Another Year, Another Day

I'm not one to celebrate birthdays.  I just find it as just another day like any other day of the week.  As Guild Wars ramps up the Halloween theme to their game, other online games seem to be doing the same in their own way.  Grand Theft Auto IV turns your character into a zombie.  And other intellectual properties run by NCSoft are also decorated or celebrating the spooky holiday.  I, though, do not really like to really celebrate the occasion.  I just find it too troublesome having to answer the door just to hand a few kids some candies and treats.  Sure they're just doing it for fun.  I just think it's bothersome.

So with only days away from the 2008 US Election, it won't be long until I am finally rid of these pathetic political bullshit ads.  I'm pulling for Obama as he and his running mate appear to be more of the complete package than McCain and his dimwitted pick of a VP.  Granted, whoever is elected is going to inherit a lot of shitty fucked up mess that G.W. Bush left behind.  That fucking prick...

On a lighter note, man years ago, Budweiser unveiled to the world the biggest catchphrase on the Super Bowl.  8 years later, the folks responsible for making this commercial are back in this little clip.

True.  True.

You hereby agree to ...

You've seen them.  Those agreements that you have to click "Yes" to in order to install a program, use a program, or use an online service.  Sometimes they're dubbed as EULA but that's not really what all of them are called.  Some are just some sort of service usage agreement where they have certain rules set up so you cannot sue the living shit off of the company or provider.  Yeah, it's pretty lame on how it's has infiltrated our daily lives now.  These days we just simply ignore what the bunch of useless bullshitting legalese text say and click on the "Yes" or "Agree" button/checkbox.  All it was is a bunch of annoying shit that we cannot be bothered to read from top to bottom as half the time we cannot even begin to translate what their stuff says.

So when I install applications and programs, I usually click through all that just so I don't have to deal with all that.  It's just an unnecessary step that I have to hop over just so I can get to using something I know has been working so far.  The least thing the software developers could have done is to simply warn users that using said program may do odd things and that they are not responsible to what happens to your data should something really really bad happen.

Then today as I do my daily scan of various news sites or to check on what's news since seeing the site has updated, I came across this article with regards to the recent release of Disney's Sleeping Beauty on Blu-Ray disc.  What bewilders me is how much legal bullshit text is in there.  Just what kind of asshole sat at the desk for hours just to write up a bunch of useless legal bullshit for a movie that is... *ahem* to be viewed by children?  Even more absurd is why such a thing exist?  Sure there may be something interactive but can't we leave all the really interactive shit on devices that does the job better?  Like a Wii?  Or 360?  Or PS3?  Or PC?  Or Mac?  Seriously, whoever's in charge of producing and managing the Blu-Ray department at Disney ought to be brought out and shot, along with the prick who wrote up that shit.

So by reading this post, you hereby agree that you don't give a rats ass on what I say and go on your merry way.  But hey, who reads License Agreement these days?  Nobody, I tell you.  Nobody.

More Ramblings

Way back then, I posted on how I was quitting Call of Duty 4 due to how the game was set up when a particular flag was set.  One of those reasons end up being how I cannot dash across a street without dying.  This is often reckless.  But sometimes it is necessary.  Sometimes it is needed in order to mount an offense up, to potentially turn the tide.  This is perhaps one of the more interesting part of playing the game, that I was able to be that daring in hopes of helping the team win in the end.  This isn't the case when you flip the switch.

When Hardcore mode is in play, you die in a couple of shots.  Sure, this enhances the realism.  But it's also the bane of my style of play: run-n-gun.  Even if I am to be careful on where I go, I cannot get by.  It gets worse when you cannot move out of your spawn point.  What's the point in playing if you cannot stand a single chance against a force that has all the vantage point?

Recently my clan has been defeated by a team that is well beyond their abilities.  It was a complete loss and I am at a loss for words as to how it could happen.  But preliminary report suggest that they were proclaimed as rookies who have never seen nor been in an organized match.  I call bullshit on that one.  I don't know how they are able to go that far in winning the match but this is not normal and they are no damn rookies.

It's not that my clan is that bad.  It's just that the clan has different views on how to spend their time.  What good is spending their extra time to be some cannon fodder to another team?  The idea was to have fun and be competitive at the same time.  No good will come with beating down an opposing team without giving them some enjoyment for their efforts.  I have also played the exact same way when facing other opponents when there are not enough people on to support certain tactics.  I want to extend the round further, to give others a fighting chance, to enable those getting a beating to have what fun that they can get from it.  I'd rather retain players than to drive them away after being beat down badly.

So now the question is whether or not such a team should remain in the league.  That's up to the higher-ups to decide.  Frankly, I don't care either way.  But that one particular team needs to know how to control their advantage.  There's a difference in keeping in control of the match in your favor and simply rubbing it in.  They obviously did not know how to control themselves.

Like popcorn

Something is definitely afoot here. Some time ago, I had issues with trying to get the GeForce 7900GT to run without any problem. That issue still exist today as I tried to use it as a backup video card. What happened? The GeForce 8800GTS (the 640MB version) decided to die on me, right there, as I was about to reboot to do some driver updates. I dunno how it happened but as soon as the system finished the shutdown procedure and rebooted, I was greeted with a long beep plus two short additional beeps. That's not a good sign. A quick google revealed that the error code means the a VGA/display problem. I tried the usual method to get it to work again. I reseated the card, complete shutdown, and checked the fan is running. Nothing.

I do not know how many video cards I have gone through but this is ridiculous. The last solidly built card that I have purchased happens to be the GeForce 7800GT. But it has never been put through the harsh operating conditions like other cards before it. And that means having to operate nearly 24/7. The system is almost always on and can sometimes get really heated during the summer days. The 7900GT has given me nothing but problems and I thought I had rid the card of any problem. Sadly, it turns out to be false.

For the time being, I am running things from the laptop. That means limited operations such as audio management, file management, movie viewing, RSS feeds, and gaming, of course. The laptop does not have the greatest of all 3D abilities and can barely run Guild Wars, albeit at sub-15fps speed. At the very least, that is enough to let my guildmates know of the current problem at hand, for now.

I estimate the gaming rig will be out of comission for about two weeks, give or take a few days. This is estimating that the mailing slip will be sent to me by tomorrow with packing and sending occuring on the same day. With USPS's Priority Mail, it'll be 3 days transit until it arrives at the RMA department's doorstep. From there it's a 1 to 2 day turn-around and shipping time of about 5-6 days (because of slow-ass UPS). I suppose I should be glad that my card is manufactured by EVGA. They have one of the best warranty service out of all the video card companies out there. I just wish they're more generous with their shipping, as UPS ground is just so goddamn slow.

Questioning The System

Here's another one. Eventually there's going to be a bunch of them all centered around the loonies that I come in contact with. The topic of the conversation turns out to be in regards to schools. Preference is one thing but downright banishing a type of school is plain stupid. The way I see schools are that each and every one of them offer something for kids and adults to learn. I do not question its method. I don't question its orientation. And I don't question their rules.

A particular guildmate has the right idea. Sometimes it takes trust to determine a kid's ability to do the right thing. You can only teach a child so much on the dangers of the things one learns when encountering other people. If such a matter is that big of an issue, a private school is always an option. But given that the alliance that I have to put up with, I have to hear all the bullshit from them on how they will rather send their kids to a religious school than to let them ever step foot on a public school. Sure some public schools have problems. But that comes with the territory. A public school is funded by the citizens of the town or city that it is in. That school can only do so much in terms of handling behavior, the number of teachers to employ, the textbooks needed to cover the subject materials, as well as extra-curricular activities. The problem to balance the school budget is always a topic every year. But needless to say, this is an obvious problem due to how the system works. And when the school system does work, it works as they should. Kids learn. They get good grades. And they do extra-curricular activities. Sure, other schools can do the same. But that's the point. A public school can be as good, better, or worse than any other school system, private or religious. Yet that's probably what some of these alliance retards can't get into their head. "Oh I've been through the public school system. And I know I won't put my kid through that." Bullshit. Pure bullshit.

I know that each school has a different level of teaching. Each school has a different method of teaching. It doesn't matter if it's public, private, or religious. Schools are schools. They differ. And all of them can suffer the same kind of problem that other schools can face. I just cannot stand idiots who judges an entire school system based on a single experience when there are millions of schools across the country.