My Road to Recon

Recon has always been the big, exclusive thing in Halo. In the beginning so few people had it, it was hard to get, and everyone wanted it. I was never terribly interested in it. I’m still not really, but the completionist in me really wants to get it. I got all of the Halo 3 vidmasters quickly and I was really looking forward to getting the ODST vidmasters. Endure was okay, and Deja vu was a whole bunch of fun, so I went to try out classic.

Not cool.

Not. cool. at. all.

It seems like classic relies heavily on being able to drive, which in halo, I’m rubbish at. I cannot drive in halo. So it looks like I won’t be sporting recon – probably ever. It’s not a huge deal, I don’t really care so much about recon myself, but I wish I were a better driver, so that I at least had a chance.

oh well.

 

Halo 3: ODST Review – Sort of

A little while ago, I got ODST thanks to  my awesome gaming BFF and it is pretty cool. I like playing as an ODST, and I certainly like seeing a different side of the UNSC. The game is darker, scarier, more intense, and even a little harder. The Campaign is a bit too short for my liking. Total Campaign playtime on normal was about 3 1/2 hours for one full run through. I’ve had quite a bit of fun though going back to get all the audio logs, the ‘naughty, naughty’ achievement and it’s counterpart, ‘Good Samaritan’ for deciding whether killing things that are new and different is good, or bad.

Firefight is also an amazing experience, and was definitely something different to add to the general halo experience.  Firefight seems like it can just go on for as long as you can last without losing all your lives, and therefore, the game. My first match of firefight, on lost platoon with 3 players lasted 3 hours! We actually ended up just screwing around in the end and losing all our lives, because we just didn’t want to keep going for fear that it would go on FOOOOREEEVVVEERRR!!!

I think one thing I noticed about ODST, isn’t actually about ODST itself. When I am playing ODST and switch back to playing Halo 3, It’s terribly hard to get used to being a Spartan again. I jump off buildings expecting to lose my shields, wonder where I’m gonna get a health pack, and forget how awesome my Battle Rifle is.

Overall, I really enjoy playing ODST and see myself going back to play it again and again in the future, because while it is halo, it’s completely different, with the same enjoyability. Awesome Game!

NaNoWriMo 2009

I’ve made the decision to participate in NaNoWriMo this year. It’s been 2 years since I’ve actually participated as a writer. I have participated every year though, in some form, and I really do enjoy it. It is one chance to just write. I love to write.  I know that isn’t really displayed here, but I’m not very good at blogging. I don’t like writing about myself much, and I have trouble with putting my own thoughts into words.

I love to write about other people. People that I’ve made up, preferably. I love shaping someone elses’ life and doing what I want to it. I also enjoy the pressure of NaNoWriMo. For anyone who doesn’t know what NaNoWriMo is, and doesn’t like links, it stands for National Novel Writers Month. It’s an annual creative writing project that takes place in November, encouraging participants to create a 50,000 word novel within the 30 days, ending November 30th at 11:59 local time.

My first year participating in NaNoWriMo was 2003, and I was a junior in high school. It was crazy, and stressful, and I tried so hard, and what I ended up with was a 74,368 word novel that I still can’t read to this day because it makes me want to pull my hair out. I’m sure it is terrible. I am sure it has mistakes, but it is there, marking the fact that in my life, I accomplished something that many never dream of. It is tangible and that makes me feel great. Years later when I was participating in my 3rd NaNoWriMo in 2005, I was away at college. It was again stressful, but instead of creating tens of thousands of words full of crap, I created my best writing to date. It felt absolutely amazing to have this book that I created, and have it actually be fairly awesome. I like that feeling.

That’s part of the reason I’ve decided I want to participate again this year. I’ve been in a bit of a…mood recently, and I think this is just what I need to get myself out of it!

So you can expect to hear more about that as it comes closer to starting time. We’ll see how this goes. I imagine I will be at least decently productive, especially since I have my super awesome netbook! Which reminds me, I should probably put word on it. It came with the disk, but I don’t have it on it, because I switched to Ubuntu NBR, ended up hating it, so I had to switch back to XP. So I need to get on that soon. Sticking it on the to do list!

Dell Mini 10v review

I thought that I should talk more about my super awesome dell mini 10v now that I’ve had it for like a week.

There are certainly some upsides and some downsides to netbooks in general and some awesome and not so awesome things specific to this netbook. Let me first say that I love the thing. It is cute, pink, and even though it still remains nameless, we have definitely bonded in the past week. I’ve used it to blog, and work, surf the internet, watch videos on Hulu and Netflix, play games, listen to music, and even read a book or two! It has taken over the place of my Nokia n800 tablet, I don’t even use it anymore, and will be selling it soon actually (so if anyone wants a great condition (always had a screen protector on it) Nokia n800 with its accessories and box, an awesome leather case, and a bluetooth keyboard, for like $100 say it!)  which is sad news for my n800 but it will just have to learn to deal. I’m sure I’ll find it a good home.  Okay, now that all that’s out of the way, let me get a rundown of the specs of my 10v out here.

10.1″ Widescreen Display (1024×600)
Intel® Atom Processor® N270 (1.6GHz/533Mhz FSB/512K cache)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950
1GB DDR2 SDRAM
160GB, 2.5inch, 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Integrated 1.3M Pixel Webcam

It’s decently spec’d for a netbook. I will probably bump the ram up to 2 gigs myself later on to give it a little speed boost, but it really is okay. It’s good for what it does. Sometimes it is a little slow on certain things (those crazy Facebook games like Farmville make it sad) but other than that it is snappy for basic web browsing, and even writing a blog like I am doing with it currently.

It’s keyboard isn’t cramped like many people complain that netbooks are. I believe dell says it is 92% of the size of a normal (I assume by normal they mean a 15 inch?) laptop keyboard which is actually really great. The first 5 minutes of use on it were a bit tricky for me as I would hit a instead of s and the typical typos that you would expect when you are moving to a smaller keyboard but I quickly adjusted and it feels quite nice now. I certainly don’t feel cramped at all. Another cool thing about the keyboard of the Dell Mini 10v (and possibly other dell minis but I don’t know) is the Function keys. First the Fn button is in the right place, as I’ve heard it isn’t on some netbooks, but you don’t have to push it for the volume, brightness, print screen, etc. you actually have to push it to hit the F buttons (like F5 or F11) I’ve actually found this to be a really nice change because I definitely use the volume and brightness buttons quite a bit more than I do the F keys.

The trackpad is also interesting on this netbook in that it doesn’t have buttons separated from the pad like most netbooks and laptops do. The buttons are actually built into the trackpad. The Buttons are also touch sensitive like the rest of the pad. I understand some people don’t like this, but I really enjoy it because it is not only more aesthetically pleasing, but it feels great too. The trackpad also has multi-touch, gestures, and two finger scrolling, though I haven’t really gotten into any of that yet.

Most netbooks use an awkward resolution of 1024×600 (though some don’t, like the first HP mini and the Dell Mini 12) and this one is no exception. The resolution is awkward at best. It feels odd, and sometimes viewing certain webpages may look a little different. I have found that going full screen is the best choice when a website doesn’t seem viewable.

The 10v comes with a 3 cell battery which seems to last nearly 4 hours for me when I am doing normal web browsing activities and around 2 hours when I am watching a movie (Hulu ftw) full-screen. This isn’t bad at all. If you don’t like that though you can get an upgraded battery from dell, though it lifts the notebook up a bit, and make it last a bit more than 6 hours.  Some say it is easier to type with the 6 cell battery because of the angle that it puts the keyboard at. It’s worth a look, I guess.

One of my favorite…features, though I’m not sure it can really be called a feature is the power supply. You’ve seen a normal notebook power supply with its long rectangular piece that you connect a second cable to. They aren’t terribly portable. They take up too much room. They are hard to wrap up and stick into a bag. The power supply that comes with the Dell mini 10v is awesome! It’s just one piece and is more like a larger cell phone  adapter than a normal laptop power supply.  They also come with a cord control thing on it (you know, little velcro strip you wrap around the cord and secure it to itself) for easy wrap up. Or at least mine did.

It’s a very quiet laptop also. It doesn’t have fans inside it at all. Instead it seems to just have a few extra ventilation holes. It does run a little warm at times. Especially when I am watching video.  It seems to only get warm under the right palm rest/right ctrl key area, though I’m not sure what is under there and don’t have any plans to take it apart in the near future. I will probably eventually find this out when I go to upgrade to 2 gigs of ram, because the upgrade requires quite a bit of work. At least it is upgradable though, unlike the Mini 10. It never gets overly warm though. I imagine the lack of fans also lends to its excellent battery life.

Overall, it’s a great little machine, and if you go through Dell Outlet you can get it for a great deal.

I got a new toy!

I got a netbook! It’s Pink!!!

I’ve had laptops before.  I tend to lean toward HP when I am purchasing any computer, so I’ve had multiple hp full size laptops and enjoyed them. After a not so great experience about a year ago with hp though, I’ve been going laptopless. I sort of enjoyed it. I mean, I was always on my more powerful desktop, with a bigger screen, but recently being tied down to my desk anytime I wanted to be on the computer really started to get on my nerves. I decided I wanted a laptop. Something that would be small and light, that I could use for internet, email, and work. At first I started looking at eeepc’s  because they are certainly small. Then for awhile I thought maybe I could get one of the higher spec’d Ibook G4′s! Then I could have OSX! That was exciting until I realized how hard it is to find one in nice condition.  Then I learned about hacintosh (hackintosh? I’ve seen it spelled both ways) and that some netbooks are really easy to put OSX on! Which got me looking at Dell mini 9′s because it seems to be one of the easiest. Dell mini 9′s weren’t quite what I was looking for though, so I ended up going for the Dell mini 10v which seems to only be slightly harder to install OSX onto. I ordered it from Dell on the 16th and it arrived on the 18th making me a very surprised and very happy girl! (It wasn’t supposed to get here until the 23rd and tracking never updated)

I still haven’t named it, but here it is:

So it’s really awesome. I like it a lot. It’s currently running XP which doesn’t really make me happy, so I may switch to ubuntu in the meantime until I buy a retail copy of leopard.

Also, part of my purchase ($5?) went to help find a cure for breast cancer.

I am of course, pro-boobs.

Crazy things happen to me on xbox live.

I GOT IT

Drew got me the camera I wanted for my birthday. HOW EXCITING IS THAT? Anyway It’s really awesome and I think I am going to name him François because I just recently beat Chibi-Robo Park Patrol and my favorite friend in the game was the cool marionette, François who eventually rose above the need for strings. So say Au revoir to Calvin and hello François!

Now with new found cameraness I’m gonna celebrate with a picspam!

This is our new puppy, Jingles! Isn’t he just so rediculously cute? Okay so I wouldn’t normally put a shirt on him, but whatever, The shirt is our local schools’ colors (Go Wildcats!) and says ‘Team captain. Drew and I found it in that dollar area at target! There were tons of different clothing like cheerleading outfits and such! Too Cute! Also Starring in this picture is Bo-Bo which is that silly toy from PetSmart (Which is not where the pets go of course, but whatever). Anyway isn’t he just anerable? Yeah you can’t handle it! Go Ahead and give his head a little scratchypoo with your mouse. I know you want to.

This is lunch. (Hey I said pic-spam, didn’t I?) Lunch Consisted of a Ham Sandwich on Wheat Bread with colby-jack cheese on it, and an extra half piece on the side. Also Munchies which after taking the picture I promptly picked out all the pretzels, mini doritos and sunchips and gave the cheetos to Drew. And of course a Welches Grape Juice. Mmmm delicious!

This is my monitor/360/computer. Basically this is what I look at when I’m on my computer or playing my 360. My monitor is sitting on an Allsop stand thing that Drew got for me at wal-mart. The 360 fits under it just right and it’s so nice.

Also peeking out are the altec lansing speakers I use and my thumb drive, some random cables or something and my lists. I’m a compulsive list maker. I love to do lists especially.

Not pictured however is my actual computer (the tower, it sits under the table) and my sub woofer box thingy (also under the table.

This is my stack of gaaaaaames!!!!

Halo 3, Tenchu Z, Guitar Hero 2 & 3, Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo (Still unopened, lol, had it forever), Beautiful Katamari, Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged, Viva Pinata, Rockband, Halo 2, Rayman Raving Rabbids, Sims 2 Limited Edition (includes night life and bon voyage). Oh and Can’t forget Office Home and Student 2007! That’s the best game in that stack! and of course Fruits Basket! 1!

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This is my awesome table. It’s where I eat, play games, compute, work, craft and basically do everything! It’s actually about twice as long as you see, but that all got cut off.

OOOOH MAIL! I wonder what if could be! It’s from hong kong! So far away!

It’s my supercard! I was super excited about finally receiving this in the mail, but then I was really sad because it doesn’t work. So now it has to be sent back to deal extreme and I have to wait forever again to get a new one. Drew emailed them about an RMA number but I don’t think he has heard back yet. So disappointing!

And now Puppehkins says Bye!

m-$oft doing it dirty one more time.

It looks like Microsoft has screwed another dedicated gamer over. This one though is heartbreaking.

“A passionate gamer by the name of Nathaniel purchased an Xbox 360 at launch. After working reliably for over two years, his faithful console companion finally kicked the bucket. It was then that he faced a major quandary. Should he send it in for repairs or attempt to fix it himself? The obvious answer would be send it in for repairs but Nathaniel’s 360 was not like yours and mine. Oh no, it was special. “Was” being the key word.” Read More…

Update 3/7/08: Bungie Unscrews previously screwed gamer:

“Despite the fact that Bungie had absolutely nothing to do with what happened, they wanted to help make things right with Nathaniel. A large box packed full of Halo swag arrived on Nathaniel’s doorstep yesterday afternoon. It took Bungie six days total to gather numerous goodies, pack them up, ship it off, and have it arrive at his house. The quickness in which they responded is absolutely astounding. Bungie goes above and beyond with their fans each and every day, but this time they truly outdid themselves.” Read More…

Update 3/21/08: Microsoft makes things right:

Microsoft contacted Nathaniel the day the article was originally published to offer a brief apology and to let him know they were working on rectifying the situation. Unfortunately they have been oddly silent since then. They have not given him any updates on the investigation, nor have they said if they figured out exactly what happened to his case. They did send him a gigantic cardboard box though. Read More…

Links all go to Hawty McBloggy, possibly the coolest named gaming blog ever.