Sometimes its better to ignore the delusional than give them any attention.

Stop thinking the world will end in your lifetime, you're not that special.

So we're a few days in and i've got to say a lot of the problems have cleaned themselves up. It's a bit weird still, every now and then the game will glitch and i'll lost all audio for the rest of the game, or it will stall out on quickmatch. I've found the easiest fix is to turn the console off, let it sit for about 30 seconds, and turn it back on. Why only this game makes me revert to my old nintendo tactics is beyond me, but at least i'm not blowing dust off the disc.

I don't think they hyped this game enough to get the crowd they need. A lot of my friends didn't know it was out, that its good, or that it was even a must get game this year. And i have yet to see a dr. pepper promotion commercial. So it looks like that campaign is supposed to drop around march 18th. but i head to vegas around that time, so it'll be when i get back. it's a shame they couldn't sync it better, or have the campaign launch before the game was released. you have to figure any press is good press.

So I got the new Bad Company game today from the local game store. Here's my insta-review.

8/10

Here's Why. A stellar first person campaign that just looks amazing on my xbox 360 was what originally made me think this game could easily topple modern warfare 2 as my choice of instant military gratification. The difficulty is reasonable, the checkpoints more obvious, the game overall easier to handle. Squadmates in single player are relatively smart and once in a while they hit things (a rarity these days with AI and all, i get that i'm the hero protagonist, but it'd be nice if i could depend on my team to cover me when i'm reloading... or not walk in front of me every time i launch a grenade. The first mission reminded me of the island on LOST, wondering what exactly that mysterious weapon is that could cause an entire island to groan. It's not too cartoony, and it is not overly real, it is what i expect in a game. The main menu system is intuitive, smooth, and feels tailored to the player, not some generic person that might pick the game up once in a while. The sound of ammunition is very realistic, from the shells hitting and echoing in a dark cold room, to the sonic snap of sniper rounds missing our heads. The buildings are mostly collapseable, and cover from fire is never guaranteed. It's an improvement over the original, and sure to be a new favorite in the genre.

The drawbacks: maybe it's just me, but this game is still really glitchy. the single player seems smooth, but i remember the same issues driving us mad when BF: 1943 came out on arcade. Lag is an ever present issue in all games but is not as bad this go around... what does slow you down is the fact that quickmatch is the opposite of such, and games are hard to come by. I get error messages over and over though i know that somewhere in america there must be 16 people ready and willing to duke it out in this new release. Which brings me to point 2. This game came out TODAY, so i was a bit surprised to see people who have logged 41 hours of MULTIPLAYER game time. Now I get the idea of beta testing, hell i'll even allow that people release these games really early to be dicks to everyone else who will be far less equipped, skilled, and able to defend themselves on launch day. But 41 hours? and no one is raising an eyebrow? shouldn't these people have their rank reset or accounts monitored or something? If these guys are the guys that created it, maybe they should pull themselves off the leaderboard. I imagine sports would be a bit different if the Broncos were automatically starting with 2 touchdowns before a game starts. And I get that in a week i'll still be low ranking and some guys will spend 7 days straight working on their rank. As it stands there is no way anyone could compete with that. That's a full work week spent on multiplayer.

Finally, I got the limited edition. Bonus points for it being the same price as the regular edition. And i like that there is a dr. pepper promotion, though i don't drink much soda, so i probably will never have access to the cool giveaways they have.

So there you have it, i like the game, it has a lot of potential. The fact there was an update on day one shows they care. But the team in charge shouldn't be dealing with the same simple issues every game, there is no excuse for a poor multiplayer quick match system. And I really wanted to just get rid of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 too. Because a game that can master the low latency, easy quickmatch, party chat in any game mode, and squads easily made up of party members will be the game i get my friends to buy. And we're stuck out in the middle of nowhere with lots of cash and lots of time. Believe me, if one person likes a game, we alllllllll buy it. So imagine my feelings on the game will only improve over the next couple of weeks before i head out to Vegas. But, still it would have been nice to immerse myself in the battlefield universe and hear the familiar battlefield sound (if you've ever played any of them, you know what i'm talking about)

And while we're on quickmatch (which is usually a misnomer). Dear Aliens Vs. Predator, Get your $h1T together. Love, everyone that bought your game.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/26/liberals.atheists.sex.intelligence/index.html?hpt=C2

Well look at that, an article targeted towards me to make me feel a little better about myself.

quick summary, study shows that higher IQ may be linked to atheism, liberalism, and sexual exclusivity in men. statistically significant, but they caution against generalizing... which i don't get, why is it bad to be any of those things? or is the argument that someone who is one of those is not all of them? the old "all wise men are bald, but not all bald men are wise" argument. lol

So, we're  about 2 months into this fine year and lately i've found myself picking up all sorts of new hobbies, and restarting things i've let slide over time.

I'm still working on my master's, just got upgraded at my job to commander, and as of yesterday have a clean kitchen.

The things i've picked up again include swimming. At our base there is a 100 mile club for swimming 100 miles, and i'm about 13 miles in as of today, at 1 to 2 miles per session it's going to take a while, but i know i can do it.

Also, i'm working through p90x again. obviously i'd like to swim before i do p90x as it tends to leave me numb, tired, and ready for a nap.

I finally got to try out my Beretta 92FS, i'm a bit rusty but after about the 80th round i fired i figured out how i fire. Surprisingly a lot of my friends weren't familiar with the weapon. just proof that they don't train us enough on the weapon (standard issue) in general. I guess that's the cost of war, things that were expected and mandatory 15 years ago are too expensive now. And yeah i'll probably never see face to face combat, but it'd be nice to have the chance to at least work towards the medals/ribbons. Until then i'm doing this stuff out of my own pocket.

I was planning on making a trip out to Warrior Dash in June. I looked at the site today and they are sold out. lame, i guess it'll have to wait another year. If you haven't heard about it, it's viking hats, running, obstacles, beer, bbq, music, fire, mud, costumes, and all around fun.

Next month i'm taking the annual exodus to Las Vegas. I have a few things planned, but if you all have any suggestions send them my way. Mainly i'm big into good food, restaurants i rarely see, and things i can't do here in North Dakota. The good news is, i played black jack about a week ago for about an hour completely drunk, and still broke even.  I think i'm ready for Vegas, just need to brush up on some of the "rules' or safest bets, i struggled when i was getting 13's against 13's and things like that.

Alright its movie monday, so i'm gonna take a nap, and then watch "Primer", a great film about time travel. its pretty deep so it takes a few views to get the idea. so if you have netflix instant view, then watch with me at around 7pm tonight.

So i think it would be quick and easy way to generate more stuff for you to look at if i just gave you a rundown of the stories i found interesting in a given week. I'll provide a link with a short description for each entry. You'll see what caught my attention, and if you're anything like my friends you'll be days ahead of everyone else with the news and random internet related items.

Example, tonight I ran across the following:

http://news.discovery.com/space/russia-missile-failure-norway-spiral.html
Discussion on "Russia's Ailing ICBM Program"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK0l2tqFDvM
Boogie Boogie Hedgehog, brings an instant smile to your face.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-qnDmtkaeA
iJustine is hard to describe.... but everyone loves her. She's in those Mozy commercials lately.

http://www.wackyowl.com/a-star-wars-fans-collection/
a Helluva lot of Star Wars Collectible Action figures... addicted much?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6230194.stm
I never knew this is how the ATM came to be

If you like this sort of thing then let me know. I'll keep it a grab bag, some serious things, some funny things, some useless trivia. The way mother internet intended.

My day started at 0530, which is early in my book, but considering i'm usually woken up around 5 am while doing my job its sort of like i got to sleep in. Anyway, I finished out my training for the month. Now to finish out my 2 classes so i can focus on the third as well as my upgrade at work.

The Taco Bell Diet:
Really, I can't imagine a more horrible campaign from a fast food company. My friends and I were trying to come up with the logic behind this drive-thru diet they are promoting all over the place. A. They watched the "Jared has Aides" episode of South Park and were dumb enough to try it. B. They are finally acknowledging that about 80% of the food at Taco Bell will give you "the squirts" (technical terms only people).  C. They actually know you're dumb enough to think you can lose weight solely by eating food from a drive thru, where the implication is you are probably too lazy to walk into a restaurant, wait a little bit, and walk back to your car with a to go order. or D. Studies have shown that the al fresco menu is actually laced with cocaine or something causing you to get addicted to an easily obtainable and currently cheap meal item (science has not verified this, but i have a feeling drugs were involved in the creation of this campaign). Well to all you new year's weight loss types i'd like to say one thing. Eat Healthy (i.e. stop eating processed foods, lettuce with less color than snow, smaller portions, and more frequently) and Exercise (you gotta mix up your routine, sure walking an hour is better than not walking, but mixing up sprints, jogging, walking, and non aerobics will certainly kick-start your body). Taco Bell is not a cure, in fact, you're going to what most would argue is the problem-- for the answer. You don't go to the cheesecake factory to get over your lactose intolerance (tempting as it may be).

Paul Oakenfold:
Good Sir, I am completely enjoying your Perfecto Podcast, its free, it fills the iPod, its got your signature touch, and it fills the void of no longer being able to listen to E-Leven with Paul Oakenfold that I used to in Colorado.
If you are a reader, love electronica, know who in the world mr. Oakenfold is, and have access to itunes, definitely check out the "Perfecto" podcast. There are other DJ's out there with podcasts where you can listen pretty much every week to new content without having to hit up the exclusive clubs. Perfecto easily joined my normal routine of podcasts... speaking of...

NSFW:
With a name like that, its no wonder most people don't subscribe.... while at work... but certainly check it out from your home. Sure they call it NSFW, and sure it has an explicit tag, but if you know who Brian Brushwood is (@Shwood on twitter,  magician, and head proctor at everyone's favorite "Scam School"), then you know the show isn't nearly as off-limits as the name implies. Anyway, since they are still trying to find their groove, the show up until now has been a pretty good variety show of content. Heck they had "Matt Parkman" (Greg Grunberg) from Heroes on last episode, and unlike a traditional interview show Grunberg had a blast. The show is a little bit of everything that happened in the world of magic/ the hosts lives/ the news/ and lately about the faux-intershow dispute with Martin Sargent (leader of the Unscrewed Army) and Sarah Lane (cute woman we associate with all things tech... who is apparently working at Current but i wouldn't know since i haven't had cable in months, viva la internet/hulu/justin.tv). Check it out at one of my favorite websites-

TWIT.TV:
And of course the network that makes NSFW possible the TWIT network! No, not that social bird site (though i'm @quickrecipes if you really wanna follow me, number 4 in North Dakota, and i'm just stationed here, this isn't really my home). TWIT being This Week In Tech, among other things, and you'll find most other shows on the network were independent podcasts at one point or if they are fairly new, they follow the TWI monacher. Take a trip on the wayback machine to about 12-14 years ago, on ZDTV... or TechTV as it became... or G4 as its known now, remember way back then? There was a couple of really smart guys surrounded by pretty ladies that knew the difference between USB and Firewire, and a couple other younger fellows that may or may not be huge internet celebrities (Kevin Rose and Chris Pirillo to name a few). If you remember way back then you remember Leo Laporte. He's the guy making it all happen at the TWIT "campus" out in California. He hosts so many shows, you're only missing out on Free Knowledge by not listening or visiting the site. look up Twit.tv, go... now.... find a subject your interested in... learn....

You kept reading? alright well then i'll give you one last treat, not that name dropping my favorite tv sites isn't enough, check out revision3.com , sure it sounds like a super technical company name, but its a great internet tv network with a lot of original programs. If you've been at the watercooler and heard someone talking about "digging a story" and its not 1950, then they were most likely talking about digg.com, and Kevin Rose hosts a show (Diggnation) about the site summarizing the tops stories that he and my guild buddy Alex Albrecht pick.... although there may or may not be some heavy drinking involved. which is a formula for great entertainment.

Well that killed an hour, back to doing work.

You Deserve a Pizza.
Peace, Love, and Applesauce:
-Jeff

Well, looks like Apple announced today  the world-changing iPad. Which is not the Red Sox version of the iPod but rather a nifty new device with a lot of features that are going to help you get through your day. Let's go over some of the highlights of this product:

Size: its about 1.5 lbs, with an almost 10 inch screen, half inch thick, definitely not going to fit into your pocket but also not going to take up a huge portion of your backpack/briefcase

Battery Life: they say about 10 hours, but come on with wifi on or with your display on bright, i'd give it maybe 4 solid hours with wi-fi on or watching a movie or two, my iPod touch barely brings in an hour with wifi on watching youtube, i can't imagine the battery technology is so much better, nor do i really expect it to be.

What it does: movies, music, games, surf the web, read books, maps, pretty much anything an ipod touch can do... just bigger

Price: they offer 6 models, 3 in 2 months, and another 3 in 3 months. starting at $499 for the 16GB wi-fi only model and going all the way up to 64GB with wi-fi and 3G at $829 dollars.

What I think is cool about it:

 Here's my frame of reference, i'm no fan-boy. I'm no early adopter. And i always hesitate to drop half a grand on anything, especially if i can't rightly justify how it would fit into my life. So here are the features that got my attention, and will help me along my decision path on whether or not i purchase this product:

I bought an iPod touch about a year ago, and if you don't have one here's what you are missing, and the low-end model of the iPad will definitely meet/exceed your needs:  I wake up I can surf the web from my bed, I can check my calendar, I can send emails, see what the weather or traffic has in store for me, I can reset that pesky alarm that woke we up, I can check what's going on in facebook, twitter, or any other number of sites. All of this before i've really started my day, heck i haven't even left my room and i'm already prepared to face what lies outside my bedroom door.

What the iPad brings to the table is the ability to read eBooks, a function that while possible on the iphone/ipod touch is much more suited to this larger size screen. More than that though is the ability to read today's newspaper (no more neighbor's stealing it, or it getting soggy from the snow, or just not getting it at all). And it's all in color as opposed to the current eBook readers on the market today.

In addition a lot of features people love about the iPhone are here like the GPS functionality, the ability to get directions to any number of locations at an instant.

it also has a microphone. maybe we've brought back the Zach Morris sized phone.... only this time its VOIP capable. who knows, i don't typically talk to my books, but maybe i'll be inclined to talk at my iPad.

thousands upon thousands of apps. they already exist, and developer's just got the new SDK today so you better believe there will be more by the time it comes out.

Multitouch is back allowing you to pull a CNN and shrink websites, or make them huge, or whatever your lil heart desires. If you've ever used an iPhone or iPod Touch, you know how to use this product. For those new to Apple altogether, the interface is about as intuitive as it gets and more advanced features take only minutes to learn. definitely easy and accessible, a lot of people bring up how much their mother's and gradparents would love a product like this.

A big sell point for me and many others will be the option of 3G capability on top of your standard wifi. this greatly expands where i can be when i use the internet and allows me to use the features that iPhone users enjoy around me. They also brought up the "No contract" perk which allows you the user to choose how long you'd like to use the service and at very reasonable prices. For most people who will only be downloading things once or twice a month, or maybe a lot of small things there is the standard data plan allowing 250MB a month, and for the rest of us there is the "unlimited" plan, which never really means unlimited (the phone companies should be coerced into telling the truth instead of using the wrong word).

Reasons why I won't buy it: 

(of course these are subject to change, but from initial impressions here are a few reasons why I would choose another product or avoid the market altogether)

It's apparent to me this is supposed to be the gap-filler between your smart phone (whatever it may be) and a Laptop.  Now for most people this is the netbook, and for most people there's no reason to buy a netbook, they're small, underpowered, and not as useful as you'd think. I guess i speak from experience here, I bought a netbook for about 150 dollars. I only use it when i'm writing something away from home, or don't intend on doing anything media intensive on the go. Now I'll give them that their iPad prices are reasonable, but i'll throw this idea out there, an iPod Touch has near the same functionality for about 150 dollars. In addition you could buy a laptop for about 500 dollars that does everything the iPod can't. Yes it sucks to have two devices when you could only have one, but then again i'm the kind of person that has a regular old cell phone for calls/texts, and the Touch to fill in for all the smartphone/mp3/video/web surfing features i don't get from the phone.

No camera. really? we're going back features now? at least it doesn't have a click wheel.

multi-tasking. I'm a big sensory overload kind of guy, i like listening to music while reading, or having picture in picture on a TV so I can enjoy many things at once. I should be able to read the paper, listen to music, and download podcasts that i'd like at the same time. thats what this device is for. allowing me to access as much of the world as possible without sacrificing time or functionality.

No Flash support: everyone hates this one, and i hate it on my iPod as well. I can't watch most of the videos you all put on the interwebs. I can watch youtube.... but still, not everything is under ten minutes long. Think of all the fun games you could be playing for free but can't. lately i've been addicted to Risk and Bejeweled.

Wouldn't it be cool if it leaned more towards macbook and allowed creativity to flow? we'll see. I feel like this could be like a Bamboo tablet where people might be able to do their photoshop fun, on the go, or at least draw ideas down, or gain inspiration from the things they see while travelling. well normally they would take a picture, but we addressed that.

Typing: I can't hold the thing and type... well maybe one handed, but i think i prefer the traditional way of doing it with two. Seems to me we have a curved product that will lay flat and wobble if i try to type on it, but i haven't had the hands on yet, so I can't really judge.

3 months... with the less fun version in 2? such a tease... Bazinga.

Peripherals: okay I get it. you have a sleek product that doesn't really require a whole lot of peripherals. but when the need for one arises, you'll be the first to hand up the bottle of vaseline so we can get ready for the price at checkout. I still refuse to pay 50 dollars for an iPod case, or 100 dollars for something that allows me to play my music inside my car. So i can't really imagine how much your keyboard dock will cost, or how much the new cases for the iPad will cost and while we're on that:

You know we're going to drop it. Thank you for the great policy about exchanges, but lets be realistic here, everyone i know with an iPhone has one with a nice crack right down the middle of the touchscreen. More than that, every celebrity i see with one from tech guru to socialite has the same feature. except the socialites just get new ones cause, they easily can, heck its great press for you and really doesn't impact them at all. Isn't there some technological breakthrough in the works for a touchscreen that is crack resistant? you've expanded the screen size significantly, and all i can see in its future is people talking about how they dropped it in the first week of owning it.

In Summary:

I like it, it's a nice proof of concept (CES had a couple things that I think could compete well), I don't personally see myself getting one because i'm not particularly new to Apple and I don't think i'm who this was created for.... and i'll tell you who its for.

1. Students: yeah everyone would like to think the textbook gods are going to let students download them to this, and that would be awesome.... but i'm thinking more along the lines of just sitting in a classroom taking notes, or doing what Microsoft's One note does on a Laptop and record the instructor's voice while you take notes. Which is a GREAT use of the software capabilities, and makes it that much easier to study later on, or if you miss something. Plus its small enough to fit in an already burdened bag or on a crowded desk.

2. Business People: Yup i'm lookin at you guy/gal who wakes up at 5 am just to hop on a commuter train or bus for half an hour into the city where you'll certainly be making important decisions. you hate buying a new paper and getting that ink on you. you hate having a huge pile of old magazines that you might read one day. you hate being behind on stuff you might want up to the minute like traffic, weather, directions to a meeting, a great restaurant that's nearby. You want to be able to do all easy work you can now so when you get to the office you can take care of what really matters.

3. Rich People: yeah you got one didn't you, you have no idea what it does, but it'll make your friends sooooo jealous.

4. People who haven't purchased an Apple product in years... you'll be surprised how useful this thing can be, I know I wrote about all the bad stuff i could think of, but really even though it seems pricey, you're going to use it, and you're going to use it a lot. You will find you are able to get more things done, stay more organized, really satisfy your random music/video/information needs like the spoiled technophiles around you.

I'm sort of a niche consumer, but i'm pretty open to tech toys, and i'll admit when the iPhone came out i didn't really want one... when the Touch came out i didn't really want one. But then I bought a second gen(eration) one, and i've been happy with it. Less so now that there is a new gen with cooler things, but i get by. Maybe in 2 years when it has Hulu support, a Camera, a lot of third party peripherals that are modestly priced i'll think about it. Right now my sights are on a new desktop... for gaming.

I value what Apple is doing because they create amazing products that force everyone else to up their game. Right now, Amazon and Barnes and Noble have to figure out what they need to do to keep their e-book readers alive, and netbook companies have to figure out how to integrate some of apple's standard features in order to attract a larger audience. Google and other companies are saying, "hey what do they like aboutthis product, what do they hate, and how can we bring a product thatcompetes at about the same pricepoint". It's all in good fun.

Apparently this is some pretty big news. it's well worth the wait, and they might just punish you for not waiting long enough.

http://en.tackfilm.se/?id=126378280674


Why would I write about Sweden you ask... well watch the vid!

Played: 487 | Download | Duration: 00:02:42

Hey all the new track is more drum and bass than before, the next one will probably be house. I'm still testing out the different kinds of loops they offer. If you like it let me know.

Oh yeah, merry xmas, happy holidays, and hope you enjoyed festivus if you're like me and the rest of us.

its snowing like a fiend outside i'll see if i can post the video on youtube later and link it here.