Two goodies came in the mail today:

Bionic Commando: Rearmed
Autodesk Inventor suite 2010(trial)

Hmmmmm. What should i install/play first?

)

I had a lot of fun while it lasted.

When I created GamingParents in September of 2006, I was hoping to start a thriving community between adult gamers where a discussion of gaming strategy could intermingle with topics on parenting.

More than three years later, it is clear that the community has not blossomed as I had hoped.

2007 was the best year, with more than twenty active members.

By 2010, there are basically three members left. And I think it's silly to have a forum with just one or two people having a monologue.

I greatly appreciate every member that GamingParents have ever had, but the experiment is coming to a close.

I will still visit other forums, including TWHL and Sermo. It's time to move on.

Farewell, friends. Thanks for the good memories.

I just found out us Romanians are on the 4th place at the internet connection speeds.
The irony is that the "internetization" took place in Romania later than in other countries, like UK for example. But that gives us an advantage now: the equipments are more modern.

Here's the top: http://www.techpark.net/2009/04/08/internet-connection-speed-the-top-10-countries/

I couldn't found an updated top, but I saw in a forum discussion that our average speed climbed to 6,2 mbps(and that's exactly my internet speed...), Romania still being in the 4th place.

Well, maybe in the future we'll have gaming studios among the best ones in the world. We'll beat the shit out of the other countries :D.
very optimistic scenario

I'm painting my apartment right now, it takes a lot longer than I had anticipated, and it's fucking killing my back.

Bedroom is done, and I'm really pleased with the results. Now it's on to the most tedious parts, because I have to move my computer, sofa and tv out of the way. Not looking forward to messing with all the cables behind my computer

In about 45min there is going to be a mystery object that will fly threw space by planet earth. This object is only about 15 Meters long, Scientist don't think its an astroid..

What do you think it is?

Me, I think its just some space junk..

http://www.universetoday.com/2010/01/12/asteroid-or-space-junk-object-makes-close-pass-by-earth-wednesday/

Here we go again,......what the hell is up with Hollywood and their pervasive need of lately to "reboot" everything they get their hands on? I mean, I can understand re-doing an old movie that's perhaps decades old (about 30, 40 or 50 years old or more), this way it can be introduced to a new generation of viewers, I have no problem with that. A good example of this is the upcoming "A-Team" movie, which is based on the popular action series of the 1980's of the same name: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808402981/video/17565315

But what I don't understand is why the hell Sony has the need now to restart the entire Spiderman movie franchise from the beginning! You heard right, apparently Sony has decided to scrap Spiderman 4 and instead start all over again with a new franchise including a whole new cast of actors. Heck, the first Spiderman movie is not even 10 years old yet, let alone the third movie! So what's going on here? Were the first 3 Spiderman movies that bad?

Source: http://www.superherohype.com/news/spider-mannews.php?id=8976

HiLaRiOuSlY Great;

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=sugarstreak&annotation_id=annotation_874465&feature=iv#p/f/0/QNDfCeePRCE

Use url tags, man.

Got my new engine started for the first time today. Runs beautifully, though it's still being broken in.

So...

To keep you interested I'll first post this job description on Gearbox:

We are looking for all levels of Environment Artists who have the passion and talent to create visually stunning environments. Environment Artists will be part of the team creating environment art for an unannounced shooter based on one of the most famous shooters ever created, the Environment Artist will create all types of environment assets, terrain, structures and props. The Environment Artist will report to the Art Director.

So what do you think? I vote for Opposing Force 2 although I doubt it's the most famous?

Anyway now to bore you I finished my last university task last night for the first term despite it being 2010. It seriously wrecked me as I had so much to do and so little time. I ended up with a beard and my hands were like twigs but it was worth it cause it should, no it will get a good mark or I will seriously doubt fairness.

Oh and for the anime people out there I finished Samurai Champloo a sec ago for the fourth or fifth time. Still as good as ever.

Well, that's a relief.

I've installed Windows 7 64-bit the other day and Steam HL, WON HL and Hammer all work fine. I was kinda scared that they would'nt.

Bottomline: i can still map for GoldSource!

Downright sickest movie yet!

Yep, that's what an upcoming horror movie called "The Human Centipede" is all about, at least to me anyway. Now, don't get me wrong, I like a good horror movie as much as the next guy, but damn.....sometimes there is such a thing as going overboard in weirdness! This has to be a direct to DVD release, I just can't see this being played in regular movie theaters, at least not in the U.S.

The Human Centipede: http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=12021

T'was my birthday yesterday. Had the biggest cake ever, I mean, you could submerge your head fully into it.

Today, I prove that the cake - at least, this cake - was most certainly not a lie. Now, I must go and OM NOM NOM NOM the rest of my cake.

I had a bad dream last night.

I dreamed that there was a growing cult that abducts children and poisons them. I was trying so hard to hide my son and protect him.

Now I wonder whether it's because I was playing too much BioShock. I do rescue all the Little Sisters, but they do creep me out.

I guess playing this game at night reflects what I do during the daytime--rescuing children and making them well again

You may not be seeing much of me for a while.
The reason? I'm getting highspeed.
Now, you might be thinking "That's great, JeffMOD, but why would that stop you from coming here?" The answer is because it's a "mobile internet stick" designed for laptops, and to supplement a highspeed connection at home.
The usage limit is 512MB a month.
And the dialup, which is unlimited, is going to be canceled.
It's not like I have much of a choice, a 3 year contract was signed while I was at school.
What's this mean for me? Rationing of my browsing, and faster video load times and download speeds. Not that I can make too much use of them without torrents to pause downloads so I don't deplete my monthly usage.

Memoirs of a Smoothie
James Archibald

They say that a person's workplace is a reflection of their soul.
Oh dear.
But I suppose it's partly true, in a way... I mean, I had made my first ever place of work - a smoothie bar in Clydebank - just the way I liked it. I was the only member of staff who was full-time, and as such I spent 45 hours a week working alone. Yes, it was exceptionally boring and lonely but it did give me an unparalleled level of freedom. There was an organised mess theme to everything. It was kind of like one of those themed parties except instead of a party, it was a mess. It was a system, and I knew where everything was (after an hour or two of searching.)

So imagine my surprise, nay, my disgust when I came in one day to find that not only had the place been tidied but also that every single bloody thing had its own labelled place to be. There was a labelled place in the freezer for the frozen fruit, a labelled place on the counter for the blenders, a labelled place under the sink for the sodding washing up liquid. Christ, the shop had been turned into one of those people who leave sticky notes on the fridge for people to read.
"Hi, I've gone out to get some milk. I'll be back in 30 minutes. Don't forget to feed the budgie."
I didn't care one bit about the budgie, I wanted my mess back.

It seemed that no matter how much of a valuable employee I tried to be the job would continue to break down my spirit and leave me teetering on the edge of the cliff of sanity, the wild sea of mental disability crashing against the rocks below. It became apparent over the months that the reason for this degradation was a subtle blend of a 12-track (I counted) compilation CD and the unimaginable stupidity of the general public.

I think it's a genuine form of torture in some countries to submit a person to a horrible sound looped endlessly for hour after hour, day after day and frankly, with the quality of the Clydebank Shopping Centre PA system, that is exactly what I maintain I was exposed to. Just imagine an album full to bursting with every single song you already hate played with such frequency that you begin to hear it as one painful never-ending loop. Sure, it's ok for the customers who are merely in for a couple of hours at most but it shows such contempt and malice toward the (relatively) innocent shop staff that I oftentimes found myself wondering if there was some great conspiracy regarding the shopping centre management, perhaps in an attempt to keep the general public subdued and thick enough to keep buying - shopping for too short a time to notice the atrocity being committed upon them. Or perhaps I was just a bit paranoid.

Certainly the mind-altering techniques just mentioned could account for the continued idiocy shown by all but the rarest of customers. After five months I had kind of hoped that in all the time I had worked there Natural Selection would have been more apparent and the thickies would have begun to thin out. Alas, people were as stupid on the day I left as the day I started. A tale which will stick with me 'til the moment I die began near the end of a particularly exhausting, eventless day. I was a mere twenty minutes from being able to lock up and go home, the anticipation of doing so almost palpable. Like any respectable shop, we had a charity box. It was small and simply asked for the suggested donation of 20p in return for three sweets from its ratty cardboard bowels. Sounds like a fair deal, no? Well, one guy came up to the counter and stood around for a while. I did the usual routine - stopped what I was doing, went over and asked what he wanted.
"Nothing, I'm just going to get three sweets from your charity box." He explained, as if it were a personal revelation.
Fair enough, I thought (albeit a tad peeved that I'd had to stop what I was doing just to hear that.) So I see the guy put 50p into the box and resolutely return to my business.

A few minutes passed before I suddenly became aware that he was still there. Thoroughly creeped out, I asked if I could help him with something. His answer would shake the very fabric of existence.
"I'm waiting for my change."

In the end what made me leave, however, was not being mentally anesthetized on a daily basis by the cranial downfall of others, nor was it the long, lonely, loathsome hours or the pitifully pathetic pay. What made me leave was the realisation that I had come to rue the sun. In fact this animosity toward something which had previously always been a symbol of joy and relaxation was so intense that I found myself genuinely depressed at the sight of a cloudless sky. Why, you ask? And why indeed! The sun is a wondrous thing, is it not?

It comes down to a simple mathematical equation wherein the number of moronic customers who want cool, refreshing fresh fruit smoothies is directly proportionate to the level of sunshine - the beautiful summer sun revealed as nothing more than the solar precursor of a massive bloody queue.

• Written for a college assignment Dec '09