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!

Believe me when I tell you that there is no better feeling than taking a piss after holding it for almost 2 hours.

Anyway, I downloaded the new picture pack created by 360style.net's own Avid X. I like the pics, but Joystiq doesn't agree with me. The posted a very shitty article about them, stating that a picture of your crotch would be better. Well, I have one thing to say about that. Fuck Joystiq. They obviously have no clue about the gaming community.

I think I'm pretty much done with the corporate sites after this. X3F has been slipping lately, and 1UP is apparently filing bankruptcy. Well, not them, but their parent company. Anyway, community sites are where it's at, folks. Screw the corporate suits!

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Triple Kill!


Triple Kill!
Originally uploaded by Gemini Ace
Got a few more kills after this before I finally got sliced.

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Rock Band T-Shirt


rock band tee
Originally uploaded by Gemini Ace
Got this t-shirt at Kohl's tonight. It's the shit!

Monday, March 03, 2008

Twitter

I listened to This Week In Tech today. I almost turned it off about half way through because it was so boring, but I'm glad I powered through. The conversation turned to Pownce, and eventually Twitter. The question was raised at the purpose of Twitter and why people use it when it doesn't work as well as Pownce.

The short answer is that people user Twitter because their friends are using Twitter. And if you're using something else, you're still using it on the side. Most of the people that are my followers on Pownce were my followers first on Twitter.

I'll be honest. When I first heard about Twitter (on TWIT), I thought it was a ridiculous idea. 140 characters? Microblogging? This is madness!

This is Twitter!!!

Now I'm completely hooked. It's the first site I open. The one I refresh at least a hundred times a day (wonder why it's down so much). And the one I obsessively send text messages to. It has literally become the one site that I cannot imagine not having.

There are so many uses for Twitter. I see news pop up faster on Twitter than anywhere else. Someone dies and it's instantly on Twitter. Game news spreads like wildfire in the group that I follow. People hook up for gaming sessions, podcasts, and just bullshit sessions on the site every night.

It is also a way to promote yourself. It's easy to post a link to your latest blog post or podcast url. And, if someone becomes too much of a nuisance with all their tweets, just stop following them.

Basically, I use the site to communicate, to complain, to promote, and to exclaim. When I say something funny, I can instantly type it in and hit send. Now everybody sees it. It's awesome!

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Podcastination

Another week in the can. I think I did better on my route today. I could have been done earlier if mail count wasn't going on. Oh well.

I actually had time to guest on this week's Post Game Report with my old buddy JVB and his co-host Finster. Peterocc from GTR was also a guest. It turned out really well, thanks in part to JVB's sweet hosting skills. They go with his nunchuck sills very nicely. I had several funny lines, which is what I always shoot for.

I had the idea at work today to put together a promo for ACFriends. On the last show, we did an impromptu parody of the Portal song. Not like everything we do isn't impromptu, but still!