Regroup and reload

Hails to you all, mighty warriors and dear friends. As the sun rises and sets on the final day of 2004, I cease fire to take a look back at the trail of destruction in our wake.

J bought a house and met a pretty cool girl (welcome once again to the group Lisa!), Eric and Gail took many steps into the process of upgrading their house (and I think Eric got like 6 promotions or something), Lisa (Torch) got an outstanding job offer, Steven got into a lab work program that only a couple undergrads qualified for and has done very well (just watch, he'll eventually make more than all of us), Phil has also entered the world of public accounting...Moss/Adams I think?? Jenny, I'm sure you did some cool stuff this year, but you need to learn to brag a little so we all know about it!! John and Linda finally got their stories straight and are now engaged as well as in the process of buying a home.

Before I crack open a fresh box of 20mm ammo for the minigun, I wanted to take a moment and bow to you all for your accomplishments this year and for being such a kind, fun, and generous cadre of friends. Where ever you are for New Year's, be safe, have a s---load of fun, and I'll catch you all in 2005!

Frispea, the glowing frisbee - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Frispea, the glowing frisbee - Engadget - www.engadget.com Awesome, now we can play frisbee without the hamper of that pesky sun! I'm so there.

MIStupid.com - The Online Knowledge Magazine

MIStupid.com - The Online Knowledge Magazine This is an awesome tutorial website....

Happy Holidays!

From here in warm humid Florida. We are having fun though and there are now pictures up on the website of the first two days.
Christmas Eve Pictures
Florida Christmas Lights Street

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Dungeon Lords

This has the potential of being the next game.

It somewhat worries me due to the 'action' 3rd person aspect of the game, but at the same time it does give RPG progression and options. We'll have to see how it looks closer to the 2/1/2005 release date.

Link

New pictures

I have posted new images in the web gallery:
DJ in Iraq
Long Beach pre-Christmas 2004

UPS Driver Article

That's funny, and ironic.

Link

Engineered spider web

This is kinda cool, I wonder what this means for the future of things like synthetic silks and clothes. I really like the idea of building surgical thread from microscopic silk fibers that can easily be absorbed into the body.
Link

APOCALYPTICA: First-Ever North American Tour

Finnish cello-rockers APOCALYPTICA have announced the details of their first-ever North American tour. Confirmed dates so far are as follows:

Mar. 15 - New York, NY @ Knitting Factory
Mar. 16 - Toronto, ONT @ El Mocambo
Mar. 20 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas
Mar. 21 - San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Mar. 22 - Los Angeles, CA @ Roxy

As previously reported, APOCALYPTICA have set "Apocalyptica" as the title of their new album, tentatively due in February 2005.

Ultra Hybrid

So you all wanted to wait on the hybrids until they were slightly higher performance? Is this one good enough?

Link

Bionic limbs

There is nothing cooler than this. Giving people a bionic limb with sensors and controlled by brain signals. Meaning after losing a limb a person could get one of these and still feel things with that arm. It is right out of cyberpunk.

Link

Nightwish Concert

Where: House of Blues - Sunset Strip
When: May 5, 2005
Who: Nightwish, Sonata Arctica, and a currently undecided opening act
How: Tickets went on sale today at Ticketmaster.com
Why: Because I like my friends, I like Nightwish, I like Sonata Arctica, and it would be awesome to have them all at once!

I want one

Heheheh, those crazy japanese are at it again.

Here is a personal mobility vehicle from Toyota.

Check out this link on Engadget.

Link

cheval noir

Cool female japanese artist. Like most japanese artist though it is a little bit freaky.

Link

Another Zhang project begins filming

Link

Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins new DVD of him in Iraq with the troops is up on Amazon for pre-order. Its called Shock and Awe and comes out Feb. 1.

Alright this would take guts to fly in

Someone actually built an ornithopter and they are going to test it next April.

Hey it if works I'll give them credit.

Link

Microsoft's MSN Spaces

This is microsofts own Blogging service they are putting up. If you have a passport account you can register a space. I created one so check it out here:

Link

It doesn't offer enough features for me to take over my main website, but I do definitely like some of the features. If they could have it post to my website like Blogger does then I would seriously have to contemplate it.

Pictures of Japan

These are from a random post I saw on the internet.

But since we all love Japan I figured I would post a link so you could check them out also.

Link

Cellphone home line...

This is an article about a new product called Merge which lets you hook your Motorola cellphone into it to turn your normal landline phones into using the Motorola phone for inbound - outbound phone calls...

Link

Panda's doing handstands...

An amusing article on BBC entailing the Panda's tendency to do handstands so they can piss on trees higher up to mark their territory.

Link

A safer way to detect land mines?

Boing Boing: Genetically engineered plants detect land mines by changing color...

I still think we should send unsuspecting cute furry animals to detect lland mines but maybe that is my allergies talking.
Link

Apocalyptica

Also from Blabbermouth:

Finnish cello-rockers APOCALYPTICA have set "Apocalyptica" as the title of their new album, tentatively due in February 2005. "In my opinion, our next album comes across like a mixture of 'Reflections' [2003] and the group's current live sound," Eicca Toppinen told Finland's Sonera Plaza. "So I think that we are now about to reach the essence of APOCALYPTICA. So that's why we decided to make the new album a self-titled affair."

SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo will be guesting on "Apocalyptica" on a song called "Betrayal". The track is described by APOCALYPTICA's Perttu Kivilaakso as a "really fast, thrash metal-influenced song."

Some info on the new Kamelot

From Blabbermouth:

KAMELOT have finalized the track listing for their new album, "The Black Halo", due on February 28, 2005 through SPV Records. The follow-up to last year's "Epica" was produced by Sascha Paeth and Miro at Gate and Pathway studios in Germany and features guest appearances by Shagrath (DIMMU BORGIR), Jens Johansson (STRATOVARIUS), Simone Simons (EPICA), Mari (MASQUERAID), as well as the KAMELOT choir, featuring Herbie Langhans (SEVENTH AVENUE), Amanda Somerville-Scharf, Miro, Gerit Göbel, Thomas Rettke (HEAVEN'S GATE) and Elisabeth Kjaernes, among others.

"This will be the second and final segment of the 'Epica' story. However artistically it is a different album altogether. The cover is different, the songs are heavier and the subject is definitely on the darker side of the story. Much like the second part of 'Faust'. Lyrically, there is a finalization of the story and conclusion of the saga. There are many parallels to our own lives today. Religion is a big theme on this new album one cannot deny the role that religion has on current events around the world."We knew that we would record the second part of the 'Epica' story," he continued. "The question was whether to do it now or later. Since the new songs on the album are really a different album from 'Epica' we thought to do it now. The story line continues into the main character Ariel's descent into the dark side of life. We are always changing and evolving with the sound and artwork, so the next release will reflect that. We have a black metal vocalist [DIMMU BORGIR's Shagrath] play the part of Mephisto. Logically."

Megaherz

From Blabbermouth:

MEGAHERZ, the veteran crossover industrial rockers from Munich, will be releasing their fifth studio album, entitled appropriately "Megaherz - 5", on December 6, 2004 via S.A.D. Music. Snippets of all 13 tracks from the album can be heard at this location.

LightSaber remote control

The epitome of geekdom...

Link

Slashdot | Valve Cracks Down on 20,000 Users

We knew this was going to happen.

20,000 people got their Half-Life 2 games locked out. Who knows what percentage of them purchased the game, but wow. That sucks. Especially since the CDKey's they used were locked out and that would mean that anyone who legitimately bought the game who had the CDKey wouldn't get to play.
Link

No Software Patents!

Here is my support of reducing the number of patent hogs in the world. Everyone has their own opinions and I respect all of them.

Sky News - Chinese Farmer Robot Inventor

This is a cool article on a Chinese rural farmer who invents Robots much to the detriment of his monetary position. Pretty cool! That is dedication to invention.
Link

m:50 from Voodoo

The link below shows a picture of Voodoo's m:50 laptop. It is pretty! They are using Carbon-Fiber for the material they build it with. It is ultra-light and ultra-strong.
Link

Airport searches for women

Hey I would be annoyed also if my wife was being felt up because they were afraid she had explosives in her bra...

Link

Dolphins save 4 swimmers from Great White

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Reuters) -- A pod of dolphins circled protectively round a group of New Zealand swimmers to fend off an attack by a great white shark, media reported on Tuesday.

Lifesavers Rob Howes, his 15-year-old daughter Niccy, Karina Cooper and Helen Slade were swimming 100 metres (300 feet) off Ocean Beach near Whangarei on New Zealand's North Island when the dolphins herded them -- apparently to protect them from a shark.

Link

Laser Printers 'secret' encoding

I found this Boing Boing article interesting

Color laser printers add hidden ID number to print-outs
Zach J sez: Colour laser printer manufacturers encode each printout with the printer's serial number so they can trace it back to you if you are counterfitting bills. They can trace it back to you for anything else as well. Oh, and you could of course hack this to give yourself a nice alibi. "Clearly it wasn't MY printer, look at the code!" How long have they been doing this? Why isn't it common knowledge? What other ways to track our lives have been implemented without a big announcement? Link

UPDATE: Anonymous sez: "The answer to the question of how long color laser copiers have been encoding their serial numbers onto their prints is: at least since 1995 or so.

Kamelot

KAMELOT have set a February 28, 2005 release date through SPV Records for their new album, "The Black Halo".

Rhapsody

Italian symphonic metal band RHAPSODY will enter the recording studio together with film legend Christopher Lee to re-record the song "The Magic of the Wizard's Dream" from their latest release "Symphony of Enchanted Lands II - The Dark Secret". The single will be released worldwide early next year. The song will be produced in four different languages (English, German, French and Italian) and will feature a duet by Lee and RHAPSODY singer Fabio Lione. Besides offering multiple versions of the song, such as an orchestral version, two brand new studio tracks will be included. RHAPSODY have been successful for the past seven years and have sold more than one million records throughout the world.

Ah...another jumpy movie for Eric

The trailor for The Ring 2 is up. Looks fun.

New Angra

The new Angra album, Temple of Shadows, has been pushed back so that a DVD can be ready to be included with the special edition version of the album. It is now set to come out in the US on January 11, 2005. Details are sketchy as to what exactly the DVD will contain.

The Samsung Watch Phone

Engadget has a weekly article on cool watches out there. This week is the teaser watch that Samsung has been lording over the world for the last 4 years.

I think all of us at one time or another wanted to have a watch that was also our Cell Phone. Even if I had to use a headset everytime I wanted to make a call I would still go for it.

Link

Try scratching this DVD | CNET News.com

Scratch-proof coating for our DVDs. I know they have tried to sell these CD protectors before which were pieces of sticky plastic that you pasted to the bottom of your CD to prevent scratching, but from what I heard it never did that well.

Interesting none the less.

Link

What is Grouper?

This is an application that allows file sharing, chatting, streaming audio... P2P technology connecting people together. Basically it is a free software that you download and invite people into (not open for general consumption) and then that group of people can do chats or send files to each other... What do you think about trying it?

Link

24k Gold Game Boy Advance SPs

Engadget is running an article on Nintendo's latest marketing scheme. Gold plated Gameboys... Hey at least it has history behind it! The original Legend of Zelda game in a gold cartridge (obviously plastic but the concept is there). So it make sense to all us older gamers that they would try this marketing scheme...

Link

Inexpensive Alienware machine?

Say it isn't so!

Alright so here is the quote from engadget:

You probably know them best for their prohibitively expensive high-end gaming boxen, but Alienware is making a grab for the low-end of the market with the Bot, their new desktop line that starts at $579 after rebate for a model that comes with a 2.53GHz Celeron processor, DVD drive, and an 80GB hard drive. There’s also a more expensive model that costs $754 and gets you a 2.8GHz Pentium 4 chip and upps the RAM to 512MB.

That $754 machine doesn't seen to bad to me. But I'm holding out for the best of the best.

Link

Stoplight to punish suburban speeders

I don't know. I just don't know.

The main problem is I know what is good for the human race and I know what I personally feel about people using technology to restrict our lives.

We should have these types of safety precautions in place. Also stuff like automatic sensors telling your car what is the fastest it can go on a particular street (obviously this would require everyone's cars to be updated and then something to keep us from overriding the settings). But these types of technologies can keep more people alive on the road.

Lets just hope that our government doesn't go 'too' far to bring safety to the people.

Article Link
Image

Neowin.net - Are DualDiscs Safe?

Warner music has put out new disks called DualDisc which on one side has DVD content and on the other side has regular CD Music. Warner Music says it causes no problems but several CD/DVD players have issued warnings about these products. So check it out!
Link

NYT: Britain, France and Germany Announce Accord With Iran

See I don't know about the rest of you, but this just rubs me the wrong way.

How can we want to give rewards to countries for stopping Uranium enrichment. What we are saying is that, you will get money and goods for not becoming a terrorist nation. That doesn't mean they don't know how to make the bomb, just that it will take 2 months for the to produce 1 when we stop giving them 'rewards'. And unless they are very careful the information they do have could fall into terrorist hands anyways.

I know there are 20 other ways to look at this, but that is one way that I don't like. We need to either say, everyone gets the bomb and get our defenses up as soon as possible (which would be catastrophic anyways because nuclear weapons damage the whole worlds environment) or we say no-one gets it but us 'priveleged' people and fight a war on terrorism because everyone hates us for having the 'bomb' hanging over their heads. Or give them rewards as seen above for being good 'children'.

Link

Boston Globe - How 'Dungeons' changed the world

This is an article that Peter Bebergal wrote for the Boston Globe. All of you need to read this because it talks about Dungeons and Dragons. Pretty cool!
How 'Dungeons' changed the world

Playstation Portable

In Japan they have Playstation Portables on display in one of the main Tokyo train stations!

Link

Salon.com Technology | Anda's game

I kinda liked this story (for a short story).

Check it out!

Salon.com Technology | Anda's game

Boeing Successfully Tests Anti-Missile Laser

dankinit writes "MSNBC is reporting that a 'Boeing Co.-led team has successfully fired for the first time a powerful laser meant to fly aboard a modified 747 as part of a U.S. ballistic missile defense shield.' The test called 'First Light' has a budget of $474.3 million in the fiscal year 2005 and is part of a larger $10 billion dollar missile defense system."

[Slashdot] Boeing Laser test

Orcs for President!

If we only knew, we could have voted for this guy! then no one would have messed with America!

Nummy

Trailer for Jennifer Garner's new movie: Elektra

As the Imperial Executioner put it: "Damn I didn't expect that movie to look that good!"

Check out the trailer, it looks like it will be a winner.

Release date: January 14, 2004

Another Competitor for Blu-ray and HD-DVD

[Slashdot] neutron_p writes "New Medium Enterprises unveils the highly anticipated pre-industrial Versatile MultiLayer Discs, the next generation HD Disc & Drive containing 20GB of storage capacity. VMDs use the current Red Laser technology, so it's easier for DVD factories to switch over. The company is set for launching production and sales of 15 GB, 20 GB, 25 GB and 30 GB Discs & Drives by Fall 2005. The drives will be inherently backward compatible with the existing pre-recorded and recordable DVD and CD formats."

MultiLayer Discs

New York Times - Tech in the military

The Pentagon is building its own Internet, the military's world wide web for the wars of the future.

The goal is to give all American commanders and troops a moving picture of all foreign enemies and threats - "a God's-eye view" of battle.

New York Times - Pentagon Internet

There is some funky stuff out there...

A Resident Evil 4 game controller pad...

Engadget - RE4 Game Controller

Passing on from Boing Boing, Save Tomorrowland!

This is a little post on Boing Boing's site about saving tomorrowland @ Disneyland

Boing Boing - Save Tomorrowland

Gorgoroth

Norwegian black metallers GORGOROTH made headlines in major Latin American newspapers after the audience rioted at their show in San Salvador (capital of El Salvador) on Saturday (Nov. 6). According to a posting on the band's web site, "the audience got so ecstatic over the presence of the first black metal act visiting their country that the situation got totally out of control. The security and the police could not handle the people outside the venue so they had to call in the special forces, 'del cuerpo de Proteccion a Personalides Importantes' (PPI). When the PPI reached the venue the masses of people not getting a ticket for the already sold-out show kicked in the entrance door and lots of fighting between the audience began. The audience started to kick in doors and toilets, several injuries occured and major damages to the venue. The PPI decided in the end to use gas on the audience to get the situation under control. When GORGOROTH entered the stage 30 security people had to be on stage preventing the audience to enter it. The fighting [continued] through GORGOROTH's performance and the PPI and the police had to hold the audience inside the venue with firearms to get the band in safety. GORGOROTH [walked away] from the incident without any injuries."

Laptop to drool over

Quoted from Engadget:

Alienware

We know how a lot of manufacturers like to descirbe their laptops as “desktop replacements”, but we sorta think
Alienware weren’t kidding when they talk that way about their gargantuan new Area-51m 7700 17-inch widescreen laptop.
They’re currently taking preorders on this bad boy; we’re almost afraid to ask how much it must cost (or weigh), given
its non-skimpy specs: a 3.6GHz Pentium 4 processor, 256MB Mobile GFX graphics card, full-size keyboard with number pad
keys, built-in four speaker surround sound with subwoofer, 7-in-1 memory card reader, PCI Express, dual hard drives,
two optical drive slots, and up to 4GB of RAM.

500GB Optical Disks....

Quoted from Engadget:

Pioneer has developed a technology that they say will allow them to create optical data storage devices that can store up to 500GB of data, 20 times that of soon-to-come Blu-ray technology.  Ultraviolet lasers emit shorter wavelengths than those of blue lasers, so the data can be
packed tighter on the optical disc. No one knows when Pioneer will have this technology ready to know, but we’ll go out
on a limb and guess that it’s just a few years away.

[Engadget]

Sorry for no posts

The Imperial Executioner has been hanging out at my house the since Friday night and as such there has been no time for posting on the blog. Hope Monday is treating everyone ok!

Cool site from benihana

http://www.japancorner.com/

learn about japan....if you don't know enough already ;)

Two good articles

I thought both of these were really neat.

1) Clocks made out of odd things: Sestka
2) This is just awesome. I so want to hook up this around my house (not that I have a good place for it): Hidden Doors
Is there anything cooler than doors that look like bookcases? Maybe completely hidden doors that blend with the wall, but at the same time, still majorly cool.

For those of you publishing to my blog...

I really like this tool. If you find a better one out there tell me, but I have long ago given up on using www.blogger.com from home (at work I can't use this tool through the firewall unfortunately).

w.Bloggar

Poll...

I don't have one of those cool polling processes, although I could probably build one...

Main Poll:
a) I am posting to infrequently
b) I am posting just the right amount
c) I need to post more items

Sub Poll:
a) Stop posting links ripped from other sites
b) Post all cool news articles you see
c) Keep posting news articles, but also write more of your own thoughts

Thanks! Just trying to find out where people think I should go with this blog.

One of the Oddest Articles I've seen this month...

It's a Sin Not To Do It

One Persons Viewpoint on the Presidential Election

Link

But what troubled me yesterday was my feeling that this election was tipped because of an outpouring of support for George Bush by people who don't just favor different policies than I do - they favor a whole different kind of America. We don't just disagree on what America should be doing; we disagree on what America is.
So, now I am a minority.

Just shy of half of us are in this position. We are numb and bleary-eyed this week. Floundering for how to make sense of a country that doesn’t act like what we think of as America. Trying to understand how religion can be used in ways that seem, well, unchristian. And, wondering just how grave the situation will really get.

I’m not sure how I came to live a life different than the so-called norm, but I do know that when I was very young, I agreed with the people who supported Bush in this election. And, age, open discussion, education, exposure to people different than myself, and travel changed my mind. Perhaps the only answer to a renewed America is a true national discussion instead of each side listening to their own entrenched institutions (media v clergy) and nothing else. More on that in the days to come …

Wells Fargo computers stolen | CNET News.com

Identity thieves may have obtained sensitive information for thousands of Wells Fargo mortgage and student loan customers, after four computers containing customer account numbers and Social Security numbers were stolen recently.

The incident occurred in mid-October, when the computers were stolen from the Atlanta office of Regulus Integrated Solutions, an outside vendor that prints the loan statements for the bank. The computers also contained customers' names and addresses.

Wells Fargo computers stolen | CNET News.com

Eco-Friendly media?

There is an article on Engadget telling how Pioneer has built Blu-Ray disks (27GB capacity DVDs) out of Corn Starch. This provides a renewable resource for our media. Interesting, can we plop it into our stew to thicken up the sauce once we are done with the data?

Pictures

Here are some pictures my boss took of me the Friday before Halloween
Link...

Janis Ian Articles

Adeptio turned me onto this article. I really like it. The article is about free music downloads and the RIAA from the point of view of a music artist.

Janis Ian Articles

Halloween 2004 - iPod Costume

Halloween 2004 - iPod Costume

Interesting psychological blog entry...

This is a pretty interesting article about a couple of tests run by Standford professors...


link...

APOCALYPTICA

A two-minute audio clip of APOCALYPTICA's new single, "Bittersweet", has been posted online at H-I-M666.com."Bittersweet" is the first single off APOCALYPTICA's forthcoming album, due early February 2005.

Nasa better not...

From Slashdot: "While publicly assuring the public that it has no plans to do so, leaks have indicated that NASA has been quietly investigating plans to get rid of the Space Shuttle as soon as possible, and finish the International Space Station with disposable rockets, even as NASA works on achieving Return to Flight in 2005." MSNBC

Beta Test D&D RTS game

DragonShard has a Beta test opening up. It is a Real Time Strategy game based in the D&D world.

Beta Test Site

Anti Fraud

Federal agents and international allies arrest 28 suspects thought to have traded in credit card numbers and financial information. [CNet News.com]

Some people have too much time (like me)

Someone actually ported Grand Theft Auto 3 into assembly code and into a NES emulator... At least that is what I get out of this article.

Geek PS2 controllers

DragonQuest ruled!
Engadget: Link

One Finger Salute

Boing Boing has a post from 10/27/04 about an informative video regarding President Bush link

Political repression in our schools?

Boing Boing: Update on "Kids who support Kerry threatened with expulsion"

They caught me slippin'

Got my car broken into Tuesday night during all the rain. They nabbed the CD player and my little CD folder. I forgot to take the face plate off the CD player. Now all I have to wonder is, was it random chance because my parking space is close to the back wall and the alley, or am I in someone's crosshairs?

Tiny Human Ancestor Found in Asia

Hobbit's?

National Geographic

Valve's latest move to combat piracy

Screw this, they are going to have you register online before you can play.

Half Life 2 pc.joystiq.com

MSNBC - Japan's seniors refuse to grow old

TOKYO - As dawn breaks over the world's largest metropolis, Keizo Miura, a sinewy centenarian, is already dressed in his charcoal gray tracksuit and pumped to sweat.

advertisement

Before a hearty breakfast of seaweed and eggs, Miura races through his indoor exercises, wincing as his neck -- still tender from a collarbone injury -- momentarily reminds him that he was born in 1904. The man who has become a role model in graying Japan sucks it up, shaking off the pain the way he did last year when he skied down Europe's Mont Blanc at age 99. In a Tokyo minute, he is out the front door for his daily two-mile power walk.

more...

A mobile version of Sacred?

We get a look at the mobile version of this action RPG that was originally released on PC. [Gamespot Recent Updates [Previews]]

Nuclear Rocket... ready for Mars?

Cheap nuclear fission engine for space ships:
/. article (that was Slashdot for those who don't know)

Zelda classic

I haven't checked this out yet, but, supposedly this is a PC port of the classic Legend of Zelda NES game. It is supposed to be expandable. I'll check it out later (can't hit it through the corporate firewall)!

Zelda

Amusing Knowledge Base Article

Microsoft People Are Special

New Grave Digger

The new Grave Digger album is called "The Last Supper" and is coming out on January 17 2005.

See through clothes?

Alright the Japanese are different, but all of us guys thought about it as kids.
Engadget

Cool website counting up statistics

worldometers

Dungeon Majesty Mini-Movie

Dungeon Majesty Movie HAHAHA.... really really funny. be prepared to laugh.. (ok, a little bit at ourselves..)

Images!!!

I have posted 4 different sets of images:

1) Karen's house fix up to sell images
2) Adeptio's new abode! images
3) My new Audi images
4) Our new Furniture images

Make a new post

I have added a link to 'Make a new post' on the right hand side. This way you don't have to manually navigate to blogger.com to post (for you lazy people, like me).

New Car

I have officially picked up my new Audi A4. It is really cool! So over the next week or so I'll put up some pictures of it (waiting for the rain to clear).

Warcraft III map for a Sunday spin - PC - pc.joystiq.com

Warcraft III map for a Sunday spin - PC - pc.joystiq.com For you Frozen Throne Addicts... thought you might enjoy... I might even have to break down and buy it one of these days!

Review of the new Megadeth album

Here.

Half-Life 2

Half Life 2 going gold

Swedish gaming girls...

Gaming should be for both genders! I promote female gaming .
CNN article

DS Handheld to be Region Free

I don't know about these Gameboy DS's, I'm more interested in the
Playstation Portable.
[Slashdot]

Hotmail finally delivers...

So after long last, my hotmail account shows as having 250MB available. Could just be a weekend experiment, but I have some hope... Now maybe I won't get my account locked up every few days... Too bad it's a little bit "too little, too late" coming 6 months after Gmail gave me my 1 GB box and several months after Yahoo upgraded me to 100MB.

D&D 30 year anniversary

vasqzr writes "CNN has a story about Dungeons and Dragons celebrating its 30th birthday. 'An estimated 25,000 fans in 1,200 stores celebrated the anniversary Saturday, said Charles Ryan, brand manager for role-playing games at Wizards of the Coast, a Renton, Washington, company that owns Dungeons & Dragons.'" [Slashdot]

This is awesome

This website allows you to search a music artist and get a graphical 3d display of all related artists.

Try it out! Music Plasma

This is cool

Inserts over a window unit that reduce outside noise but still allow air through. Very cool!

Silent Windows

HUD (Heads Up Display)

Mitsubishi's new video headset

My audit score

So my branch got audited today...and we opened a six pack of whoop ass with a 98%!!!!

Space

Wouldn't it be really cool to be able to explore the universe?
Hubble Pictures (Hosted locally)

ChinaJoy Convention + Others

Here is a set of gaming links, things I thought were interesting:

Images from ChinaJoy computer game convention
First Person Shooter, Psychotoxic
Hollywood Actors in EQ2?

Mind over computer

I am quoting this from slashdot:

pchernyakov writes "Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems told attendees at the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation annual conference that a 25-year-old quadriplegic with wires run from 100 tiny sensors implanted in his brain and out to a computer can use his thoughts to control a computer well enough to operate a TV, open e-mail and play Pong with 70% accuracy." [Slashdot]

I still really like this concept

Alienware is putting together one of those DISCover machines. If you
don't know what I'm talking about read this article.

Engadget PC

We have a name!

Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith

The Force.net

SLI back again

Here is an interesting article on the performance scores for 2 Nvidia cards linked together.

Gamespot PC news

Rammstein Lyrics in English

For the curious...

GPopper

For those of us using Gmail, this may be the tool to use Outlook
Express (or whatever other tool you use) to grab your Gmail messages.

GPopper

Amusing A to Zen Japanese dictionary

I haven't gotten past A yet, but I personally like "appearance" and "Asahi Building". Phil, you'll like this.

WITH CORRECT LINK!!!!

http://www.redbrick.dcu.ie/~melmoth/japan/

And the weekend approaches..

ROADTRIP!

The executioner and I will be taking a little road trip to San Francisco this weekend to party with our northern collaborators (Torch, Adeptio, and people who won't get off their lazy butt to post on my site ahem, you know who I am talking about).

See all you people soon!

What are they doing with Half-Life 2?

There are three different pricing packages? This is wierd stuff.

Steam website for pre-order

Play lemmings online

Play Lemmings

Dungeon Siege 2 interview

Dungeon Siege 2

Flu shot or not to Flu shot

The CDC are suggesting that healthy adults not get the flu shot due to
shortages in the vaccine...

MSN MD

If your looking for a way to read in the dark...

I saw this today on engadget and it seems pretty cool.

Kinda expensive but pretty neat looking!
Lightwedge

Oil over $50 / barrel

This sucks... We are going to be paying higher and higher gas prices
again. I was hoping that they were done with that. Time to point my
eye again at the hybrids ;)

Bloomberg - Oil prices

A Perfect Circle

A PERFECT CIRCLE's video for their cover of JOHN LENNON's "Imagine" has been posted online. Check it out: Windows Media (High, Low), Real Media (High, Low).The song comes off A PERFECT CIRCLE's upcoming album, "eMOTIVe", due on November 2 through Virgin. To fit with the LP's political positioning, it features 10 covers of civic-minded tunes such as NICK LOWE's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love and Understanding", MARVIN GAYE's "What's Going On" and BLACK FLAG's "Gimme Gimme Gimme". A video for one of the two new songs on the album, "Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums", is posted on the band's web site. A remix/DVD album, "aMOTION", will be released on November 16.

Acura TL Tweak

This is pretty awesome what they did to this Acura TL. Unfortunately
it appears to not be completed but it seems like an awesome
modification job.

Mp3Car.com Bulletin

No f'ing Way

Please tell me this is a joke:
Gu Comics 9/28

Portable Playstation + Asian Girls...

I know, I know. It sounds like an adult site, or like I'm teasing you... but you should check out this article on Engadget about the release of the new PSP, Sony's very late answer to GameBoy Advance (Or any of the gameboys for that matter)

Howstuffworks goes Medieval

Howstuffworks "How Sword Making Works"

Howstuffworks.com, one of my favorite websites, has given a great primer on making swords. Some of it we all know, but the detail is great! If anyone is writing a story with a blacksmith in it, this is a must read. Who knows, maybe it'll even inspire me. (RSS feed for howstuffworks.com)

Dilbert

Amusing

Dilbert Comic Strip 9/23/2004

MMORPGFPS to use Half-Life 2 Engine - PC - pc.joystiq.com

MMORPGFPS to use Half-Life 2 Engine - PC - pc.joystiq.com

Found this on joystiqs rss feed... sounds like it could be some good fun... and maybe by then I'll have a broadband connection again!

We live!!!

After completely flushing my routers information, I was able to bring it back online, but during that process I lost my IP Address again yesterday. So I have relinked the DNS entry with the website and I am hoping we will be operational for more than a couple of days this time!

A couple links

The official site for the Nightwish singer opened today. Its here.

This is a fun little interview with the brains behind Therion. Its here.

West Wing - Season 3 comes out November 2.

TheForce.Net | Holonet | News

This is 2 really cool articles.. Very neat for those Star Wars fans out there, if Lucas doesn't screw them up...
TheForce.Net | Holonet | News

Wired News: Step Toward Universal Computing

This will make whatever OS you are running unimportant. It is awesome to think that in the future you could be playing a game of (Half-Life 2) against a Linux and a Mac user and see no difference in versions nor performance. Then the computer world is all about 3 things:
1) Price of OS
2) Useability of OS
3) Features of OS

Microsoft may not win that war as easily...
Wired News: Step Toward Universal Computing

Eyetrack III - What You Most Need to Know

Interesting stuff! Basically it is a run down of what most humans view first on a webpage and how people scan a web page visually.

Eyetrack III - What You Most Need to Know

The Site is BACK UP!

It is still recovering but we are mostly good.

Predator: Concrete Jungle won't been seen until 2005 - PC - pc.joystiq.com

Interesting looking game!

Predator: Concrete Jungle won't been seen until 2005 - PC - pc.joystiq.com

Gravedigger

German power metallers GRAVE DIGGER will enter Principal studio in Münster,Germany on Saturday (Sept. 4) to begin recording their new album, tentatively due on January 17 through Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to last year's "Rheingold" will feature "classical heavy metal" material "in the tradition of GRAVE DIGGER," according to a posting on the group's web site.

unfortunate incident

Unfortunately yesterday Gail and I got into an accident on the motorcycle. We are both ok with minor injuries... I will be getting rid of the motorcycle after everything has been repaired/cleaned up. As of right now we haven't decided what we are going to do about a second vehicle, but we'll see as time goes on what our financial situation allows.

Love to everyone,
Shade

Open Source

I just read an article on Open Source development projects... One side of the situation is that companies that stay in business by selling their software are trying to file hundreds of patents that will protect their investments (which stifles the abilities of open source developers to work on projects for fear of a lawsuit). And on the other side of the situation we have literally tens of thousands of open source projects waiting to be worked on. There are those enterprising people who decide they want to develop code on their own time for no financial compensation, wonderful people.

My take is this:

Intellectual rights patents are bologne. We should allow anyone to develop anything they want to, even if it is the same exact application. Where you are going to see the benefits - who makes the interface easier to use, what options there are, cost of the product.

I can understand the fear of getting your newly coded software ripped of by someone hacking into your system (actually in my utopian world up above my guess would be most corporations would be hiring hackers to do just that to their competition). It would suck to devote 2 years of man power to a software product just to have the rug swept from under your feet by a company stealing your code and selling it for half the cost. But I think it would also generate more competition, which would fuel more innovation in the industry. So definitely don't make everything free, but make idea's and thoughts free.

Ahh here is what I think I mean to say. Make patents only good for a finished product and only for very limited time window. Something like - I create a document writer program that has the neat feature of a built in dictionary (I know been done a long time ago). For the first 12 months, no-one can release a product that is similar to that product. After those 12 months the patent is expired. It would fuel the corporations to do constant updates to keep in patent, furthering the software industry...

I don't know those are just my thoughts.

Missing this weekend

I will miss you all this weekend. It sounds like you're going to have some serious fun. I will be moving into my brand new, er, make that 92 year old victorian, house that I will be the proud new owner of as of tomorrow. Here are some pictures (staged, not my furniture) if you'd like to have a look. It's in Oakland, so I guess I'll be up here for a few years yet! Have fun this weekend! Adeptio's Home

Huge LCD Screen on a Digital Camera!

This is pretty awesome!

Oregon Scientific's PV100 digital camera has a very large LCD screen. Seriously. - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Rammstein Video

RAMMSTEIN's video for their new single, "Amerika", has been posted online at Viva.tv. Check it out: Windows Media (Dial-Up, Broadband), Real Media (Dial-Up, Broadband).

Big Fish

NightenGail and I saw Big Fish last night (newish movie by Tim Burton) and we definitely have to recommend it to you all. It was one of the first movies this year that we have seen which truly had an awesome storyline.

Actors were all amazing... We really have nothing bad to say about the movie!

Digital Gaming

Finally after years of the Imperial Executioner dragging his computer up to my place, we had an internet game. Since he has DSL now we had no noticable lag on our Quake 3 game!

DSL Online

I at last join the ranks of those with high speed internet. All I'm waiting for now is Earthlink to reverse the $200 early termination fee they charged me in the process of moving over the account to the correct address. But, overall, big smiley faces and stuff.

Got my dinette set. It looks ok. I have to admit its going to be crowded at my place for this gaming party, so please accept my apologies in advance. See most of you the 29th.

Hammerfall

Hammerfall will be spending all of September and October in the studio working on new material to be released in March next year.

I don't know what's worse, the fact that this guy's insults are right on, or that I have all the albums that these pictures are in...

Mike From Hobart of RuthlessReviews.com has compiled a list of the "Top Ten Most Ridiculous Black Metal Pics Of All Time". The list, which includes such names as IMMORTAL, DARK FUNERAL, DIMMU BORGIR, CRADLE OF FILTH and OLD MAN'S CHILD along with Mike's humorous commentary about each entry, can be viewed at this location.

Aliens vs Predator review

I'll do a better job some day but check it out Here

W Ketchup

W Ketchup

Specialness comes in all sorts of packages... I don't even know if I want to put a link up on the web with this, as it will give more credit than it is due. (Although if it tastes good I'd purchase some) What do ya think Adeptio, should get some from Grandma?

[Gamers Inc.] Awesome site

Tom's Hardware go here


--
Posted by DeathShade to Gamers Inc. at 8/17/2004 07:30:58 AM

At Last...

From Blabbermouth:

German power metallers FREEDOM CALL, who feature in their ranks GAMMA RAY drummer Dan Zimmermann, have commenced the recording process for their new album, tentatively due in early 2005 through SPV Records. No further details are available at this time.

Wired News: Turning Slackers Into Workaholics

Wired News: Turning Slackers Into Workaholics

I like Gene Therapy. I think it is part of our key to the future.

AvP

This weekend is the supposed release for Aliens Vs. Predator. NightenGail and I will be down on Saturday afternoon. Lets make a group thing of it!

A special mission

So I got a call on Friday from the division manager I work under. It seems that there's a branch that needs some major help...and fast. They've got an audit in two weeks and they failed their last one. I start Monday. It also seems that I might end up working at that office, depending on the fate of their current manager. More on this as I discover it myself. The cool thing (besides more money) is that this is a full size branch, and those are closed on all federal holidays and Sundays...more time off for the friends.

In other news, in 10-12 working days, my DSL should be transferred from my parents' house to mine.

Rammstein

RAMMSTEIN's song "Mein Herz Brennt" is featured in a Mercedes television commercial which has been airing on British television. The commercial, which includes "breath-taking special effects" during the breaks, features the driver of a Mercedes Cabriolet fleeing from two battling "Cloud Gods". More information about the commercial is available at this location.

RAMMSTEIN's latest single, "Mein Teil", entered the German singles chart at position No. 2. A video (Windows Media, Real Media) for the track was shot on June 2-3 in Berlin, Germany. A fifty-person crew and director Zoran Bihac, who also directed the "Links 2,3,4" clip, realized the concept for the video together with the band.

The Joys of DSL: Chapter 2 - The Epiphany

So I finally found someone at Earthlink who could tell me what went wrong. Despite the fact that I gave the sales person my new address and phone number, as well as changing them both on their website, they set up the DSL at my old address and phone number. Thus the battle for DSL rages on.

RE: Doom 3

I’ve actually had Doom 3 since Monday night.

The Graphics are beyond amazing. They are in all honesty, unbelievable in a computer game. If you saw the movie ‘Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within’ and thought the graphics were good in that movie, I would say that the graphics in this game are on par if not better.

The game blows away most horror movies I’ve seen as far as immersion. You have to compare it with some of the best suspense movies in the genre. I would say Event Horizon actually is pretty comparable for the suspense.

Gameplay: Smooth, if you are a fan of the FPS genre you will feel at home with this game.

Graphics: The full potential of the graphics hasn’t been realized because the systems today don’t have the CPUs / GPUs powerful enough to truly max out the graphics. Although on my system which is almost 2 years dated it still looks visually stunning. They do a LOT with dynamic lighting. Everything object has texture. Literally if you see a pimple of a person’s face it can give off a shadow. There are some still cheesy things, I have only noticed this in the multiplayer maps but like the outside environments were obviously just pictures and not full 3d rendered objects going beyond say a window. I don’t know how that is going to play out in the actual single player experience because I haven’t experienced it.

Sound: Very atmospheric, at various times during gameplay it will have a radio communication link establish and you will hear people talking and screaming (lots of death). I was standing in a room and I heard someone say ‘help me’ very quiet with a kind of a moan. And I couldn’t tell where it was coming from (don’t have 5.1 set up), and I just sat there looking around then after a minute I looked up and there was a body suspended on a rope, and that was the person who was asking for help. Of course I had to shoot him then but ya know ;).

Overall:

The game scares the crap out of me. I am not a fan of horror films, never have been. I am forcing myself to play this game for 2 reasons:

1) It is just so awesome in its technology that I am amazed every minute I am playing it
2) In all honesty, it is a fun, challenging game.

9/10 in my opinion.

Thanks,
Eric

This is a really cool concept...

Computer / Monitor in one
If it had the ability to end user upgrade video card and memory this would be awesome... But I doubt it will have that.

The Joys of DSL - Chapter 1: The Beginning

Hopefully, there won't be many chapters, but I expected trouble from the beginning. Got the modem today and there is no DSL signal at all on my phone line. My next day off being 6 days away, I continue to be limited to 20 hrs/month dial up until someone can come and fix me up...and of course, because tech support is in India or something, half the time you're disconnected after being on hold for 15 minutes. Future chapters of "The Joys of DSL" will appear as the struggle for high speed internet continues. Stay tuned...

BTW, I loved the British/German/French joke.

Heaven and Hell Joke

A coworker told this one to me today.. It is hilarious.

So in heaven:
The British are the police
The Germans are the engineers
And the French are the chefs

In Hell:
The Germans are the police
The French are the engineers
And the British are the chefs

... Gotta love that British food.

This and that

• The USA released date of the next full length Rammstein album, called "Reise Reise," has been set for November 2.
• A review of the new Kittie album can be found here.
• Information on the next full length Rhapsody album is up on their site.
• Congrats on the new job Phil!!
• DSL modem is still MIA
• Got my entertainment center...perfect except its a little darker than it looked in the store, not that that's bad, it just doesn't quite match everything else. Dinette set is still MIA
  

Doom 3

I have acquired my pre-ordered version of Doom 3. The graphics are amazing. But I don't know if I can handle the 'jump' factor. This is one scary ass game. Steve, Scott.. You have to check it out.

A little bragging

Just wanted to let everyone know about my branch audit last Thursday. All the bank branches get an interal audit once a year. Mine got a perfect score...only 4 others in all of California can say that.

Dimmu Borgir Drummer

Here's a little information on the new Dimmu Borgir drummer...

In a short note Silenoz confirmed that the new Session drummer for Dimmu Borgir is Danish drummer Reno Kiilerich. Kiilerich is widely considered to be one of the most skilled speed/grind drummers around, having won the title "fastest feet in the world" with more than 800 hits on the pedals in one minute at the NAMM music convention in the U.S., according to published reports.

Vacation...or wet dream???

And these are things i learn while watching The View @ kinkos during break!

Incredible Adventures Covert Ops
Takes place outside of Tucson, Arizona
Teaches covert methods used by intelligence agencies/special forces
Great fall getaway
High-tech spy adventure

The Four

I know it's not my drawing, and i'll probably paint one (or one for each) of the four horsemen, but until then, enjoy this one!

This land is whose land?

JibJab.com Really really funny parody of current presidential campaign. They've received a disist order to take it down, so y'all should check it out soon in case they actually listen.

Summer Blockbusters

For the first weekend in a while I don't want to see any of the new releases. I am unhappy with missing the Bourne Sepremacy last weekend but I'll probably catch it sometime...

But now this is going to rule!

RSS Feed of DeathShade.com

For those of you who don't know what RSS is. Basically it allows an external program to pull down say the latest headlines of a news website. A lot of sites are now supporting RSS feeds (CNET, Wired News, Slashdot, etc) and since Blogger comes builtin with the feature, I figured I would make a link on the main page. So if you scroll down and look at the right, underneath "I Power Blogger" is a little image "XML" and that is a link to my feed.

If you want to know more I have a small webpage up that deals with RSS info:
RSS Info

New Menu

Please give me input on the new menu. I am trying out Style Sheets and getting rid of all Javascript I can. Trying to provide better browser support.

JET Programme

Very very interesting program that one of my friends back in Miami is trying to get into.  Phil and Jenny, you might want to do this.

Angra

At last, they've announced the info on the new album:
Its called Temple of Shadows and is coming out in September. Their last album, Rebirth, was released way back in 2001. People from Blind Guardian, Edenbridge, and Gamma Ray make guest appearances on the new album.

I LIVE!....again

So I decided to reactivate my blogger account again and post something.  I don't really have anything important to say at the moment (besides for the fact I don't want to go to work at 9:00).  

Artwork added

I have added 3 new pieces of NightenGails artwork up under the 'Artwork' link on the left. See if you can find them ;) I'm going to try to roll out a 'date added' info under each picture but I don't know when I'm going to get around to that.

(edit)
Correction, I decided to try and see how difficult it would be to add the date, and it is done! So you can see which ones were added as they were scanned today.
(/edit)

For theose of you with high speed internet

ARCH ENEMY's French fan club, The Dark Anemy Fan Club (web site), have uploaded a video of the band performing the track "Dead Eyes See No Future" on their most recent Japanese tour. Download the MPG file at this location (85.5 MB).

Internet FAQ Archives

http://www.faqs.org So y'll may
have seem this before, but I hadn't and thought I'd share... It has
FAQs on everything, including Chocolate, Digital Cameras, Cats, Puerto
Rico... The Annotated "American Pie" !!! Some people have too much time
on their hands... so, if you ever had a question, this site may have an
answer.

Fallout 3 info

Being developed by Bethseda software it is looking like a good follow up for the series...

Fallout 3 Interview

Doom 3 demo

Neato... We shall have a Doom 3 demo in the near future.. I already have the game on Pre-order and am much looking forward to it.

Doom 3 demo info at Gamespot

9000 BTU

For my more hot blooded friends, I post this message. My apartment is now equiped with A/C.

Jag Panzer

Two tracks from the forthcoming JAG PANZER album, "Casting the Stones", have been posted online at the group's official web site. The songs available for download are "Battered & Bruised" (mp3) and "Legion Immortal" (mp3).
"Casting the Stones" is scheduled for release in October through Century Media Records.

Rotting Christ

Greece's ROTTING CHRIST have amicably parted ways with longtime guitarist Costas due to "personal reasons." A replacement guitarist has yet to be announced. ROTTING CHRIST have set "Sanctus Diavolos" as the title of their new album, tentatively due in September through Century Media Records.

BBC NEWS | Technology | New PlayStation set for May debut

Article : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3886991.stm If you read the article, it seems we may not see the real thing until 2006...

...and there was blood everywhere

The rumors of my relocation are true. Pending the arrival of two more furniture pieces, the place will be fully armed and operational. So far, all has gone well, and there has been almost no interruption in the death and dismemberment. The only downside is that, for the first time in my life, I think I want air conditioning more than Mr. Deathshade. Visitations are welcomed and requested.

Move Complete

So the Imperial Executioner has completed his migration to the new dungeon that was built for him. I hear that wiring through the stone walls has been a problem so he probably won't be connected to the internet for a couple of days. I did see that he has unpacked the more brutal tools of his trade though, so I expect his business to continue as normal starting today.

Anybody know anybody who wants a Dell laptop docking station?

Crimson's Website now being hosted

Finally added his site onto my menu. So you can now access it from the main page.

Sonata Arctica

Finnish melodic metallers SONATA ARCTICA have set an October 11 European release date through Nuclear Blast Records for their new album, "Reckoning Night". The album will arrive in Japan on October 6. Mastering will take place on Monday, June 28 and shortly after that the band will start rehearsing for the summer shows, according to a posting on their web site.

Here's some info on an all-female fronted CD and DVD compliation.

A Review of the new Borknagar Album

A review of Borknagar's new album "Epic."

Depp as Ozzy??

Sky News is reporting that actor Johnny Depp is understood to be in talks to play Ozzy Osbourne in a film about the rocker's life.

In an interview with Kerrang! magazine, Ozzy's wife Sharon said nothing was 100% certain.

But she said the former BLACK SABBATH frontman was talking to the "Pirates of the Carribean" star about the role.

Sharon also hinted that Ozzy, who was badly hurt in a quad bike accident in December, might retire in a couple of years.

Depp is currently spending most of his time in France with model partner Vanessa Paradis and their two children.

Rollins

Punk rock icon Henry Rollins will be issuing a DVD of his March 2004 spoken-word performance from his "Shock and Awe ... My Ass" tour in November through the artist's own 2.13.61 label, according to Billboard.com. Titled "Shock and Awe", the disc was shot in high definition at Seattle's Moore Theater and includes material gleaned from USO tours to Afghanistan, Qatar and Kyrgyzstan in late 2003.

Rollins, who made a trip to Iraq and Kuwait in May to perform for American troops, is planning a USO trip to Honduras in the near future, according to Billboard.com.

South Korea's digital dynasty | CNET News.com

I like this article. It is pretty fun.

South Korea's digital dynasty | CNET News.com

Manson in a movie

World Entertainment News Network is reporting that Marilyn Manson's make-up-free performance in the upcoming movie "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things" has been hailed a triumph by the writer, who labels the singer "fantastic."

The Asia Argento movie — in which Manson stars alongside Hollywood stars Peter Fonda and Winona Ryder — features the controversial heavy metal icon without his trademark face paint, and his acting skills proved to be a hit with the film's crew.

According to author JT LeRoy, who wrote the book on which the film's based, admits any reservations he had about having his character Jackson portrayed by Manson were soon abolished.

He says, "He's just fantastic in this film. It's a really hard film, and it's a really hard role. People usually like their demons straight up; they don't like it when they're made sympathetic."

"But there's a pathetic/sympathetic thing to that character, and he really pulls it off."

Movin' Out

I saw the place today and it looked very good. I'll be signing lease papers on June 20. There will be alot of furniture shopping to be done after that time, so I don't think any moving will start until the week of July 4. I've got the 4th through the 10th off. More on this as the 20th approaches...

A possible delay for the Blind Guardian DVD, but for a good reason:

BLIND GUARDIAN fans from all over the world are imploring the band on their official forum to issue an extended version of their brand-new live DVD "Imaginations Through The Looking Glass", scheduled for release on June 14 through Virgin.

The extended version would contain all the missing songs the band played on their own festival in Coburg, Germany last year plus the "fan-choirs," announcements and mistakes, without any cuts and corrections.

In total, the set would contain 3 DVDs, one with Day One of the festival, one with Day Two, and the third would be the normal bonus disc and would be released about half a year or a whole year later.

Apartment news

So today I put a deposit down for a place just off Del Amo and Cherry. I walked through a model, but the place I'd get will be a little different. It will be ready for viewing this Thursday. If it looks good, then I will have myself an apartment as of June 20.

New Movie Review

I have put up a movie review for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in our Movie Reviews page! Awesome movie.

See the review

Borknagar

From Blabbermouth:

Norway's BORKNAGAR have commenced work on their debut DVD, tentatively due after the release of their seventh album. "We got lots and lots of video material from the recordings of 'Quintessence', 'Empiricism' and 'Epic'," drummer Asgeir Mickelson writes in an online posting. "We got all shows I've played with the band (some shows with three cameras running), and we've got a lot of stupid backstage and touring stuff. Øystein has a couple of hours from the US tour but we need more — especially bootlegs from the '90s! We are basically looking for as much video material as possible so let us know what you have! Did you smuggle a camera into a BORKNAGAR show? Let us have a copy of it! Bootlegs are welcome!!!"

BORKNAGAR's sixth album, "Epic", is scheduled for release on June 21 through Century Media Records. A limited edition version of "Epic" will include a classy slipcase packaging as well as a "making of" studio-video enhancement. The album will be released on LP format as well.

And The Search Begins...

So this morning I looked at an apartment near Phil and Jenny on Banner. It had pretty much the same floor plan as theirs. I'm going to take a look at a couple more on Banner and a couple on Carson before I sign anything, especially because they want a 1 year lease for this one. More on this as it develops.

Kittie

From Blabbermouth:

The video for "Into the Darkness" will have its world premiere on MTV2's "Headbanger’s Ball" on June 19. This episode will also be hosted by KITTIE. Following the "Headbanger's Ball" premiere, the video will then be serviced to other major market and regional video shows. The single is set for impact on radio on June 29. "Until the End", KITTIE's third full-length, will be released July 27 on Artemis Records.

Doom movie switches studios - PC News at GameSpot

Nummy... This will be a horror movie I will go see.
Doom movie switches studios - PC News at GameSpot

Free Riddick sneak preview

http://www.avicn1screening.com/GetTickets.aspx They are doing a free screening of Chronicles of Riddick in select cities... looks like there is one in LA...

Motorola V600 (unlocked) - Cell phones - CNET Reviews

Interesting on this one... It allows MP3's for your ring tones.. How would you like to have any music of your choice be your ring tone?

Motorola V600 (unlocked) - Cell phones - CNET Reviews

ATI admits to same "tricks" as Nvidia - News at GameSpot

Ouch this is a blow to their reputation, of course both companies are punks.
ATI admits to same "tricks" as Nvidia - News at GameSpot

USB drives review

Ars Technica: USB 2.0 Hi-Speed drive review(6/2003) This is some good info on USB flash drives.

Iron Savior

According to a posting on IRON SAVIOR's web site, Noise Records is currently making available for download six complete tracks (including silly mid-song commentary from bandmembers) from the group's forthcoming album, "Battering Ram", due on June 21.

"Battering Ram" (view cover here) was produced by mainman Piet Sielck and is the follow-up to "Condition Red", which was released in 2002. The complete track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Battering Ram (mp3)
02. Stand Against the King (mp3)
03. Tyranny of Steel (mp3)
04. Time Will Tell (mp3)
05. Wings of Deliverance (mp3)
06. Break the Curse (mp3)
07. Riding Free
08. Starchaser
09. Machine World
10. H.M. Powered Man

A big happy birthday to Mr. Deathshade from all the victims of the Gallows of the Imperial Executioner. May your reign of darkness and onslaught continue in all its splendor for another year.

A little bragging

Last night my budget for the church/school was passed by the congregation without any changes. Weighing in at just under $3 million, it was quite a project.

Game Review for Warlords Battlecry 3

Is now up under

Game Reviews - Warlords Battlecry 3

Shrek 2 Review

I have put up a new review for Shrek 2 on the 'Movie Reviews' section of the website. I give that movie a 9/10 it was a ton of fun.

Cable Modem News

So the Time Warner representative showed up today to look at the cable modem to find out why I was dropping off so often, well we found the issue.

Basically on the back of my place where the cable line runs from the central box to my place is a splitter. One going upstairs to where the computer room is and one going to the living room for the TV. The line going from the distribution box and the splitter at the splitter end was almost completely deroded. Instead of being a copper wire, it was a black nasty wire. So although I was getting cable connectivity, it was very easy to disrupt and wasn't nearly as clean as a cable modem would desire.

We replaced that connection with a new one and internet is faster than ever on my systems.

Thanks Time Warner! ;)

Rammstein

Rock Hard magazine is reporting that RAMMSTEIN's follow-up to 2001's "Mutter" is set to be released September 20, 2004. The first single, entitled "Mein Teil", will arrive on June 21 — one week later than the originally announced June 14 release date. Rock Hard has also reportedly stated the following about the album's musical direction: "Less 'industrial' and more organic, and with frontman Till Lindemann and drummer Christoph Schneider stretching themselves further than ever before, this is RAMMSTEIN honing their craft to the very finest of points... as on first single 'Mein Teil' ('My Part') , which spectacularly shows off the band's trademark blend of musical power, haunting melody and willingness to deal with issues that many would find too difficult or disturbing."

Networking: Can't connect to www.symantec.com (everything else is OK):

"If you take this file, http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.txt and put it in place of your hosts file (removing the .txt) then it will block A LOT of advertising, spyware, viruses, malware, and general cr@p. "

Hank

Punk rock icon Henry Rollins will be taking over the airwaves of Los Angeles' Indie 103.1 on Mondays in the 7 to 9 p.m. slot beginning on June 7. Rollins will reportedly offer opinions and music from his own collection on the program, which debuted on May 17. To listen in, click here.

In other news, Rollins recently confirmed plans to participate in a USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tour of the Persian Gulf as part of May's National Military Appreciation Month activities, according to Billboard. The singer, author, actor and monologist, who traveled to Afghanistan and Qatar last December as part of a meet-and-greet with troops, will again offer a boost of encouragement to soldiers stationed in the Gulf.

Comments

I've done more changes the comments section. It is working better now I believe. When you click on the Comments link it will open a new page. Instead of a back to main link at the bottom I replaced it with a button to close the new window. When you click post a comment it will redirect to blogger. I believe the frames was breaking the login and it works now.

You see, the cable modem was actually a distraction so that the FBI guys would know where you were in the house. The rest of your house is probably bugged now.

Outage

My Apologies this morning.. My cable modem had a little outage so I had no website connectivity from approximately 9AM - 12:30PM.

Alienware doubles up, twice - News at GameSpot

Can you say EXPENSIVE!!! But extremely awesome architecture...

Alienware doubles up, twice - News at GameSpot

DISCover unveils new partners, console prototypes - News at GameSpot

I think this is an awesome idea. Basically a small console like machine that has built in software to manage game libraries and driver updates and security patches all without you ever having to do anything...
I would keep my standard desktop for doing stuff like development work, but it sounds like an awesome idea for a dedicated gaming machine for the PC. And if it ushers in a new era of PC Game Titles than the more power to it.

DISCover unveils new partners, console prototypes - News at GameSpot

New Dragon Age details emerge - PC News at GameSpot

Seems to be interesting...

New Dragon Age details emerge - PC News at GameSpot

Has everyone seen the new Artwork gallery

This is written with dynamic file resizing and grabbing. Hopefully to
allow my Wife to post more pictures up this summer with little effort.

Comments...

I played around with it and it appears to be working now.

Go ahead and try publishing comments again.

Love the new template! Don't love the new Blogger site, but I s'pose I'll get over that.
Back to work.. :-P

The new look

Feedback? Screw feedback! This looks so dark, cold, and organized. Its perfect. Just for that, I'll let you know that Oratory finished pre-production for a new album, as yet untitled.

[Shade's Page]

For those of you who are blind, I changed the template on my blog. I like this new one it has a lot of features like, comments, and better archiving.

I'll definitely take feedback!

For those of you who like Real Time Strategy...

Empire Earth was a revolutionary game for RTS in general, it introduced multi-era gameplay, going from pre-historic to post-modern times. You had anything from stone throwers (gimps) to Cybernetic Battlemechs (ouchie). So hearing that they are continueing the series, and hearing what they are planning for the sequel, this is looking very good.

Empire Earth 2 Impressions - Empire Earth 2 Previews for PC at GameSpot

Broken 1000 hits huh? Get down with your bad self.

Here's some stuff from Blabbermouth:

Swedish black metallers LORD BELIAL have scheduled a release party for their fifth album, "The Seal Of Belial", on June 18 at FATclub in Malmö, Sweden.

Due on June 21 through through Regain Records, "The Seal Of Belial" was engineered by Nicklas Rudolfsson and Andy La Rocque (KING DIAMOND) at Los Angered Recording studios in Gothenburg, Sweden and was mixed by Andy. LORD BELIAL were recently rejoined by original drummer Micke Backelin following the departure of Daniel Moilanen

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DIO have set "Master of the Moon" as the title of their new album, according to www.gryphonmetal.ch. The follow-up to 2002's "Killing the Dragon" is currently being recorded at a Los Angeles studio for a tentative July release through Sanctuary Records in the U.S. and SPV in Europe. The U.S. tour is expected to kick off on August 22 in Seattle and conclude in New York.

In other news, the second installment of Ronnie James Dio's "Hear 'n Aid" project is reportedly in progress, with Ronnie having already completed work on the basic tracks. A release date for the CD has yet to be announced.

In a brand-new interview with the Dio Message Board, DIO guitarist Craig Goldy spoke about the new album in progress. "Right now things are good," he said. "It's an interesting time with [bassist] Jeff [Pilson] finishing up and Rudy [Sarzo] coming in. We've all known both of them for many years so it's fun and exciting. We're in the studio working as quickly as we can."

With regards to the "Killing the Dragon" album, which contains some material written by him but with guitars done by Doug Aldrich, Goldy said, "I think it's a great album. Would it have been different [with me]? Probably, simply because Doug and I are different players. Not to say better or worse — Doug is a fabulous player. Just different."

Sony Fully Editable Remote

I'm suprised this isn't the one you're jumping at..

Visual Basic: Visual Basic At The Movies

If anyone is interested you can go to http://msdn.microsoft.com/vbasic/atthemovies/ watch a bunch of movies about visual basic, review them, then get a free copy of visual basic . net 2003.

You know, I don't dislike the new Blogger layout but it is definitely different.

In other news, I will definitely be watching closely on that new Iron Savior album. Their last album was excellent.

Here is a nifty new gadget I'm looking into, found it on CNet...
Harmony H688 Universal Remote

With the 5 remotes I have right now it would be a very useful item.

Ewww, what a funky new design for Blogger.

Anyway, hails to you all. Iron Savior is coming out with a new album called Battering Ram with a European released date of June 21. US release date will probably be a few weeks later.

From Blabbermouth:

A brand new MEGADETH song, entitled "Kick the Chair", has been posted at this location.

"Kick the Chair" comes off the group's as-yet-untitled new album, tentatively due in September through Sanctuary Records.

Commented MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine: "This is for the 95% of the people here who are my friends — the people who, even if they don't agree, they are still decent. This is for the people here who set us apart from the rest of the net, all of the fan sites, chat rooms, and forums.

"This is for you, my fans — because after this, there will be no more doubt who I am.

"This version of 'Kick The Chair' is a final mix, but is not the 'master' that will be on the new record.

"Please enjoy this and know that I love you all, even the assholes."

Interesting concept. A 3d user interface for Windows... I like it.

Not all will see Longhorn in 3D | CNET News.com

A review of the upcoming Therion double CD album...well, its two albums they say, but the first run will have them both together.

Wow this is insane, how did this guy survive?

Man with Nails in head

In Order:

• I don't like Live CD's. Why would I want to purchase the music I already own, in worse quality format, without imaes. Now Live DVD's can be fun.


• I wouldn't mind seeing Evanescence in concert, but having to wade through the prep's would suck.


• I'll have to check out those MP3's when I get home (work blocks them) Although I'm getting tired of Metallica rip offs


• Now that person is messed up. I just don't understand why you would say to yourself. I want to go to jail, so I'm going to beat this person.

I guess I'll have to wait a while for a new album...

GORGOROTH singer Gaahl was sentenced Tuesday (May 4) to 18 months in a Norwegian prison on charges that he beat a 41-year-old man in what the victim called a ritual attack.

The 28-year-old black metal vocalist, who has several prior convictions including one for assault and battery, was sentenced at Sunnfjord court in Forde, Norway. In addition to the prison term, Gaahl was ordered to pay 75,000 NOK (approximately $11,000) to the victim, plus an additional 29,000 NOK (approximately $4,300) in damages.

The court's sentence matched the recommendation from prosecutor Ronny Iden, who took into account the fact that Gaahl had a prior conviction for assault. In that 2001 incident, Gaahl brutalized his victim for hours and was sentenced to one year in prison without the possibility of parole. In addition, he was ordered to pay 158,000 NOK (approximately $23,000) in punitive damages. "Two people have had their lives irreparably shattered by the defendant's actions," the court said in the written sentence.

Gaahl, who appeared in court wearing a black GORGOROTH t-shirt, a leather jacket and a Thor's Hammer necklace, was accused of performing ritual violence that included collecting blood from his victim and drinking it. The victim, whose identity hasn't been revealed, was hit and kicked several times in the face and head and needed stitches to close cuts in his head. His nose was broken and he suffered major dental damage.

BEATALLICA, the Midwestern band which "covers BEATLES songs in the style of METALLICA, infusing the lyrics and arrangements of Fab Four standards with wonderfully unsubtle references to METALLICA's songs and a spot-on imitation of James Hetfield's distinctive vocals" (Ice magazine), will be making their live debut on May 31 at BalloonFest in El Paso, Texas. The show, which is being hosted by KLAQ-FM, will be "the first gig out of hopefully many more to come!" according to a posting on the band's web site.

As previously reported, BEATALLICA recently uploaded their new eight-song EP at this location. The self-titled effort contains the following track listing:

01. Blackened the USSR
02. Sandman
03. And I'm Evil
04. Got to Get You Trapped Under Ice
05. Leper Madonna
06. Hey Dude
07. I Want To Choke Your Band
08. We Can Hit The Lightz