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March 31, '10 - Wednesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 39 (week 91) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

"There were more changes in C&H's home lately, more reminders that my life is not my own, just a temporary space within their lives. I never knew until now how very important it is to have space all your own, a private place to put not only yourself but your stuff too. Just putting yourself somewhere is shelter, and just putting your stuff somewhere is storage; it is only when you have both in the same place that it will begin to feel like home."

March 26, '10 - Friday - Nvidia series 4 launch, April 12th
Nvidia GTX 470 and GTX 480 cards are now showing up as available for purchase but won't actually be shipping from retailers until April 12th. Here is my take though; wait for the half-generational dye shrink. Right now the cards are rating at 10-15% faster than ATi's 5850 and 5870 cards, but is it worth it? They will be priced higher, and due to being a very large GPU chip they run hotter and the fans will be louder than ATi's offering. While Nvidia offers PhysX and Nvidia's 3D Vision they are behind on multi-monitor in that ATi cards can run 3 monitors while Nvidia's new cards can only run 2 per card, meaning if you want to run a 3 monitor array you'll need to buy two cards, which will greatly increase the cost of such a setup. While it saddens me to tell people they probably want to continue to wait for Nvidia to catch up a bit I just think that ATi has a bit of an advantage at the moment. If you don't have a solid preference on Nvidia or ATi I'd say go ATi now, or if you can wait for the dye shrink and to see if Nvidia can tweak the cards to run 3 monitors on a single card I'd recommend waiting 6-8 more months. It seems ATi continues to hold the advantage for now, but if Nvidia can put out mid-range and entry-level series 4 cards and get the 480 and 470 dye shrink done quickly this Holiday season may see some very strong competition between the two.
March 26, '10 - Friday - the Secret World gameplay video - Link
At long last, actual gameplay footage.

March 24, '10 - Wednesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 38 (week 90) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

"The car is likely dead. I called the repair place to see if they confirmed the issue and they said they couldn't start the car and wanted $200 more just to continue looking. I said I didn't have that kind of money. Who knows how much more it would be past that to fix it. ... Pretty good day today I suppose; good things bad things. I have $800, but my car I loved so much is sold."

March 21, '10 - Sunday - Blu-ray in 3D
Samsung has a few Blu-ray compatible 3D screens out. Peep my home entertainment page for more infos.

March 19, '10 - Friday - Car asploded
Car exploded on Wednesday from overheating. No clue when or how I'll get the money to fix it. It cost $50 for basically nothing so far, and they said they wanted $200 more to keep looking to see if they can figure out what's wrong. I can't afford that. No car for me.

March 17, '10 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 37 (week 89) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

"My life is changing yet still in fragments ... But, things are looking up. I'm starting to re-balance physically, starting to have a chance at re-balancing emotionally, and my allergies in both locations are greatly lessening. Of course the only true way to recover will be financially due to the fact that my life will continually be in flux until that changes. Hopefully that can change soon too."

March 11, '10 - Saturday - Gladiator Duel (PS3) - Link
And here I thought Nintendo would come out with something like this long long ago. I figured a MMOG based on something like this would be pretty cool. I have to wonder though will its difficulty account for people (like me) who already have some real world weapons training or will it just be too easy for such peeps?

March 9, '10 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 36 (week 88) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form. Whoops, I've been forgetting the quote for the week.

"The adjustments to semi-life are strange. ... They'd been considering setting up some space there for desktop gaming or guest console play so I'm sort of in limbo while they decide what kind of monitor to set up and set up the desk they want in that area. ... Such thoughts seem as foreign as sleeping in a bed to me now. Plus I'm a guest peep, so while I have spaces being created and set aside for me I have to wait until those form in the way the peeps who live there want and in their control to be non-disruptive to them. Within a week or so I should be settled in, but as per everything else in my life I will still be enjoying past elements of my life differently."

March 6, '10 - Saturday - StarCraft 2 beta invite - Link
Oooh. I can has StarCraft 2 beta invite; working on finding a system to play from.

March 5, '10 - Friday - Avoid Nvidia 196.75 drivers
The newest Nvidia drivers seem to have a bug which cause them to not correctly cool the cards and overheat in some games (notably World of Warcraft, StarCraft 2 beta, and Warcraft 3.) Best to simply avoid the driver update and stick with the previous version.

March 2, '10 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 35 (week 87) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

March 2, '10 - Tuesday - the Secret World (PC, Xbox 360); artwork and story - Link
More information on the story behind the Secret World and several new art pieces.
February 27, '10 - Saturday - StarCraft 2, semi-official date - Link
[21:25] "We were targeting three to five months for the beta, we're really at a three month period of time for the beta at this point. We are still targeting the first half of this year..."
February 27, '10 - Saturday - Heavy Rain - Link
Only got a short while with the demo so far, but Heavy Rain seems like a really cool old-school 'graphic adventure' type game. If you have a PS3 and like dective / mystery type graphic adventures this demo is totally worth checking out.
February 25, '10 - Thursday - Samsung HDTV update
The Samsung HDTV recommendations on my Home Entertainment page have been updated for the 2010 models which are coming soon.

February 23, '10 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 34 (week 86) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

February 23, '10 - Tuesday - Nvidia series 4 launch - Link
Nvidia has set the series 4 launch for March 26th with the 470 and 480. They have not stated what the exact specs/features are, nor at what price points the cards will launch. (Though DirectX 11 is most certainly in there, and there have been rumors about the abilities to run multiple monitors with SLI configurations in a fashion similar to ATi's Eyefinity tech, including Nvidia's 3D Vision.) I would guess the cards prices at launch will be $400 and $550 respectively cooling within two months to $350 and $500. There has been no mention of a mainstream or entry-level card, so it could be July or later before we see the cards appearing. (I'd guess they would be numbered as 440 and 460 and prced at $150 and $250 respectively at launch.)

February 17, '10 - Wednesday - Facebook and System Recommendation tweaks - Facebook page link
I tweaked the recent system builds due to ATi's 10.2 driver launch. This driver set adds the ability to run Eyefinity with CrossFire configurations. Also, I've created a Facebook page for rabb1t.com. I don't expect to use it much, likely it will just be a duplication of my blog posts, but you never know. Maybe people want to be fans or chit chat or whatever.

February 16, '10 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 33 (week 85) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

"Everything is finally paid and current, save for setting up my eye exam which I won't have money for until my next pay check, if not a bit later than that. (And the oil change I should have done a few hundred miles ago also still needs to be postponed. I still don't have money for that.)"

February 16, '10 - Tuesday - February systems
The next generation of system recommendations has been posted. There really isn't much change from the previous generation, save for the fact that all Nvidia GPU recommendations have been removed for the time being. This is so that every system in the current recommendations is DirectX 11 compatible, as well as having the option for Eyefinity. I am certain by the time I do my next recommendations that we will see Nvidia re-appearing in system recommendations.

February 15, '10 - Monday - V day and Sack peep
Hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day. Here is my sack peep for Little Big Planet. Isn't he cute?!

February 12, '10 - Friday - Little is big - Link
Little Big Planet; so cute and fun a game! I recently set up my PS3 at someone's house who I visit a few times a week (I'm still homeless) and I got the Little Big Planet demo. It was so cute and fun I could not resist getting it once I got my tax return monies. While I'm sure I'll eventually get into level creation, I think I'll be most addicted to the little outfits you can put on your sac peep. If you enjoy platformers, like cute, and own a PS3 or PSP, Little Big Planet is a must buy!

February 3, '10 - Wednesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 32 (week 84) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

"Now I am forced to adapt. I would say I certainly don't feel like I'm changing, as changing is positive, while my adapting to what has become of me is sheer survival. A glimmer of me remians in how I spend my gift money. A glimmer survives in what I can share with others. But I still wonder when I return... if I return... how much of me will truly remain? Will I survive or will so much be forced to adapt that I'll forever be broken and shattered, little more than a ghost of my former self."

February 3, '10 - Wednesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 31 (week 83) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

"I find myself wishing for a good friend tonight; the kind who says, 'Come stay with me until you are better. Not just over your cold, but better overall, for you are my friend. I care about you deeply, but most of all my life would be less without you in it.' Maybe those are words only a lover or parent would say, or a very best friend, but tonight I find myself wondering if anyone has ever said that to me. ... I don't know how many have had someone say it to them, but I'd bet we all have people in our life like that, ones we don't realize we will miss until it's too late, until they are gone."

January 26, '10 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 30 (week 82) / pic series 13 - Link / Pic Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form, and picture series 13. I'll put up a brief weekly excerpt of a few sentences from now on so people know roughly how my week went before they read the complete bla bla.

"I expect I'll be extremely sad again tonight. My life seems extra sad lately because it seems there is no way out, like nothing is improving or changing."

January 19, '10 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 29 (week 81) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

January 12, '10 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 28 (week 80) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

January 9, '10 - Saturday - Eyefinity in the recommendations
I have changed the rank 4 and 5 system recommendations to be an ATi Eyefinity system.

Rumors are that Nvidia is also working on a multi-display configuration and it will work with their 3D Vision technology. Once this releases this will likely re-take the rank 5 spot. Until then Eyefinity systems will likely hold the top spot.

January 6, '10 - Wednesday - Xbox 360 gamertag
I reserved my alternate gaming name "gh0strabb1t" for the Xbox Live network. It may be quite some time before I can get a 360 what with being homeless, but the name is ready to go. The new Game Room feature looks really cool. - Link

January 5, '10 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 27 (week 79) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

Book 2 now has page numbers (which will change as time goes on) and Book 1 has page numbers and is going through the first edit to get it to version 1.0. That should be posted in a week or two, but changes will only be slightly different from what was previously posted.

December 31, '09 - Tuesday - New Year's Time
Happy New Year (and Eve) everybody!

December 29, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 26 (week 78) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form. Hope everyone is having a good Holiday time!

December 22, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 25 (week 77) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form. Happy almost Xmas time peeps!

December 15, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 24 (week 76) / Picture series 12 - Link / Pic Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form. You can has pic series 12.

December 12, '09 - Saturday - Oxhorn's Christmas for Geeks - Link
lawlz, need roll.

December 8, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 23 (week 75) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form. Things take a turn for the worse.

December 1, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 22 (week 74) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

December 1, '09 - Tuesday - Home Entertainment changes - Link
The Home Entertainment page has gotten some updates. Hopefully I didn't miss any Cyber Monday purchases. Happy Holliday shopping peeps!

November 28, '09 - Saturday - Happy Turkey weekend
Happy Turkey weekend everyone. Today may be a good day to meet with friends and have a friends Turkey time; bring some leftovers, bring some movies, have a good time.

November 24, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 21 (week 73) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

November 18, '09 - Wednesday - The first GPU I can't recommend
The ATi 5970 is out and it dominates. Its power would rate even above my '+2 Overkill rating'. However, its size is redonculous at over 12" long. This puts it far beyond the reach of any normal sized case. You would have to have a special case that is rated to accommodate 'extended motherboard' size to be sure you had enough room to fit this beast. As such I'm hesitant to recommend a card with such a great chance of not fitting. Once it comes down in size (if it does soon) I'd be happy to recommend it for extreme builds. For now though I just can't recommend it without a person also getting a larger case to accommodate it. Additionally it's just too much power. You couldn't possible need that much power unless you were running multiple higher res monitors. While someone may be tempted to do this, I really think the tech is too new and games are unlikely to have embraced it.

November 17, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 20 (week 72), picture series 10, and tips
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form. Also, picture series 11 is up. For those WoW fans, my Petraclies' tips file has gotten a massive update.

November 10, '09 - Tuesday - Menu redesign
Menu redesign, woot!
(Ack! Technical difficulty with its size. Tying to fix...
Ok should be all fixed now. )

November 10, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 19 (week 71) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

November 4, '09 - Wednesday - Movie watch
New feature; Movie watch. Never really realized how much I love movies until I started writing Epic Fail. Well, not on a truly consious level anyways. So here are some to watch out for coming soon.

Avatar - looks totally amazing!
How To Train Your Dragon - fun, cute, and silly!

November 3, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 18 (week 70) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form. In the future posting days may change to Wednesday morning.

October 27, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 17 (week 69) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

October 26, '09 - Monday - Epic Fail book 2, picture series 10 - Link
The first series of pictures for Epic Fail book 2 is finally done. Unfortunately the people couldn't bump up the resolution, so the shots are pretty much just for lower-res web viewing. Got a digital camera now, which does shots at some really huge size like 5000x3000, so resolution won't be an issue from now on.

October 24, '09 - Saturday - Generation 10
Due to all of the changes on both sides with graphics lately, and a personal decision to be more flexible with brand choice, I've cut Generation 9 short and I've put up the Generation 10 systems. I've gone back to 5 ranks, as I think these really will cover the highest number of players, while keeping the number of builds focused on being the best they can be for their rank. (Reduce confusion and all.) Note that I've also removed the retired builds section, as I really don't think it's necessary to keep track of that.

October 21, '09 - Wednesday - The future of graphics? - Video and Article
Interesting stuff called Voxel Ray Casting. Don't know anything about it, this is the first I've seen it, but it seems like interesting stuff. The coolest thing is is that model in the video is running on a (higher-end) current generation graphic card.

October 20, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 16 (week 68) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form. Picture series 10, the first for book 2, is ready, but they screwed up the resolution. I won't be able to post it for a bit, possibly until next week.

October 13, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 15 (week 67) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

October 13, '09 - Tuesday - ATi gives DX11 to the mainstream
Today there are new ATi cards on the market; the mainstream offerings of the new ATi 5 series in the form of the 5770 and 5750. After Nvidia just launched their entry level 2 series yesterday, ATi's new mainstream cards further increases the attractiveness of ATi's new DX11 capable cards. While the Nvidia 3 series has some very interesting changes, it will follow well behind ATi's series 5 launch in the early part of 2010. By then ATi may be able to lower prices to offer more competition or even a dye shrunk version of their new cards. I love Nvidia's innovation, I really do. My heart still belongs with them... for the moment. If the series 3 offers innovation that developers simply won't use I may have to change my preferences towards the raw power and better prices of ATi in the coming days. I've always respected ATi for keeping things simple. Their lines have always had fewer offerings, which makes clearly defined lines for consumers to follow in terms of price and performance. I've felt that in recent years Nvidia has simply released too many cards and cycled through them too quickly. It simply confuses consumers. Whatever happens over the next 6 months between these two, it certainly is interesting times for we gamers.

October 12, '09 - Monday - Nvidia refresh?
There have been some rumors lately that the Nvidia GTX 260, 275, and 285 are going to hit "end of life" by the end of this year. If true this is a strong confirmation that there is a refresh coming. I would guess what we will see is something along the lines of a GTX 270 and GTX 290, with the GTX 270 being very similar to the GTX 275 in architecture, but at a lower price point closer to what the GTX 260 is now, simplifying the current GTX 260 / 260 Core 216 / 275 price range offerings. Similarly I'll bet the GTX 290 is very similar to the 285, but with a few tweaks on speed and architecture to better compete with the ATi 5850 / 5870. Note that at this time there are no model numbers or specs for an upcoming refresh. These are just my predictions and price targets based on logical simplficiation of the line and competition from ATi.

October 6, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 14 (week 66) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

September 29, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 13 (week 65) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form. As long as I have class the week likely won't be up until closer to 10:30 (PST) than not.

September 22, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 12 (week 64) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

September 18, '09 - Friday - New AMD
AMD launched a new AM3/AM2+ CPU, so I added back in an AMD build into the system recomendations which was previously removed. Now that price point makes sense again, and it seems that the rank 2 AMD is so close in price to the Intel rank 1 build that you really should just ignore the Intel rank 1.

September 16, '09 - Wednesday - Game watch
The Secret World - PC - A MMO-FPS set in an alternate modern day world which mixes magic and technology. GameTrailer and Interview videos.
Why is it win? FPS type MMOGs are few and far between. Also, being set in a modern world which draws upon myth and legend leaves design open to basically any kind of encounters.
Why could it fail? FunCom doesn't have the greatest track record. While Anarchy Online was a good game and survived for years quite well, it was often plagued by technical issues and a few patches that fundamentally broke the game. Recently they launched Age of Conan, which suffered from a lot of technical issues early on at launch, and was quickly abandoned due to lack of content.
Final word: I think The Secret World is worth keeping an eye on. I have had my eye on it ever since I first heard about it. Although a FPS style game which seems more like an arcade game than a standard MMOG may not be for everyone, it certainly will offer something different to players and may be a very refreshing break from more traditional MMOG design. The choice for a modern setting with Lovecraftian influence is a genre that's wide open and could appeal to a lot of players. I think FunCom has learned its lesson and will wait until they feel the game is polished and has enough content.

September 15, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 11 (week 63) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

September 8, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 10 (week 62) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form. More sad.

September 8, '09 - Tuesday - Intel socket 1156
Everybody hang on, Intel's socket 1156 appears to be launching today. NewEgg has some items up, but they aren't searchable yet. As soon as I can find them they'll be dropped onto the site. It's nearly ready for all the new changes, so it should go up quickly once I find the new parts. Of course this will include new system builds.

Edit 2:00, changes are up. Yeeeaa.

September 7, '09 - Monday - Labor day lawlz - Link
Labor day lawlz from Oxhorn "Work Work, Zug Zug, Dabu".

September 1, '09 - Wednesday - Core i5 - Link, OC Link
Core i5, set to dominate on socket 1156.

September 1, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 9 (week 61) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

September 1, '09 - Tuesday - Socket 1156 approaches
Word is cycling around review sites that there are very solid $100 boards for socket 1156 and we are very near to launch. Keep holding out for the new build peeps, we'll get some great CPU / MB choices very soon that will rival the current socket 1366 stuff at much lower cost.

August 30, '09 - Sunday - Hogger returns to pwning noobs - Link
Hogger returns to pwning noobs at BlizzCon '09.

August 25, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 8 (week 60) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

August 25, '09 - Tuesday - Grunty vs. Zergling - Link
They fight. lawlz ensue.

August 21, '09 - Friday - WoW Cataclysm - Link
Zomg new page for WoW's next expansion. So cool!

August 18, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 7 (week 59) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form, now with tasty nom. There are rabb1t recipies in there.

August 17, '09 - Monday - The Guild - Do You Wanna Date My Avatar - Link
Full of lol and Felicia Day is super hawt!!11!! Support the show, buy their DVD and video and stuffs.

August 11, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 6 (week 58) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form.

August 6, '09 - Tuesday - One step closer to the holodeck - Link
This "Touchable Holography" video is crazy! Woooaahhh!

August 4, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 5 (week 57) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form, now with moar ghost.

July 28, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 4 (week 56) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form. You can has new cover, woot!

July 27, '09 - Monday - Tron Legacy - Link
Zomg the next Tron movie in 3D. So full of win I don't even know what to say.

July 21, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 3 (week 55) - Link
The next week of Epic Fail is up in web and .pdf form. Unfortunately I haven't finished the cover for book 2 yet, so that's still not quite right. Should be ready for next week.

July 14, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail book 2, week 2 - Link
The second week of the second book is up in web and .pdf form. I'll be calling it "book 2" from now on, as I don't know when I'll end the book. Hopefully it will end before a year is up and I'll close it out and move on to a third book *wiggles fingers* ooooh a trillogy. I'd originally hoped that book 2 was about my recovery and settling back in to a regular life, but it's looking like that will be bumped to a third book. *sigh* Anyways, you can has book 2 week 2.

PS - I still haven't done the cover yet, so the .pdf cover is still the one from book 1.

July 14, '09 - Tuesday - Mechwarrior - Link
Woo hoo. Finally a true next game in the Mechwarrior series. Note that's referenced as in game footage that we are seeing.

July 13, '09 - Monday - Petraclies' tips - Link
There were some massive changes to my WoW strategy guide Petraclies' tips. Those following my WoW site should give it a look.

July 11, '09 - Saturday - Core i5 and Socket 1156 sooner rather than later?
The frist of the (Intel) socket 1156 Core i5 motherboards is hitting review sites. It's possible we may see socket 1156 and the Core i5 CPUs sooner rather than later. It wouldn't at all surprise me if we started seeing them around August/September rather than October/November. It could very well be my next generation of system recommendations could have socket 1156 tech.

July 7, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail year 2, week 1 - Link
The frist week of the second Epic Fail book is up in both web and .pdf form. The cover is still the same for the .pdf. I'll change that soon. Haven't had a chance yet.

July 4, '09 - Saturday - Epic Fail book/year 1 completed, sort of - Link
I finally got Word 2007 and the .pdf for "Epic Fail: The Journal of a Homeless Gamer" book/year 1 is complete. Sort of. It lacks page numbers and the final edits to make the pages line up and for the text to not get cut off in funny places, but in terms of text it is complete. What a strange end to the first book - certainly not what I hoped. But you can read about that in the .pdf version now, or you can view the web version. Your choice.

July 4, '09 - Saturday - pew pew 4th
Happy pew pew day everybody.

June 30, '09 - Tuesday - Week 52 - Link
Week 52 is up in web form. This ends book 1 of Epic Fail. For those reading on the web there will be nothing different; year 2 will continue in a week. For those reading the .pdf, well, you can't because it's terribly behind, heh. The .pdf of book 1 should be finished up and current pretty soon though.

June 28, '09 - Sunday - Picture series 9 - Link
Picture series 9 is up. This is the series that includes pictures from my car being crashed.

June 23, '09 - Tuesday - Week 51 - Link
Week 51 is up in web form.

June 21, '09 - Sunday - Dad's day
Happy Dad's day peeps.

June 20, '09 - Saturday - Intel socket 1156 here we come - Link
It seems like the Core i7 will not be limited to the current socket 1366. While it is unknown if such fabulous features that the X58 chipset has like the ability to run both Nvidia's SLI and ATi's Crossfire will also apply to the socket 1156 motherboards, the fact that the Core i7, Core i5, and Core i3 will all be available for the socket is a huge piece of news. Previously it was thought that the Core i7 would be only on socket 1366, while the Core i5 would only be on the socket 1156, thus splitting the market between those who are very high-end enthusiasts and the more mainstream bulk of gamers. By producing the Core i7 for socket 1156 as well Intel can satisfy everyone from those who only use their system to surf the web, to mainstream gamers, to high-end gamers and video production artists. Unless there are some very major differences for the mainstream gamer (on each socket) I again see no reason why I would want to continue recommending the current socket 1366 if the socket 1156 will allow for any of the 3 CPU types while retaining the important gamer features. If prices are lower and purchase options are far greater, then that's the choice we will want to go with. So far it looks like the current 1366 socket will be for super high-end overclocking enthusiasts only, while those who don't overclock would be just as happy with a much lower priced socket 1156.

June 16, '09 - Tuesday - Week 50 - Link
Week 50 is up in web form. Remember, this is the first posting that is in the new dual week format, so the page will be the same as 49 as 49 and 50 both appear on the same page.

June 9, '09 - Tuesday - Week 49 - Link
Week 49 is up in web form.

June 5, '09 - Friday - Epic Fail changes
All of the Epic Fail weekly pages have changed. No content has been added or changed, I just altered it to be bi-weekly instead of weekly. This will make future changes easier, as I have half the number of files to deal with. Note that any bookmarks to weeks you currently have will no longer work. Eventually (probably a few years) these will all be removed and only the .pdf will remain, but for now I just did a little consolidation.

June 2, '09 - Tuesday - Week 48 - Link
Week 48 is up in web form.

June 1, '09 - Monday - New systems, new ranks
I've added some new ranks to the system pages and created a new generation. Some of the systems are the same as ones in the previous generations, some are new, and some are similar with some tweaks. This should provide a few more options for the price ranges and power levels that most people are looking at. Of course people will probably always dwindle the choices down to 2 or 3, so more options are good.

May 30, '09 - Saturday - Early Core i5 preview - Link
Anandtech has put up an early article on the Core i5. For those of you not following Intel's lineup, the Core i5 is the "mainstream" targeted CPU which features the current generation architecture that the Core i7 currently uses. While it is never a good idea to split your current architecture like this as it causes confusion on which CPU, motherboard, and cooler you need to buy, (we saw this kind of disaster before when AMD had the socket 754, 939, and 940) it looks like I may be recommending people look at the Core i5 instead of the Core i7. The article references that the Core i5 will have just about the same power as the Core i7, and work it's way down, meaning lower price offerings and more selections. What is really important to note is that the motherboards will reportedly cost significantly less. While there are a few good choices for Core i7 motherboards - prices are still fairly high for much of the gaming community - something that has a lower price would allow far more to adopt the new hardware. Additionally, these new/current generation CPUs have plenty of power. It's not like we are really taxing the power of the current Core i7 CPUs. We could very easily use less powerful ones in gaming and have plenty of power left over. If this comes in the form of a new socket, then that may be what we have to look at. I will keep a keen eye on things, but it looks like the Core i7 may not so much be targeting all gamers, but the super hardcore overclocker/enthusiast segment (that top 10% or so), while Core i5 will be targeting everyone else. I don't know an exact release date, but I'd guess from the 'quarter 3' reference we are probably looking at sometime during the Summer. It could be we will have a lot more upgrade choices this Winter.

May 26, '09 - Tuesday - Week 47 - Link
Week 47 is up in web form.

May 25, '09 - Monday - Netbook, generation 2, Gaming capable netbooks - Link, Link
The first of the netbooks to use the new Nvidia Ion, the Lenovo IdeaPad S12, has been announced. As I expected, it's a 12" screen at 1280x800 resolution. I was, however, expecting a higher price than it's announced ~$500 suggested retail. It will be out in "late Summer" (possibly August) with a non-Ion based one sooner. This is the first second generation netbook I've heard about which will use the Ion, making it a gaming grade netbook. Will it be enough? Will it have decent framerates? What will the GPU do to the battery life? Will a battery upgrade to the 6-cell be required to make it viable when unplugged? Hopefully we'll know the answers as reviews come out sometime in the next few months.

In other news I'm trying out a new avatar on forums. It's a cute baby bunny. Most people just don't know who Greg the Bunny is, so I don't know if they really get my old avatar. It really only makes sense if you know me and know Greg and realize just how similar we are.

Last, but not least, happy Memorial day.

May 19, '09 - Tuesday - Week 46 final - Link
Week 46 is up in final form. Still just in web form, no .pdf update yet.

May 16, '09 - Saturday - Week 46 partial - Link
Week 46 is up in partial form until this point. Nothing has changed really, this is just an expanded version of my thoughts on the not change to keep peeps updated.

May 15, '09 - Friday - Crash update, or not update
There has been no official offer made for settlement yet. I got a call from the adjuster who claimed my car was totaled and that they'd be making an offer based on that. He estimated $2500 in damages. I talked to a repair shop guy who said they could fix it for me and he estimated that $1k would be enough to fix it. (Which is less than a used car costs around here.) He recommended I look for $1,500-2,000 in settlement, since the high Bluebook value is $1500 and I just spent that $500 on the computer brain. Unfortunately the 'fair' Bluebook is like $600, so it may be quite a battle to get an offer high enough to fix it. I left a message with the special case guy saying I was expecting an offer between $1500 and that $2500 in total damages, so we'll see what, if anything, they say later today. I'm kind of hoping they don't say anything today as that would mean things would be on hold through the weekend and I'd get to keep the rental for that time.

I'll probably drop a partial week of Week 46 over the weekend so you peeps have the full update.

May 13, '09 - Tuesday - Week 45 final - Link
Week 45 is now up in final form. Phew, finally in a rental and things are moving forward for recovery.

May 12, '09 - Tuesday - Recovery day two - Link
Got word from the agent in charge around 10:30 that things are moving forward. It's 1 now and my reseveration for the rental car is in place, win! Things should be back to normal+ by the time you are reading this. Week 45 is updated to 1:30. The end of the day/week will likely not be posted until Wednesday morning, as I likely will have thoughts beyond when I lose access. I have a rental car now, so things are looking up.

May 11, '09 - Monday - Recovery - Link
Update to week 45; I contacted the insurance company of the peep who crashed everyone and they will pay for my repairs after they do an estimate as well as hooking me up with a rental car until mine is fixed. At the time of this update (6:45) I haven't gotten a call back from the person in charge of the case yet. Unfortunately one agent I did speak with said that all parties involved would have to be contacted before they pay out anything or set up rental cars. That's not acceptable , so hopefully I can squeeze the agent in charge to get that going like now, as talking to like five different people and checking all their cars could take quite some time. Week 45 is now current to this point.

9:30 edit - I have official permission to stay in the garage tonight, but just tonight. More about my feelings on that when I update week 45 again tomorrow.

May 10, '09 - Sunday - Tragedy strikes - Link
Tragedy has struck. Epic Fail week 45 is going up a bit early and will be updated when I can, possibly several times a day, to keep people as current as possible. The short version is that while my car was parked someone flipped their car onto it. It was also towed without my knowledge, so I didn't see it myself or get a chance to get anything out of it. Someone else's car was busted up and they had a picture of my car. The windshield is all busted up, as is the hood. It could be just glass and body damage, but I have nothing at all to spend repairing it and it could be a while before the other person's insurance pays for it. I don't know what I'm going to do.

The current version is up to 8:30 PM today. No real change since this morning. No reply from my friend/ex-roomie, though I did get a very helpful donation.

May 10, '09 - Sunday - Mom's day
Happy mom's day to gamer moms and mom gamerz. lawlz.

May 6, '09 - Wednesday - teh Fancy Carrot
My site has a new icon! This is the "Fancy Carrot". A smaller version will now be used on My PC page and on the Home Entertainment page to mark my most favorite choice for each category. This will point you towards what I feel is the "best" item from all manufacturers in terms of performance and features that should provide an excellent experience at a good price. These items will most often be in the higher end of mainstream and lie just short of bleeding edge. If you were to 'add them all up' they would very likely create what I consider the ideal combination without going too far into bleeding edge or high price categories. Of course, if you have the money to spend on bleeding edge, or more expensive items, those recommendations are still there, but I feel the carrot mark will be where most will want to set their sights.

May 5, '09 - Tuesday - Cinco de Mayo and Graphics / Epic Fail week 44 - Link
Happy Cinco de Mayo peeps. I also made some changes to the graphics section on My PC page. Cards are now separated by line spacing by type, and recommendations have been moved next to the card type. This will allow for more detailed descriptions without becoming a wall of text, as well as allowing for more card recommendations without using up too much space.

Also, Epic Fail week 44 is up.

May 4, '09 - Monday - Nvidia series 8 launch event page move - Link
The Nvidia series 8 launch coverage has been moved. Previous bookmarks/links will no longer work. If you would like to see it, it can be found at the new location.

May 2, '09 - Saturday - Home Entertainment changes - Link
Some changes went in to the Home Entertainment page. Some new Samsung HDTV screens came out, so those are all in, and there were a few other minor tweaks.

April 28, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail week 43 - Link
Epic Fail week 43 is up. There is extra fail and double sad this week.

April 26, '09 - Sunday - Nvidia's GT300 chip has CPU brain power - Link
The Nvidia chip for the series 3 (cards which will be labeled as 3xx) has some very cool shader changes as well as now including CPU brainpower. What does this mean for gaming exactly? Well, short term it means a much more powerful GPU, probably allowing for things like pushing out draw distances in games, but long term we could see some major leaps forward in physics and AI.

The series 3 is currently set to launch in October. While model numbers and features have not been stated, we can expect two offerings for the high end, likely a GTX 380, probably in the $400 range, and GTX 360, probably in the $300 range. (Though I'll always lol if they use the 360 name.)

April 21, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail week 42 - Link
Epic Fail week 42 is up.

April 16, '09 - Thursday - No more bar
zomg, my new main, Petraclies, is now lebel 80 in WoW. Woot! On to raiding for me.

April 14, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail week 41 - Link
Epic Fail week 41 is up.

April 13, '09 - Monday - Menu add
Menu change. At the bottom is now a link to take you to a page of various game screenshots. Note that the Oblivion shots have been moved here, so links you may have made will no longer work. Link to the new area if you like though.

April 12, '09 - Sunday - Hop hop hop
Happy bunny day everyone!

April 10, '09 - Friday - Epic Fail pic series 8 and Banning the Monster - Link
Epic Fail week 40 is up.

I've decided to put a ban on Monster Cable products. I used to recommend them, but lately they've been stupid. They are starting to sue people who use "Monster" in the name, regardless of the industry they are in. Suing a mini-golf course and auto parts company is just absurd. So, they have been kicked to the curb and links to their products removed. If you find one, let me know. I'm pretty sure they have all been replaced.

April 7, '09 - Tuesday - Epic Fail week 40 - Link
Epic Fail week 40 is up. Look for picture series 8 on Saturday.

April 4, '09 - Saturday - i can has netbook - Link
I finally has a netbook. Wooooo. No more offline blackout periods. I'm still getting used to it and in the process of finding stable nodes to connect from, but I should have much more access to teh Internets now, and I can update my site without having to wait for a system to do so.

Epic Fail week 39 is up in web form.


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