Wednesday, November 24, 2004

If I were a rich man

Things to do with my Linux box (when I have it):
-- Web server. Apache. Get away from POS Geocities.
-- Database. MySQL and PHPMyAdmin. Store records on my baseball cards and music. Tie it into my web site.
-- File server. Mostly for backup purposes.
-- Jukebox. Although with the iTunes I got, a Mac would probably be an easier option. (Side note: Mac OS X runs on top of BSD, a *nix offshoot. I don't know what I'm talking about in that last sentence, but yet I do. One of those things I can't explain, but it still makes some sense to me.)
-- PVR. I ain't paying for no TiVo subscription.
-- MAME cabinet. Would be easier to do with Windows. But Linux would save me from using a precious CD-Key.
-- Development. I'd waste all of the extra cycles running thousands of pointless simulations of my Java programs. Why? Because I can.
-- Install, install, INSTALL!! Just keep reformatting, compiling, and building different Distros. Find one I like. Recommend it.

Today is November. The 3 year mark on my current PC is August 2005. That's 9 months. I'll be in the Twin Cities in early June. So that would be a convenient time for me to go to General Nanosystems, where I got my current PC. Get one for me. Install Win XP on it. Reformat my current machine and put Linux on it. Get one for my dad. Get back my Dell P3-450. Use it as a beta machine while I build a MAME cabinet. Buy a new laptop. Keep the cheap, old one I got in the Phoenix surplus auction. Buy a Power Mac G5. Then find a way to get a hold of my sister's Compaq. That would give me 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7! Seven computers <Insert the Count's laugh here>! Hmm. I don't think that will be enough. Oh, and wireless cards for most. A few 17" monitors (including 1 LCD). Keyboards and mice. Laser printer. Digital camera. iPod.

Hmmm... Can you loan me 10 G's?

Saturday, November 13, 2004

These should be "In the game"

Top Ten Easter Eggs/Features Needed To Be Added To EA Sports Series Games:

1. (NHL Series) The Mighty Ducks. Charlie Conway and the whole bunch. Use their current vital stats (height, weight, age, etc.). Give them a few jerseys (Original District 5, Green Ducks, Anaheim home and away, USA). Put them on the ice. Three problems, however. One: only 19 kids between the 3 movies, not enough for a full roster of 20. Two: Greg Goldburg. Do you add him twice? Definitely add him as a goalie. But he got moved to Defenseman in the 3rd movie. Three: Fulton Reed. Elden Henson is a big guy now. And blond.

2. (MVP Baseball Series) Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn. Pedro Cerrano. Jake Taylor. Willie "Mays" Hays. Roger Dorn. Rube Baker. I could go on and on. Add some of the screwballs from the Major League movies. However, you have to choose where to draw the line. I don't think the purists would like the Buzz players or Carlos Liston. Oh, and you HAVE to put Harry Doyle/Bob Uecker in the broadcast booth!!

3. (MVP Baseball Series) The Sandlot kids. Along the same lines as the Mighty Ducks.

4. (NHL Series) The Hanson Brothers from Slap Shot. Anyone familiar with the series knows about the "EA Blades" uniforms for the custom teams in the games from the late 90's and early 00's. I wonder where they got the color scheme and logo from... If you're going to blanatly rip someone off, go all the way or don't bother.

5. (All Series) Classic and All-Time Teams. Early Madden games were great about this. You could unlock as use the '75 Pittsburgh Steelers or '85 Chicago Bears. And the arcade version of RBI Baseball used all-tme greats to make up their teams. Put Terrell Owens, Jerry Rice, and Dwight Clark in Joe Montana's receiving corps, and watch the points pile up.

6. (All Series) More uniforms!! Yes, even those hideous powder blue uniforms MLB teams wore on the road in the late 70's to early 90's. Side note: I don't actually think they're that bad, I just like making fun of them.

7. (All Series) Limits on points you can use to create custom players. It's too tempting to make a team full of 100's. But still make unlimited points an unlockable feature. I always have to be the best player on the team. :)

8. (All Series) Pre-loaded classic players. I want a REALISTIC Kirby Puckett roaming the outfield at the Metrodome. Just type in a player's name when creating him, and if that player exists, auto load and set his ability levels.

9. (All Series) More control creating uniforms for custom teams. I hate borrowing from Pittsburgh and Boston when creating my "The Cheats" hockey uniforms. Give us the basic shapes from the existing teams and some additional ones, and let us set the colors. And more logo choices. Give us some fonts, single letters, shapes of the sports equipment, and let us go nuts.

10. (All Series) More control over the music. The NHL Dittie Importer is nice, but I want more control over WHEN the music is played. Like NHL 2002, I can't set the songs for the game introduction sequence.

Honorable Mention: Put game soundtracks out!! I so wanted to buy the MVP Baseball 2003 soundtrack instead of hunting for the individual songs on the iTunes Music Store.

Monday, November 1, 2004

OK, here's the thing about cable TV. 500 channels and nothing to watch. Why? Specialization of labor. What's on your regular networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX)? Everything. Sitcoms, dramas, movies, news, sports, late night and daytime talks shows, syndicated reruns. Cable stations specialize. ESPN does sports. Fox News and CNN do news. Cartoon Network and Comedy Central are self-explanitory. And it's not just content, it audience too. MTV aims for young Gen X'ers and Gen Y'ers. VH1 goes for older Gen X'ers. Nickelodeon is for kids. Spike TV is for guys, while Lifetime is for women. Most stations maybe have a half hour of programming you may be interested in PER WEEK, This is why there's nothing to watch!! Out of the 500 stations, you'll only watch a handful on a regular basis, and they're not always going to be showing the stuff you want to watch.

So, Dennis Farina replaced Jerry Orbach on "Law & Order". Upgrade!! I liked Orbach on that show, but Farina comes off as a scarier hardass. Orbach doesn't intimidate me, Farino would.

I bet Macaulay is jealous that his brother Kieran is having a more successful (or at least normal) acting career than he is.

OK, so "Seed of Chucky" makes 5, right? Only horror movies can get away with making so many sequels...

You have to be amazed by how the writers and creators of "Stargate SG-1" have used ancient mythology to establish alien civilizations. Gou'alds as Egyptian deities. Thor and the Asgard taking on the roles of the Norse Gods. However, it is too bad that they don't use figures from religions in active practice. Guess they don't want to go around offending people.

Speaking of "Stargate", when did Teal'c become such a smooth pimp? Must be the hair...

Someone should really do a cover of the Modern English tune, "I Melt With You". Preserve most of the same elements: drum beat, bass line, the humming. Add a stronger electric guitar. Tweak the synthesizer. I'm telling you, it would be excellent.

You know, you go over the things you want to say in you head, and they sound great. Then you start saying them out loud, and they seem so pathetic.

Hey, don't get upset with me. You're the one reading this crap...
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