The hunt for the Pandasquatch

Another Course Down, Time here almost up

Jeff — Sat, 12 May 2012 21:26:07 GMT

Finished another Master's class. I'm moving out of my apartment soon. Heading to the West coast for training, then East coast for vacation, and then a long time away from home. Gotta see and do all sorts of things before i go. Not a very well written post, i know, but it's just a quick check in.

What I've been watching

Jeff — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 03:43:20 GMT

Most of you know i don't have cable. Main reason being i hate paying so much and getting mostly reruns, infomercials, commercials, and channels i'll never watch. Did you know there is a channel that only does animal auctions? Anyway, I do try to keep up with tv and watch on my own time. The local TV here is horrible, they often trump NBC Thursdays with local high school sports. So, how do i watch tv? Well I subscribe to Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Netflix. Beyond that I buy shows on iTunes and Amazon. Does it cost too much? Not really, for about 30 dollars a month, i get to watch all the same shows most people do. Right now i can't watch Dexter, Spartacus, or anything super protected. But I do get to catch several shows each week, here is what i'm watching:

The Office, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, The Walking Dead, Gold Rush, Archer, Community, Lat night with Jimmy Fallon, 30 Rock, Tosh.0, South Park, a bunch of classics like Pretender, LOST, BSG, Earl, and a lot of British shows i might not have seen before.

That's a lot of TV so i don't get to watch all i want. It works out well.

Anyway, if you have a show you think i'd like, let me know. I'm heading to a place where internet isn't so prevalent, so i'm buying lots of TV series and books.

Between work, school, working out, other things like medical issues, and the need to get sleep once in a while, i tend to miss some of the big shows people love. Example: Patton Oswalt seems to love Downton Abbey, i'd love to see an episode.

Moving soon

Jeff — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 01:08:42 GMT

So stand by for a couple of posts highlighting the things i'd like to sell. In the meantime here's the share of the Green Bay Packers I now own!

So there you have it.

Anyway I'm looking to sell my Apartment aimed Roland Drum Kit, My leather couch, my Microsuede Futon, My old 19" TV, a few bookshelves, lots of clothes, books, and magazines. If you live near Minot, ND and need something for your place, leave a comment of what it is and i'll get back to you. Thanks!

The NFL and Socialism Factories

Jeff — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 01:29:50 GMT

I have a vested interest now in the NFL, just became part owner of the Green Bay Packers based off of their shareholder sale. It's not like a normal share where i would expect a return of profit, just keeping the rich tradition of the Green Bay Packers being a community owned organization alive. The shareholder sale lasts until Feb 29th, so if you want in on the 4th sale of shares from the organization, you have until then to donate the 275 dollars.
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Socialism Factories

Rick Santorum appeals to those who believe success (not necessarily financial) can be found in not attending higher level education. He also believes that higher level education is far more likely to produce socialists. I believe it increases options and opportunities in an increasingly globalized economy where you are competing against far more people for the same jobs. I also believe in choices and keeping opportunities available for those willing to work hard who just don't currently have the resources to attend college. If an increase in Social Responsibility with increased financial success makes me a socialist, then I guess you can label me that. I agree blue collar jobs are necessary, I also believe that there are far more people competing for far fewer jobs in that realm as time goes on. I know that jobs requiring increased training and education are going unfilled due to lack of qualified personnel. So it only seems natural to me that we'd like to increase the number of qualified individuals to fill those slots. Even if it is through highly specified community college degrees. It's not looking down on those without degrees, it's looking out for them. If a plant closes down, if a career field is wiped out by a technological breakthrough, if a company moves overseas because people there do the same job for a tenth of what a person here does it for, there needs to be a backup plan. And if you hate social welfare programs that act as a safety net, then i do not see how you can be against being preemptive about that situation by increasing opportunities to succeed.

Followup: How either Santorum has his numbers wrong, or is being intentionally misleading

who doesn't love a good conspiracy theory

Jeff — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 22:00:30 GMT

So the question will be "who fired on us first?" was it the Iranians, was it the Israelis, or was it ourselves (it's happened before). Just kidding, it won't matter who did it, just that it did.

Iran deploys naval vessels into Mediterranean

The simplest explanation is usually the correct one though. The US doesn't care for war, Israel would rather not have to resort to it, and Iran.... well I don't think anyone truly knows what their goal is.

I am hoping for peace. Best case scenario I could see is that we find a less harmful form of nuclear technology (research being done on other nuclear fuels such as Thorium), and we give the Iranians that technology. They would get the energy they claim they want, it wouldn't be overtly harmful, and it would be a great way to see the new technology in play. Everybody wins and no one dies. Wouldn't that be a good compromise?

/end rant

I made a shirt

Jeff — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 19:57:12 GMT

on Facebook. I call it Fries N' Frosty, you know you do it too when you are at Wendy's. So help me out by voting for it at facebook, and if you want to create your own, do it! they limit the graphics, colors, and text you can use.

My Wendy's T Shirt Design! Please Vote for it!
here's the link.

House and Camaro

Jeff — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 03:58:40 GMT

If i had 300 thousand dollars i'd buy a house and Chevrolet Camaro. I'd keep my new car, but i'd also have a car that makes me happy every time i get to drive it.

So plan A. figure out how to get a down payment on a house.

Plan B. be so good at plan A, that i have enough discretionary income to afford a new car. (Imperial Blue 2LT Camaro, silver interior)

I really need a vacation, but it seems every time i do, it costs about 1000 dollars to just leave this place with no destination. Then it costs about 1000 dollars for a week of hotels. Then if i want to eat and do stuff wherever it is i am it costs 1000.

So i have to figure out how to take a vacation without leaving. That's 3k straight away for a down payment.

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External Factor 1: I have no idea where i'm going to be living in a year. Until i do, i can't find a house with a reasonable price. I'm 100% certain that my mortgage will be less than my current rent (1200 dollars a month for a 2br with underground parking, no utilities, no water, no smoking, evacuation points in the bedrooms)

External Factor 2: houses cost a lot of money... stop it. Do you know how to buy a foreclosed house? teach me oh wise people... I would love a 200k house for 100k. Or like the ads seem to indicate a 200k house for 10k.

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How i'm gonna do it:
1. Pay off student loans Next Month WOOOOOOOOOO
2. Pay off credit cards March WOOOOOOO
3. Pay off more of my new car loan this year.
4. work on the rest.

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I heard a story recently about people who tried to get 1 million dollars in a month, i wonder how it's feasible in 5 years...

The math says 200k a year of unspent income, no interest. 548 dollars a day.
how does a person do that?

oh well i'm done rambling, just wanted to say that my 5 year plan is a house and a summer car. I'd say wife and kids, but at this point i'm pretty aware that no women out there are attracted to me. After the 300th woman over the last 8 years or so says no to a date, you kinda give up and go on a bachelor spending spree.

Fitness Trackers!

Jeff — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 06:28:19 GMT

Alright folks i need a bit of help. You see, today Nike unveiled a very sexy device called the Nike+ Fuelband. I'm pretty sure it tracks everything you could ever think of. A math oriented athlete's best friend. Pre-orders sold out within about an hour, and i missed my chance because i was at work showcasing my job to a Senator. Story for another time. We know the Fuelband hits the market starting 22 Feb. My question to you is fairly obvious:

How does it compare to using a fitbit?

Price
Right off the bat a Fitbit (at least the plum colored one) is retailing at 99 dollars for the newest model including free shipping. The Nike+ Fuelband is going for 150 dollars.

Features
Nike+ Fuelband boasts connectivity to every device you use daily, the phone, the ipod, your computer. You set a goal and using its accelerometer and i'm sure other patented technologies, it gives you credits "fuel" towards your goal. You can drum, or do jumping jacks, or walk, climb stairs, and i'm hoping it tracks skydives too. There isn't much other info out there about it, obviously not out in public yet, but i'd love to get my hands on one and see how it shapes the way i workout. Nike+ is a tool i use to track running, but i don't track all my movements all day, and i get no credit for stopping, knocking out 50 pushups, 50 flutterkicks, 50 jumping jacks, and 50 situps before hitting another mile pretty hard.

Fitbit is another product i'd like to get, and up until last night when i heard Nike was announcing something that could augment Nike+ i was all set to buy a Fitbit. Here's what their latest model offers. It looks like a pedometer and an accelerometer had a baby, clips to your belt easily and tracks your basic movements throughout the day. They sell little leashes for them so i imagine they fall off and get lost easily, at that price i would be unhappy. But what you can do with the info from the device seems to be a big selling point. Log activity, food intake, see your goals, and a few other online features help you turn your numbers into something visual and real as opposed to just saying "i had a good workout today". Even the best athletes keep good logs of what they do, makes sense that the statistically motivated/ competitive among us should do the same. One other key feature in the latest model is the sleep tracker. I'd be curious to see how well that info works. I use a similar app on the ipod that slowly wakes me when i'm at the lightest stage of sleep (it's called sleep cycle, and you'll love it). The part i'm not liking about this product is how aimed it is at those people "too busy to workout". It seems directed at those for whom walking will be an upgrade in their workout regime. The ads suggest the demographic might be a busy 30 something soccer mom, but i do have friends around my age using the product for now. Will they switch to the fuelband to track more than just steps? we'll see, but i'd like to hear more stories about fitbit to see how it has helped you achieve whatever fitness goals you have.

Wearability
Nike+ Fuelband is a conservative little wristband, something you can show off if you'd like, but looks no different than a livestrong style watch. Plus it has a usb port built in to charge. Has bluetooth to sync if you want to that way, and works rather seamlessly with the ipod/iphone app.

Fitbit is a better designed pedometer that clips to your waist. it comes in two colors, for some reason plum (looks pink to me) is 10 dollars cheaper than their baby blue color. it has a charging station that also senses your device and automatically uploads your info when you are near it. that's pretty cool.

if i had either i'm pretty sure i'd show it off, i mean half the fun is sharing your successes and failures with these devices. I know that some of my most angry workouts are when i run 5 miles and the nike+ app decides it didn't want to record any of that, and so i miss my goal for the week. I know i did the workout and i feel great, but there is not statistical evidence to back that up.

Anyway, another question i'd like to ask is: what's the recharge time and how long does a charge last for either device?

If you the casual internet person can help me decide which device to go with i'd be very appreciative. If you have stories or more info on these products, say you were sent an advanced copy of the fuelband, tell me what makes it so great! If it doesn't do what it says, tell me that too.

Here are the websites for you to enjoy, if you have a 3rd product (like Switch 2 Health... my s2h watch hasn't properly counted my workouts in about 4 months, hence the need to switch)

http://www.nike.com/fuelband

http://www.fitbit.com

http://www.s2h.com

alright, it's late, i'm tired, and you've all been helpful.

-Jeff

It's 1 30 AM

Jeff — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 07:37:10 GMT

and i got back from work at Midnight. 70 hours of work between last sunday and this sunday, and i'm tired.

so before i head to bed i just wanted to say it seems kinda dumb how often i like the girls i can't have.

logic 1: i like what i know i can't have
logic 2: the kind of things i like other people like
logic 3: it truly is the case that i don't know what i like until it is too late.

what am i missing here people?

Here's the movie i watched yesterday night:

I did it

Jeff — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 06:56:01 GMT

Despite the odds and time being stacked against me, i did the two hypothetical taskers mentioned before plus the third one they added once i got there. All bologna and could have waited until the work week though. Also instructed the 4 hour sim on top of that. Watched the last two minutes of the SF game, watch a few minutes of the Broncos loss, and got home past midnight from work.

Now to undo all the uggy feeling from what was a rather painful for no reason sort of day i am going to listen to the following clip from DCI championship's 2011. The Troopers infinity chord:

The difference is one press of the Space Bar

Jeff — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 19:59:46 GMT

Hypothetically Speaking,

"hey i know it's a 3 day weekend and no one should be around, but i know you guys will be around cause we suck at our jobs, so here are two One Day Suspense taskers... and by one day i mean i'm telling you about it after lunch and it needs to be done by COB which doesn't exist on weekends so ASAP. Also we're not going to tell you exactly what we want, so you'll probably get it wrong and we'll be disappointed. Anyway, enjoy your 11 day workweek." /Leadership inAction!

One hypothetical response,

Off to work, be there till midnight, same deal tomorrow. They should stop teasing us with federal holidays/weekends, or stop doing Wingman days because it seems to just create additional work and crush morale on weekends. "It's the military, get used to it" Fuck that, they know very well that that excuse is completely legit in scenarios that are life and death, not office work that doesn't impact anyone for at least a month. Every time our leadership accepts this as normal, you convince a subordinate that it is, and it isn't. It really isn't. I'm not complaining about working on a federal holiday, we had no idea that there was one coming, and we didn't expect it off (we work them all the time). But then they say we have it off, even though all of us have stuff scheduled we have to do. I'm complaining about not teasing us with something we can't have when we didn't expect it in the first place.

My lesson,

So with this as a scenario for a leadership lab, i will take away from it that sometimes "things can wait until monday".

Followup

Jeff — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 03:58:23 GMT

If you are in the military, you should know better than to show up in uniform to a political rally/event, especially one nationally televised. Corporal Tattoo-a-bunch-of-events-on-your-neck-to-feel-more-hooah spouting your love for Ron Paul, if your supervisors don't chat with you about how you seem to have missed that briefing in your 10 years of service, i'm... well, that seems about par. It was after all a republican event, and he was army.

While shouting WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS GUY DOING (tattoo all the way up his neck, spreading Ron Paul's good word!), the feed "cut out". Lucky him. I'd have let him continue, less defense when his supervisors tear him a new ass for being the dumbest member of the military right next to Nubs the guy who chews on his arm to keep the ghosts away.

and CNN, you know better. Come on.

but Jeff, what gives you the right to criticize some corporal who's been in 10 years and served our country proudly and blah blah blah toby keith america bud light blah blah....

Well, one i've got as much time in service as him. 2. i've had the "you can go to the event, just don't go in uniform, and certainly don't make it seem like the Department of Defense supports what you're saying" briefing about a thousand times.

So, before i go for the evening i'd like to remind you...

My views don't represent those of anyone other than myself. No one i'm connected to believes what i do, it makes me a bit of a loner, and in the future this will probably be the evidence used against me, even the line where i point that out. it's irony. not really, it's just plain logic. the only person who believes what i believe will likely be my lawyer, and even he/she will believe it only for the duration of my case. that's a true lawyer. i like them already.

Are you effin serious?

Jeff — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 03:38:53 GMT

To whomever feels the need to place crosses everywhere throughout the gym,

Fuck you. you have a church, you have your house, you have hotels, you have the boy scouts, you have your friends, you have your family. The gym... is not your place to evangelize. If you want to make your religion more public than it has to be, so be it, i welcome the challenge. To those who are religious, this is not aimed at you, i'm sure you'd feel the same if people put pornography on display at your work. If you can't see that as an appropriate analogy, then perhaps you'd feel the same if someone were to post qurans at every bench, or stars of david near the treadmills, or giant flaming dongs that say "i worked out here once, and i love them so much, i thought i'd share these flaming dongs with you".

You get the point. I don't give a fuck what you choose to believe in your own house, i respect your right to believe it, but keep that shit out of the gym, out of politics, out of public schools, out of the grocery store, and out of any area where you wouldn't want someone doing the same thing as you. You think you're right and it's your duty, you're wrong, and you're wasting your time. You invite hate, you invite corruption, you encourage ignorance and the abandonment of logic and reason, you invite those who would use and abuse you and leave you with nothing but your imaginary friend.

I'd love to retaliate, but i'm above that. not above bitching online about it, but anything i would do would only end up with the issue escalating to a level no one would like. know this, not everyone believes the same thing you do, have some fucking decency and keep it to yourself.

Those crosses are disappearing tonight, should they reappear, they will disappear again and again.

Videos I like 1 January edition

Jeff — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 09:48:54 GMT

Happy New Year. Hopefully, some cash has found its way into your pockets and you're ready to lose that 15 lbs or at least convert it to muscle, you warrior you. Anyway, haven't updated this in a while, and i end up not posting lots of videos that catch my attention because facebook isn't the best venue for that. I do normally keep a sort of list of news stories, videos, etc... that catch my attention. Part of it is from news aggregation, some of it is from non-celebs who get sent hundreds of them, and occasionally it's something i make on my own.

So with no particular theme, here is my internet in a nutshell for the month of December... for January:

Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt sing you a New Year's Song:

Akasha- Bourbon Lassi from a few years ago, caught it in my SXSW album and it instantly brought me back to the vocal percussion antics from high school and from DCI, specifically Cadets 2005. Plus lots of Sitar Rock. Can you say no? you can try.

Cat saying nononononono wins out for random cat video for the month.

To balance it out here is a wolf pup learning to howl.

Snapping you back to reality is the closest you will ever see someone come to dying and yet make it out fine. "When time stood still in Russia"

My Battlefield 3 tactics have been embraced by a whole community of gamers, and it's so widespread now that they made a shweet shweet trailer for EA.

Before any good Battlefield match comes the formality of courteously insulting each other in an attempt to rouse the fighter in one of the contenders, enough to perhaps cause one to request his fightin' trousers.

And to start this year off with a bang i present you with a Gigantic firework (48 inch shell), it's as if the death star blew up and unicorns friggin emerged.

Friend Zoned! Again!

Jeff — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 18:04:00 GMT

Hey everyone, happy super consumer day. Hope you enjoy some delicious food and good times with friends or family yesterday. I disappeared for a while having been friend zoned yet again, and now i'm back and i'm feeling much better. Nothing like 2 am black Friday shopping to get that weird part of your brain churning the feel goods.

If you didn't figure it out by now, friend zoned is where a girl says she'd rather just stay friends. Mario shows it best, no matter what he tries, he's never going to make it. It quickly turns what could have been something nice into something that just is, it's basically dating without the physical contact. hooray! So most guys typically just stop talking to whatever girl puts them in that spot, for good reason. If she doesn't view you as dating material she wouldn't really want to be your friend out of anything other than kindness, and that's the sort of weird pressure and awkwardness that both parties should be spared.

Anyway, i haven't written here in a while. Still working through my professional education, starting up my master's degree again in january. Played through Gears of War 3, Batman Arkham City, and Battlefield 3. Playing through Skyrim, Modern Warfare 3, Lord of the Rings, bejeweled 3. Going to buy Goldeneye and Star Wars the Old Republic.

sure it seems like my life revolves around video games, not the case. It just happens that there isn't much to do around here except work out, drink, and spend more money than i'd like. My trip to CES in January was cancelled, so the money i was setting aside for that got rolled into the Black Friday online shopping spree i had last night. Bought quite a few DVD's, special gifts, and a few things for myself. I love when 30 dollar dvd/bluray things go on sale for like 4 dollars. Sure i could rent it, but this is much more fun.

Looking ahead, i need to take a vacation, looks like i'm already on the hook for my high school 10 year reunion around may in colorado and my 5 year Academy reunion in Vegas in July. How that works out with my work schedule is still to be seen. They can't even say with 100% confidence that i will be tracked one way or another, and i'm real scared to accept additional service commitment time if it means they can leverage that against me. No one knows what i do, or what i've sacrificed, or they play it down a lot. That's fine i guess, feels like i've taken the Black in a Song of Fire and Ice. No one cares we're up here, and we're the fine line between peace and chaos no matter what else is going on in the world.

alright, i'm all nerded out. Catch ya later.

Vent

Jeff — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 01:31:26 GMT

need to vent a bit and don't have an appropriate forum.

They said they would add days on my schedule to protect my few days off since they've been making me work 6-7 day weeks. they added them, and turned them into additional work days. i realized at that point that when they said they would get me a "day off" they were literally talking about getting that day off to work that night. alright, i'm in the military, can't complain too much about that, should have expected it really.

Then the career projection that's been in place for several months after about a year's worth of discussions was tossed out the window (which almost never happens) and in the next day or two i find out if they decided to go a completely different direction with my career. It's frustrating that there is this huge process in place that doesn't even matter at the end. At this point i figure this is the third big decision point where they've asked what i wanted, gave it to me, and immediately retracted it... maybe that's how it's supposed to work.

two quick things that dropped out of the blue that have unpleasant impacts on my next ten years.

and now i'll quit my bitchin.

Gears of War 3

Jeff — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 05:27:32 GMT

or as it shall henceforth be known in this here household, the GRIND.... part 3.

These achievements are ridiculous, but i completely understand where they come from. Gears of War 2 was an immensely popular game that earned more than it's fair share of fans, and definitely still brings people to the figurative table. I should know, because every time i heard the call about 22x xp events i logged in to play a few rounds of a game i didn't particularly care too much for. Turns out, i was just experiencing only the parts i hate. So when Gears of War 3 came out i decided that i wouldn't play at all, never played the first one, enjoyed the story of 2 but didn't care for multiplay, so no real need to spend money...

and then i bought it, and it is exactly what i think every xbox owner should have. It has the solid story, it has multiple enemy types (kinda reminiscent of Halo, but then again what shooter genre game doesn't look a helluva lot like every other shooter genre game?), and as I have sine discovered loads and loads of fun multiplayer options. I absolutely hate team deathmatch in the Gears of War world. playing against other humans rolling around like it's some sort of Gymboree class and our supersized COG warriors are 4 year olds covered in explosives, its not my thing. I've never been a fan of any game where it takes a clip or more to down a foe. So that's why i started exploring the other game modes. Horde mode is the standard fallback for any Gears fan, and now they've included some tower defense mechanisms to really up the ante when it comes to fighting wave after wave of enemies. Round 10 they have added Boss fights which draw out the curse words in my small team and really tests our willpower to play one round over and over as the bosses destroy our defenses completely. i doubt i'll ever finish 50 waves, but wouldn't it be great if i did?

Another mode, Beast, allows the player to become the creatures we've learned to just despise with all our hearts... and you find out that it's just about the most satisfying experience one can have in a video game world. Each beast has it's own benefits and working as a team in this realm really pays off. For instance, near the end of the first time i played i found that i could best help my team by starting as one of the non explosive tickers that have the ability to just tear through enemy defenses to allow the bigger guys on my team to wreak havoc. Once i finished making a path to the enemy i switched to the higher end beasts and had fun eliminating the main characters of the game.

Here is a tip to you Gears of War 3 players out there. If you're playing multiplayer and care AT ALL about ever finishing every onyx medal (the Grind i associate with this game) then play as a woman character. If you need to knock out those ribbon associated medals and unlocks, then I suggest you play a lot of private KoTH matches with 60 points, casual, fill, and choose map. you'll find that you can typically get a shut-out, MVP, Executioner, Button-up, Match, Match win, pistoleer, K/D, and a few other ribbons EVERY time you play.

where is the fun in that? the achievements you get every now and then, but you don't play gears for the fun, you play for the grind, knowing that this game will still be around in 2 years when you've maxed everything else out and want something to do. i'm about over the Call of Duty franchise, but i know it's still my go to game for 5 minute rounds. i'm also starting to feel really scared about how Battlefield 3 will come out. It looks so damn beautiful, and they didn't have to change much to do well, and they did, so we'll see how that pans out.

Anyway this post wasn't so much about Gears of War 3 as it was about the original Gears of War, i picked it up for 7 bucks since i've never played. And according to the Grind 3, i have a few achievements i have to earn there to unlock stuff in Gears 3. Already i'm making steady progress through the game, the COG tags are WAY easier to find, and i just finished Act 1 on hardcore.

Having played both now i can see there are a lot of improvements between the two. I remember when it first came out the cover mechanic was a HUGE deal, and honestly it still is, not many games can pull it off effectively, and my experience with it in 3 is that it's more useful than annoying, and when you are trying to run between two points and your dude just flattens himself on a wall, it's thrown controller worthy. I still appreciate it though EPIC games, you done good by me. You have sold me on every chapter of this Gears Saga when i don't really care about any of them, that takes skill. I'm like the Eskimo with the Refrigerator.

Why did i buy Gears 3? enough people said they were buying it around me that i did, now that i see most of them never play or stick to casual... maybe i need to rethink that strategy.

What's next on the gaming list? Skipping Rage, Skipping Batman, Going for BF3 and MW3, that's it for the year. Unless Star Wars the Old Republic can generate some non-hype with some great reviews i might even pass on that. It's starting to feel a bit like the hype that came along with Star Trek Online... i know, i know, it's too soon to talk about it. you're still sore and i'm sorry.

Lastly, I joined Major League Gaming, probably won't compete as the last time i did some kid named Justin Beeber kicked my ass at modern warfare 2 (a game i hadn't touched in a year), you know i may have lost, but that kid deserves as many wins as he can have thrown his way, poor kid has to go through life like Michael Bolton in Office Space.

Drink NOS, send me your can codes, and have a great day!

Battlefield 3 impressions

Jeff — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 03:26:59 GMT

Hey all, just got the beta invite to Battlefield 3. I've been playing for an hour, so here are my impressions, and yes i understand some of the more technical bits are still being polished for release day (in 4 weeks mind you, a little late to find out some stuff just doesn't work i would think)

It's Blue- like the Matrix had that weird green yellow filter, this is the blue filter equivalent. And to an extent it gives the false impression of clarity, but what it really does is make your friendlies look like light blue triangles, and your enemies (that normally are red) look sort of like purple blue friendlies. It's too much blue for my taste, but i imagine i'll get used to it.

The environments- Awesome, Battlefield is known for its ability to create fun destructible environments and this game delivers. more places to hide, more avenues of approach, lots of fun with the environment.

prone- i kind of miss the days of crouch and stand. the beta so far has been a world of campers hiding in the dark spots, laying down, and waiting for you. The map you can play currently is in a subway station, the streets, and a park in what sounds and looks an awful lot like france. anyway you'll be killed by people laying in bushes, laying behind dark cornered trashcans, laying on a street a few feet above where you are, and much much more!

the firing- i'm going to assume there is lots of lag currently because there aren't that many beta players so it's hard to consolidate and relay info in a timely manner. the end result is i die before the enemy shoots on my screen, or i put a clip in someone and they turn around and shoot me once to kill me, or i stab someone 3 times and they turn around and stab me once and i die. i'll chalk this one up to beta issues, not necessarily gameplay issues. in 2 months, i will legitimately be cursing louly in my apartment when there is not an excuse.

the menus- okay i get it you like blue and red lava type streaks (tanks meet fast and furious artwork), good for you. everything seems so big and bloated, i want clear, i want simple, i want it to not take up my entire screen for every little thing. it feels a bit kid like currently, you know when you leave your 5 year old in charge of power point and he makes several slides that say poo in 48 pt font. it doesn't have to look like modern warfares menus, you had a good thing going with classic Battlefields, the 1943 arcade and the bad company series, why change it up too much?

the online website, battlelog... easy to interface with, so it gets a ton of points there, instant updates, more points, and i can't wait to see what else i'll be able to do there.

I love battlefield more than i love Modern Warfare, the allure is that each round REQUIRES team work, and that means it also takes more time. Modern Warfare is a quick cheap thrill that i can do with friends to kill time between the first half and second half of a sporting event.

And I just started playing Gears of War 3 (or the worst F'ing grind to get achievements that i've ever seen). The good news about GoW3 is that the company behind it legitimately stands behind their product and interacts with the users consistently over lonnnnggg periods of time. they had a 22x xp event a few weeks ago, and that certainly helps people in their grind to level 100. I'm currently level 16 and i don't think i have the grind in me to participate weekly in whatever they have going on. but if BF3 continues down it's current path it may end up like Medal of Honor did for me and only last about 3 weeks in my house, boy that game had some things going for it but just failed to deliver. Call of Duty MW3 is only a few weeks behind Battlefield 3 so i'm looking forward to being able to compare it all. Can you say i've already got Elite going? cause i can't, invite me! BF3, MW3 elite, and GoW3 season pass, looks like i have a lot of gaming to do, and lots of other games are not going to get my attention (unless target has one of their buy 2 new games get one free deals, i love those)

Something different

Jeff — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 01:30:55 GMT

Coach McGuirk is the father figure we didn't really ask for, but here is his advice on cursing.

i don't want to get political

Jeff — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 01:27:59 GMT

but Rick Santorum has a point, the military should not be used for social "experimentation" so i'm sure he's going to ban women and minorities from openly serving as such just as soon as he is elected.

He seems to be looking out for that young person who hasn't enlisted yet and now won't because that young kid is now afraid some guy might stare at his junk in a war zone. This sort of logic is for 3 year old's. Seriously, if you are a young person and the deciding factor between serving your country and avoiding it is that someone of the same sex might bunk in the same tent as you, you should definitely not enlist. We want professionals, people good at their jobs, people who can get along and put their differences aside to accomplish a mission. It isn't sex parties, it isn't all fun and games and rich white kids.... in fact the rich white kids are few in number. You see, a good chunk of the military is women and minorities people who over time have fought hard to be treated as equals, to prove they can do what any hateful ignorant man could do without fear of what "might" happen in a war zone.

he's never been in the military, he never will be, he doesn't know what it is like to know the person next to you counts on you to save their life and you can count on them to save yours and do the mission without fail day in and day out. but he knows what's best for the country... fear of your fellow American.

I'll admit it, i'm straight, i love the ladies (they just don't love me, but enough about why i have free time to blog)... can you imagine if a law were passed that if it came out that you were straight you would be fired from your job? or if it came out that you attended church you would be dishonorably discharged? or if your birthday is on a leap year you could be given the pink slip? that's how stupid the rhetoric coming out of rick santorum's mouth appears to be.

I will gladly serve with anyone who chooses to defend our country, anyone who is dedicated to doing their job well, anyone who wants to make the world more peaceful and safe, a world that is free from unmitigated hatred towards others due to differences in culture, or skin, or language, or any other number of things. Our job is to stop bad people from bringing hatred/harm/fear to our country, foreign OR DOMESTIC.

and i really wish i was drunk while i wrote this, really there is no excuse for my poor writing skills, but when our elected officials let people blatantly yell very hateful things at THEIR gatherings without correction or acknowledgement, i think you can forgive me for quickly expressing what's on my mind.

(My opinion does not reflect the view of ANYONE OR ANYTHING ELSE, so i can say things like "i'm pretty sure we're generating enough hate during these republican debates that someone could yell 'Yeah, Kill the Poor' and even that wouldn't be corrected" and you can read it and chuckle for a minute until you realize it's true, and then who knows what would happen, maybe someone would stand up and take responsibility for the American Right rather than trying to be it's manager. you know, a "Leader")

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