[RVN] 6raVIty

I remember when the JS "These Boots" music video came out a few years ago, I was flipping through VH1 right before work and the video (which I hadn't seen previously) ended up making me a couple of minutes late (I realize there's a huge opening there for a joke, take it if you'd like). My supervisor tried to give me a little hell for it, but I assured him when he saw the video, he would understand. I downloaded the video and threw it on my psp, which I brought to work the next day... and was forgiven. I also never saw my psp once during my 8 hour shift that day, and knowing some of the guys I worked with, was sure to wipe it down when I got it back. :-X

AnimalMother always sounded pretty ominous to me. Not sure the name "fits" me, so I wouldn't use it. But I'm still a fan.

I also was unaware of ff7 being on the psn... will have to go check it out. For anyone curious on Suikoden, I'll elaborate a bit on the series. The Suikoden games are traditional turnbased "JRPG's" which focus on a high amount of playable characters (101 to be exact). You typically play the male hero, and wander around the world gathering allies while going through the storyline. Each of the games has a "base" of sorts, where all your recruited characters reside after they are obtained. You can recruit your own shopkeepers, blacksmiths, and inn-keeper, etc. Suikoden I (the game on the psn) is one of the more popular titles in the series (I believe there are six, plus a couple of spin-offs), the second game (made for ps1) has a cult following due to the rarity of the game, typically a copy will cost you $100-200 on ebay. As Vic said, definately worth a download if you enjoy RPG's and haven't heard of/tried the series. On a separate note, there is one other notable rpg on the psn called "Wild Arms", I'm also a fan of this game. It's also a ps1 JRPG, and worth checking out if you're looking to burn some time.

... Well that certainly will take the wind out of my sails the next time I think of verbally berating the dog for eating random shit off the ground. :-[

I'm a total nerd about start-bar neatness. Right click --> Open link in new tab ftw.

I was a little shocked to hear TSS had been up for 6 years. I still remember reading the post Rev made about its creation and thinking it was a damn good idea. Time flies I guess. Rev, thanks for all the hard work and keeping TSS alive as long as you did.

Congrats on the new diggs.

I've never been a fan of a widespread clan meeting for one big reason: Attendance. Getting 1-8 officers online, and in-game for a meeting can be challenging enough... add in regular shooters and you'll never have everyone present for a meeting. Not that the shooters would be at fault... I personally believe expecting 3-5 nightly of play, plus a set time aside just for a "meeting" is asking too much. The best way to have a clan-wide discussion is via a forum, coupled with a "mandatory forum activity" policy. Forums work best because they can be viewed anytime, anywhere... make "attendance" much more flexible and realistic. Officer meetings via AIM/PSN Home/In-Game etc might work well as a supplement, but nothing more.

I too, whore myself out to google on the weekends. GMail, Google Calendar, Google Talk, 1-800-GOOG-411, Google docments, Desktop widgets... etc. Love 'em. Still, I'm not a huge fan of social networks. My internal narcissism alarm goes off every time I think about creating an account on facebook, myspace, a blog etc. However, after looking at the "about" info, the project seems to be more than a way to let random people know you're having a bad day and/or what Coldplay song you're listening to at any given moment... so I may take a peek once it is released.

Yeah, I'm 99% sure he's referring to the respective 7 kill perks of the CoD games. Until I figured that out though, I thought this was some kind of Will Ferrel/Harry Caray "Would you eat the moon if it were made of cheese" question.

I'll do this tonight. I also wish 'em luck going forward with the new record.

.... Text messaging. Original article found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/26/health/26teen.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss Some thoughts on this were shared a few weeks back in Goat's phone bill thread... anyone think this is all hype? ============================================================================= ============================================================================= They do it late at night when their parents are asleep. They do it in restaurants and while crossing busy streets. They do it in the classroom with their hands behind their back. They do it so much their thumbs hurt. Spurred by the unlimited texting plans offered by carriers like AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless, American teenagers sent and received an average of 2,272 text messages per month in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the Nielsen Company — almost 80 messages a day, more than double the average of a year earlier. The phenomenon is beginning to worry physicians and psychologists, who say it is leading to anxiety, distraction in school, falling grades, repetitive stress injury and sleep deprivation. Dr. Martin Joffe, a pediatrician in Greenbrae, Calif., recently surveyed students at two local high schools and said he found that many were routinely sending hundreds of texts every day. “That’s one every few minutes,†he said. “Then you hear that these kids are responding to texts late at night. That’s going to cause sleep issues in an age group that’s already plagued with sleep issues.†The rise in texting is too recent to have produced any conclusive data on health effects. But Sherry Turkle, a psychologist who is director of the Initiative on Technology and Self at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and who has studied texting among teenagers in the Boston area for three years, said it might be causing a shift in the way adolescents develop. “Among the jobs of adolescence are to separate from your parents, and to find the peace and quiet to become the person you decide you want to be,†she said. “Texting hits directly at both those jobs.†Psychologists expect to see teenagers break free from their parents as they grow into autonomous adults, Professor Turkle went on, “but if technology makes something like staying in touch very, very easy, that’s harder to do; now you have adolescents who are texting their mothers 15 times a day, asking things like, ‘Should I get the red shoes or the blue shoes?’ †As for peace and quiet, she said, “if something next to you is vibrating every couple of minutes, it makes it very difficult to be in that state of mind. “If you’re being deluged by constant communication, the pressure to answer immediately is quite high,†she added. “So if you’re in the middle of a thought, forget it.†Michael Hausauer, a psychotherapist in Oakland, Calif., said teenagers had a “terrific interest in knowing what’s going on in the lives of their peers, coupled with a terrific anxiety about being out of the loop.†For that reason, he said, the rapid rise in texting has potential for great benefit and great harm. “Texting can be an enormous tool,†he said. “It offers companionship and the promise of connectedness. At the same time, texting can make a youngster feel frightened and overly exposed.†Texting may also be taking a toll on teenagers’ thumbs. Annie Wagner, 15, a ninth-grade honor student in Bethesda, Md., used to text on her tiny LG phone as fast as she typed on a regular keyboard. A few months ago, she noticed a painful cramping in her thumbs. (Lately, she has been using the iPhone she got for her 15th birthday, and she says texting is slower and less painful.) Peter W. Johnson, an associate professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Washington, said it was too early to tell whether this kind of stress is damaging. But he added, “Based on our experiences with computer users, we know intensive repetitive use of the upper extremities can lead to musculoskeletal disorders, so we have some reason to be concerned that too much texting could lead to temporary or permanent damage to the thumbs.†Annie said that although her school, like most, forbids cellphone use in class, with the LG phone she could text by putting it under her coat or desk. Her classmate Ari Kapner said, “You pretend you’re getting something out of your backpack.†Teachers are often oblivious. “It’s a huge issue, and it’s rampant,†said Deborah Yager, a high school chemistry teacher in Castro Valley, Calif. Ms. Yager recently gave an anonymous survey to 50 of her students; most said they texted during class. “I can’t tell when it’s happening, and there’s nothing we can do about it,†she said. “And I’m not going to take the time every day to try to police it.†Dr. Joffe says parents tend to be far less aware of texting than of, say, video game playing or general computer use, and the unlimited plans often mean that parents stop paying attention to billing details. “I talk to parents in the office now,†he said. “I’m quizzing them, and no one is thinking about this.†Still, some parents are starting to take measures. Greg Hardesty, a reporter in Lake Forest, Calif., said that late last year his 13-year-old daughter, Reina, racked up 14,528 texts in one month. She would keep the phone on after going to bed, switching it to vibrate and waiting for it to light up and signal an incoming message. Mr. Hardesty wrote a column about Reina’s texting in his newspaper, The Orange County Register, and in the flurry of attention that followed, her volume soared to about 24,000 messages. Finally, when her grades fell precipitously, her parents confiscated the phone. Reina’s grades have since improved, and the phone is back in her hands, but her text messages are limited to 5,000 per month — and none between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. on weekdays. Yet she said there was an element of hypocrisy in all this: her mother, too, is hooked on the cellphone she carries in her purse. “She should understand a little better, because she’s always on her iPhone,†Reina said. “But she’s all like, ‘Oh well, I don’t want you texting.’ †(Her mother, Manako Ihaya, said she saw Reina’s point.) Professor Turkle can sympathize. “Teens feel they are being punished for behavior in which their parents indulge,†she said. And in what she calls a poignant twist, teenagers still need their parents’ undivided attention. “Even though they text 3,500 messages a week, when they walk out of their ballet lesson, they’re upset to see their dad in the car on the BlackBerry,†she said. “The fantasy of every adolescent is that the parent is there, waiting, expectant, completely there for them.â€

Here is a Compusa link to such a netbook as I mentioned in my earlier post: http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?afsrc=1&EdpNo=4616583&sku=S445-110007&SRCCODE=COMEM275TT&cm_mmc=EML-_-Main-_-COMEM275-_-Netbook&SRCCODE=LSCMPUSA&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&AffiliateID=lw9MynSeamY-N9TISq9AOx9ForwPVUAPKA

For a 10" screen, the $350.00 price tag seems to be about average. I just purchased a refurbed' Acer netbook with matching specs, except with a 8.9" screen for 229.99. If you're in the market for one of these, and don't mind a non-new unit, keep a close eye on compusa.com, buy.com, tiger direct and zipzoomfly.com (last site is off memory, google it if need be). I've been monitoring prices for one of these for the past month or so, and lately you can get one for ~200.00 with the specs listed above. I ended up purchasing mine from E-Bay, mainly because all of the sites I mentioned do not honor the free/reduced shipping cost offered to Alaska.

Great run cBF. You guys have come a long way since joining the UF community many moons ago. See you fella's online.

Good luck.

Even while typing the words I knew it was coming, but it was either Chiefs or Raiders, and if I remember correctly, Nacku is a raiders fan... and I tend to avoid crossing those who fancy calling themselves "big money". :-X

Folks can say what they want about gameplay and play style. I'd wager that Socom's cult like following (in this community, at least) is due to two things. 1) A gunners clan activity in-game 2) UF's support of the game If UF chose to move on from Socom and changed to Killzone 2 only, fans of UF would follow. The same for any given clan applies, if RVN, 101, or any long-standing tight-knit group's core jumped games, many/most members of that core would follow. It's very similiar to watching a shitty Monday night football game with your buddies. Sure, it's Lions-Chiefs (apologies to those who may actually care) and the action looks like pee-wee football... but you're enjoying the company of friends. If someone got up to turn the TV to the local news, would everyone get up and leave?

In terms of artists I would potentially buy/acquire a cd for, Danny was #1, Kris #2. I cannot stand Adam, he (to me, anyway) is a David Bowie-esque character who belongs stapled to a Hot Topic wall. Norman Gentle write-in vote ftw.

Yup.

If you look at my post it says xbox or 360, that obviously was a typo. PS3 game is available for the deal (apparently) as well, yes. And I do make an effort to know what section I'm posting in. Thanks for the concern.

Best Buy is offering an even better deal... for 59.99 you get: - Xbox 360 or PS3 version of UFC Undisputed - UFC DVD of 14.99 value or less - $10.00 pay per view cash - 10 Dollar gift card If you can return the DVD (not sure if thats possible) you get the game for as little as $45.00 Plus the 20 bucks as a bonus.

http://www.buy.com/prod/ufc-2009-undisputed/q/loc/108/208606945.html UFC for PS3 52.99 + Free shipping They also have the 360 version as well, same price. Every little bit helps, yeah?

You're basically right prime, although "bitching" might not be the perfect word for it. There are certain times where a company has you stuck paying them money... electric company, gas company, etc. But for the other extraneous/optional services... why NOT use the advantage of choice against companies who would stick it to you if they could? In the end, the companies get their money (Goat will be paying more per month for unlimited texts a boon for Sprint, but its a service he apparently needs, so it works out for him) Although Goat's convo (from what I read) got a little heated... the talks that saved me all the dough I posted earlier never required me to raise my voice. I was firm and direct, and still got my point across. Anger actually can hinder the process. You'll usually get farther with firm kindness, as the people answering the phones (non-managers especially) have little to no interest in the company for whom they are working. They'd just as soon help a sincere customer as be "by the book" to please their annoying manager or team lead.

Kind of. In truth you had a valid point the whole time, and they knew it. But so many people are willing to just roll over and pay the bill, that unless they know you’re willing to give someone else your hard earned money, they won’t budge if they don’t have to. It’s understandable, very easy to manipulate. Good work!