10 Reasons to own a Blackberry

[caption id="attachment_1020" align="alignright" width="300" caption="From left to right: The Blackberry Pearl, Bold, Curve, and some older model that I can't identify"][/caption]

Ever since I purchased my Blackberry, I've been discovering and learning all sorts of cool things you can do with them.  I wanted to share with you some of these discoveries I've come across while scavenging the internet, learning all sorts of things they're capable of doing.  I've compiled together 10 reasons why you should go out and purchase a Blackberry.

Couple in Second Life divorce from an online affair

[caption id="attachment_981" align="alignright" width="292" caption="David Pollard and Amy Taylor met in Second Life. Now they're divorcing on account of David's "online affair.""][/caption]

Amy Taylor and David Pollard are ending their marriage after 3 years when Amy found David's avatar in Second Life literally "screwing around" online.

The couple met online in 2003 and, within months, she had moved into 40-year-old Mr Pollard's flat in Newquay, Cornwall.

After two years, the pair married – in real life and in the game – but Ms Taylor said she knew something was wrong.  She ended up hiring a "virtual private detective" to scope out David's activities online.

Apparently her instincts were right.  David had begged for Amy's forgiveness after the first affair unfolded.

However, it wasn't until she filed for divorce after witnessing her husband's avatar banging some new chick that went by the name: Modesty McDonnell.

"I caught him cuddling a woman on a sofa in the game. It looked really affectionate," said Ms. Taylor, who filed for ­divorce the next day. "I just couldn't believe what he'd done," said Ms Taylor, 28. "I looked at the screen and saw his character having sex.  It's cheating, as far as I'm concerned."

Ms. Taylor apparently already has a new guy now that she met in a different game...  You guessed it World of Warcraft.

Source:

• Metro.co.uk - Second Life Sex Causes Divorce

Wrath of the Lich King is AWESOME

[caption id="attachment_971" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Thumbs up for Wrath of the Lich King"][/caption]

Once again, I've been lacking in updates for this site.  And I apologize.  I've been sidetracked with the new Wrath of the Lich King expansion that came out on Thursday.  I managed to get ahold of a collectors edition of the game (thank you Kyle!), making it so that I now have 3 out of 3 of the WoW Collector Editions.

I didn't get much of a chance to tryout the game when it came out last Thursday (11/13/08) as I went bowling that night.  Friday night was even worse as my realm Kil'Jaeden is a high population server and had like a 30+ minute wait (800+ queue).  Saturday and Sunday were the days that I got to play, and I must say that the leveling process is much easier now then it was when leveling from 60-70.

Blizzard really went all out with the quests.  There are so many quests jammed-packed within the zones, that I really didn't even know where to begin.  Since there are so many things to do, I wouldn't know where to start and I probably would have overwhelmed myself.  Thank god for QuestHelper & TomTom as they have been a lifesaver.

Just providing an update...

[caption id="attachment_939" align="alignright" width="255" caption="From level 60-70 in a matter of 28 hours."][/caption]

I just wanted to follow up with some things I've been doing these past couple of weeks.

Seeing as Blizzard's Wrath of the Lich King is coming out on the 13th of November, I figured I'd level my alts since there's not much else to do at this time.  Since the last big patch 3.0.1, Blizzard included the level 80 talent specs for everybody.  The game right now is still tailored to level 70 content, however the new level 80 talents greatly increased the damage & abilities for every class, reducing the time it takes to level from 60-70.

The hybrid classes (Druid, Paladin, Shaman) will benefit the most with this new expansion coming out since Blizzard is claiming everybody will be able to passively switch between two talent specs.  What this means for a hybrid is you can get the best of two worlds.  One world is being able to efficiently do damage, and the other world is being able to effectively heal.  So in any event, if you're PVPing with a friend, it'll be nice to have the option to effectively fulfill either role people need you for.

In a two week timeline, I've managed to get my Shaman from 60-70 from 28 hours of gameplay.  I must confess I did get help thanks to Zygor's Leveling Guides, which definitely help cut back on the time it took to level my guy.

I also respecced my mage from frost to arcane, to try out the new abilities they got with the 3.0.1 patch.  I have to say that there really isn't any skill involved playing arcane.  It's definitely turned into a (what the WoW community refers easy/simple things as) "faceroll" spec.  It's simply too easy to kill people.   I feel kinda dumb playing it to be honest.  There's only 2 things you need to win in PVP, Slow & Arcane Barrage.  It was nice to be effectively kill people after awhile, but then I started getting bored from it, as I was only having to hit 2 buttons over and over to win.  As a result, I'll probably end up respeccing back to full frost before the expansion this Thursday.



Fallout 3 came out a few weeks ago, and I took some time to play the game, and while alot of people & critics love the game and gave it fantastic reviews etc, I can't talk myself into playing the game for more then 10 minutes at a time.  I've launched the game several times, and attempted to play it a few minutes here and there, but I end up losing interest.  I even tried making things interesting by accessing some cheat codes and spawning in a bunch of enemies within the Megaton city causing the citizens there to declare war against the enemies I spawn in.  While it was entertaining at first, it got boring pretty quick.  I never played the first two Fallout games, although it's not like it really matters as the story for Fallout 3 is independent of the other two.   In fact I never even heard of the Fallout series until my friend Nick introduced them to me.

Far Cry 2 came out a couple of weeks before Fallout 3, and despite it getting mixed reviews, I've had more fun playing that then Fallout 3.  I like being able to drive around in a jungle with several options being able to take out the enemies.  I always get satisfaction from running people over in vehicles.  Also I like the new system they put in place when it comes to managing weapons.  As you explore the game in Africa, you have a GPS with a tracker that allows you to find diamonds through the zones.  The diamonds are used for currency allowing you to purchase and upgrade weapons as you progress.  You can use weapons dropped from the people trying to kill you, but on occasion you'll find their weapons tend to jam, or break overtime in mid-battle, so it's advisable to use your own weapons.   My only complaint is that Far Cry 2 apparently has some kind of memory leak; as I've noticed my frames gradually decrease over time.  I'm sure one of the patches addresses this issue, but I'm currently running a crack that prevents needing the DVD to play the game and haven't bothered with it since I'll get stuck dealing with that "Insert-the-game-in-my-DVD-drive" DRM bullshit.

That's pretty much it for now.

RIP Michael Crichton

[caption id="attachment_930" align="alignright" width="210" caption="Michael Crichton (October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008)"][/caption]

Michael Crichton , one of my all time favorite authors, passed away November 5th in Los Angeles.  Crichton's death was a result of cancer.  He was best known for his science fiction and techno-thriller novels.  A list of books he wrote can be found below:

• 1966 Odds On (used alias as John Lange)


• 1967 Scratch One (used alias as John Lange)


• 1968 Easy Go (used alias as John Lange)


• 1968 A Case of Need (as Jeffery Hudson (re-released as Crichton in 1993)


• 1969 The Andromeda Strain (used alias as Jeffrey Hudson, then re-released as Crichton)


• 1969 The Venom Business (used alias as John Lange)


• 1969 Zero Cool (used alias as John Lange)


• 1970 Grave Descend (used alias as John Lange)


• 1970 Drug of Choice (used alias as John Lange)


• 1972 The Terminal Man


• 1972 Binary


• 1975 The Great Train Robbery


• 1976 Eaters of the Dead


• 1980 Congo


• 1987 Sphere


• 1990 Jurassic Park


• 1992 Rising Sun


• 1994 Disclosure


• 1995 The Lost World


• 1996 Airframe


• 1999 Timeline


• 2002 Prey


• 2004 State of Fear


• 2006 Next

Outside of writing, Crichton was also a producer.  He created ER, an Emmy/Award winning popular medical drama TV series that still airs on NBC today.

A private funeral service is expected but no details have been released.

Sources:

• Michael Crichton on Wikipedia

AT&T currently testing 150GB broadband cap

[caption id="attachment_915" align="alignright" width="200" caption="The real AT&T as I see it."][/caption]

I had posted about Comcrap imposing a monthly 250GB cap for internet usage.  Now AT&T (American Telecommunications & Tapping) is following Comcast by doing the same.

I think we've reached a point where in today's age, where there's alot of content on the internet to explore, and with today's society embracing high definition, this poses a big problem for users.   For starters, high definition content uses significantly more bandwidth then standard definition.  The higher the quality, the more bandwidth it takes to deliver that content to you.

When you have ISPs imposing broadband caps, essentially what they're doing is kicking everybody in the balls.  This especially can impact several online services like iTunes, Amazon's Video on Demand, and Netflix as it prevents them from being able to do business by placing obstacles in their paths.

The cost of bandwidth should be very cheap now compared to what it was 5 years ago.  Nearly every hosting company today offers packages that have unlimited bandwidth for your website(s), at a very reasonable price.

AT&T believes the caps are more than sufficient for average users, pointing out that a small subset of its customers -- about 5 percent -- uses a full 50 percent of the network's bandwidth, slowing things down for the remaining majority." ¹

If 5% of AT&T's customer base is using 50% of their network, that number is only going to increase over time.  If ISPs cannot handle the current flow of data going in and out their networks, they should be investing in upgrading their infrastructure instead of slapping their customers in the face.  As technology evolves, you don't see it slowing down, if anything it's doing the exact opposite.  Those ISP's need to do the same.

Source:

1. PC World: Broadband caps coming to AT&T

Related Links:

• DSL Reports: AT&T Starts Metered Billing Trial In Reno

CNN using holograms for their news

[caption id="attachment_897" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Jessica Yellin talking about the presidential election."][/caption]

Wolf Blitzer from CNN interviewed Jessica Yellin via a "hologram" to discuss the presidential election. (By the way, congrats Obama!)  I can't help but feel very annoyed at the fact that CNN has to go through all this effort for a fucking interview...  I mean seriously... Are we watching the news here, or are we watching Star Wars?

I can appreciate the fact that CNN is trying to take part in the new technologies out there, like using Twitter, etc, but I think using this hologram technology is way over the top.  I watched this interview, and honestly I could give a shit what they were discussing.  I was so annoyed/distracted at what I was watching I'd had come here to bitch about it.  It's just stupid, leave the special effects for the movies, your viewers have nothing to gain from watching a hologram of somebody.  We want news, not Star Wars. That stunt isn't going to help your ratings honestly, if anything it's going to freak alot of people out, especially those southern rednecks. (if they actually watch CNN)

I should note that obviously a hologram means it's just a projected image of something being displayed, what Wolf Blitzer was looking at was a blue or red dot where Jessica is supposed to appear.

Just keep the interviews simplified?  There's nothing wrong with having two boxes side by side on my screen.  I'm okay with that you know...

[caption id="attachment_898" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="...Why?"]



[/caption]

EA - Red Alert 3 Installation Code issue

[caption id="attachment_884" align="alignright" width="300" caption="EA:"Sorry bitch, just figure it out!""][/caption]

You might remember awhile back I was talking about how EA was going to be linking their forums to users online EA accounts.  Apparently their latest game, Command & Conquer - Red Alert 3 had a misprint on (what they claimed) a small number of instruction booklets that contain this code.  The code itself if supposed to be 20 digits long, but some users were reporting that there were only 19 digits.

Lets pretend you didn't know anything about I've talked about here.  You're a gamer, and you head to your local Best Buy/GameStop store and purchase a copy of Red Alert 3.  You go home and open up the game and pop it in your DVD/CD drive, punch in the code provided in the instruction manual and find out the code doesn't work.  What would you do?  Today's laws prevent you from being able to return opened computer software because of piracy, so now you're stuck with the game.   After just spending $50, I'd be pretty pissed off.

So lets just assume that is the case, how much time would you be willing to waste attempting to install this game?

I wanted to share with you what EA considers their workaround:

If you are trying to install Command and Conquer Red Alert 3 and the code is only 19 characters long, then it is missing the last letter or number. This was due to a misprint on a small number or manuals and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

There is currently a work around that may allow you to bypass this issue. Since you have the first 19 characters of the code already, you can basically try "guessing" the last character. To do this, simply enter your existing code, and then for the last character, try the letters A-Z, and then the numbers 0-9. You should eventually get the right combination, and be able to play the game.

So if you go that route, there's a 1 in 36 chance you'll get the combination right.  Now I personally haven't tried this out for myself but I want to speculate what usually happens when you get codes wrong...  The boxes automatically clear themselves resulting in you having to type the whole damn code again.  And in most cases they divide the code up so that you have to 5 boxes containing 4 characters each, further complicating the process.

The other route you could go is to contact EA:

In order to get a replacement code, please click the "Contact Us" link on the left side of the page, and attach an image of your code to the incident.

If you do not have access to a digital camera or scanner, you can fax us a copy of the back of your instruction booklet, along with a copy of your receipt, to (512) 949-4994.  Please include with your fax your First and Last name as well as your incident number.

If you would like, once you have created your incident, you can also contact us by phone using the number found on page 28 of your manual.

I just find it sad in general that a major publisher like EA didn't catch this problem before releasing the game.  I can understand, mistakes do happen.  But something like this that prevents the user from being able to even install the game is a pretty serious issue.

Way to go EA.

</sarcasm>

Sources:

• EA's Help Center: If your code is 19 characters instead of 20

Sarah Palin pranked on Canadian radio

I usually try to stay away from discussing politics because I find when people disagree politically, these situations become very messy.  In any case, I couldn't help but mention this because this is not only embarrassing to McCain's campaign, it's also kinda scary.

[audio:/sarah-palin-pranked.mp3]

[caption id="attachment_870" align="alignright" width="300" caption="A picture is worth a thousand words"][/caption]

What makes this scary is how easily these radio DJ's got through to Palin.  The implications regarding the McCain campaign's utter lack of ANY sort of security/screening measures is nothing short of amazing.  This mockery is exactly what the McCain campaign has been trying to avoid.  Why do you think after the Katie Couric interview she wouldn't talk to the media?  Because McCain's campaign couldn't afford making her look like an idiot.  Well too late there.

It's really surprising to me that Palin had no suspicion at all when "Nicolas Sarkozy" (French President) said the following to her:

I must say, Governor Palin, I love the documentary they made on your life, you know, Hustler’s "Nailin Palin."

Is she that dumb?  Clearly.  I mean the guy mocked her so many different times... "we could go hunting in a helicopter but don't bring Dick Cheney" "I can see Belgium from my house!" Making fun of Joe the Plumber, and of course, "Nailin Palin."  On top of that I think the guy pulling the prank realized she was THAT DUMB that he finally had to come out and tell her "you've been pranked."

As McCain would say: "My friends..." ...This woman could very well end up being the President of the United States.   McCain is the oldest candidate to ever run for president, and he doesn't have a very good track record in terms of health... We CANNOT have a woman like her representing this country.

Good god...

Sources:

• AP: Palin takes prank call from fake French president


• Daily Kos: Verbatim transcript of the prank phone call

Halloween 2008 at Hollywood

I wanted to share with you my experience going down to Hollywood, CA at Sunset Boulevard.  I went down there with my friends Kyle, Becky & John.

Kyle went as Master Shake from Aqua Teen Hunter Force, John went as Frylock.  We had no Meatwad. DON'T ASK ME WHERE HE WAS EITHER!

Becky (Kyle's wife) went as a Pirate Wench.

The pictures you see below were taken by me as I was walking around dressed as an Pimped out Agent from the Matrix.

Also I want to thank Kyle for the invite and for driving down there.  No other day will you see people dressed the way they were... Enjoy!

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