Hi everyone! Like I said a while back, I am slowly moving my blog here. I am in the middle of converting my layout to a WordPress friendly version. While I do this, some parts of the site may outright look like dog vomit. Rest assured it will be done later tonight / early tomorrow.

Everyone is urged to change the rss feed to the new blog. I also plan on being a lot more active with posting. Expect a few updates on past articles.

All I have to say is WOW. The developers really rushed this demo out to the xbox marketplace. Within a fifteen minute period, the game crashed twice. Once while loading, and the second while mid-race. Apart from the crashes, the game doesn’t look all that impressive compared to other racing games available for the 360. I was a fan of the first Forza and really enjoyed fine tuning the car to be just right. It brought back memories of another game I used to play all the time (too bad I can’t think of the name).

If you are thinking about downloading the game, take this as a warning. If you do download it, tell me how it works.

Dear SONY And The Producers Of Spider-Man,

In regards to the release of Spider-Man 3, I have these words to say about the fourth installment:
NO
please same me some grief.

I thought I would take some time off this nice afternoon and talk about my upcoming game codenamed City Plots. The idea for the game came from many sources. The goal was to take the best aspects of online strategy games, and make one perfect game.

Without wasting any more precious programming time, I would like to explain how a very crucial component of the game works. When you register for the game, you have to name your city. You are given a small parcel of land (100sq. units). In that land you can build buildings. Much like traditional rts’s, you can choose where these buildings are placed. Most online games like City Plots do not allow you to chose where to put the building. Many times you only build one of them and expand that one. The flaw here is that a real city doesn’t have one building that everyone lives on, unless… well I’m not going there.

Upon entering the buildings page, you will be presented with a map of your city. You can scroll around to view any area you have expanded into outside of your viewing threshold. The map shows pretty little icons for each building type. If you click in an empty square, you can build a new building (assuming you have the existing prerequisites). This type of game model allows for rapid creation of a city. You can build two buildings at once, but you have to have enough workers available to do the jobs. The more workers you have, the faster constructions goes.

What types of buildings will there be?

There are many types of buildings in City Plots. At first you start out with very primitive structures as your city is small. As you grow, there will be a need for various services. You will be able to accommodate these by meetings the prerequisites listed. After all, you can’t build a weapon shop without an ore mine.

The technical side

No to fear! This isn’t that hard to understand. To create a city for each user, and array of all possible units must be created. Instead of doing this by hand (which would take an awful long time that could be spend doing other non-productive things), I used a simple loop to create the array.

$blocks = array( array( array() ) );

$x = 4;
$y = -4;

while( $x > -5 )
{
$blocks[$x][$y] = $blocks[$x][$y]['blank'];

if( $y < 4 )
{
$y++;
}
else
{
$y = -4;
$x–;
}
}

That creates what I call a ‘blank slate’. The array is then stored safely in the database. What the script basically does it start at the uppermost x value (we do have to make a graph-like system) and go through all possible y values starting at the lowest. Once the y value reaches the largest value it can, the x value is then lowered one step. This process is continued until all values are generated. When the x value reaches it’s lower limit, the loop breaks and the array is ready for storage. A similar method is used when adding new rows, et cetera.

That’s pretty much it for now. Expect more to come on the inner workings of City Plots.

I just got my new graphics card (x1900GT) and another gig of ram. I also purchased S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl. And I must say, it is one of the more graphically advanced games on the market. I tried to play it with one gig of ram and my older x800GTO and it looked ok. The graphics were very comparable to those of Half-Life 2, except at a lower framerate. On my new card the game runs great. I can’t play at max settings with dynamic lighting, but that’s fine. For a graphics card that cost only 124 dollars from Newegg, it is holding up wonderfully.

Not much of a review, nothing really bad to say about the game at all. It plays much like Oblivion. If you have the hardware, go out and buy this game. You won’t regret it. Screen caps to come soon.

You can now create an account on City Plots (working title) as well as create your city. There isn’t anything to do yet. You can view the game’s change log to see exactly how the game is progressing. I would like to take this time to test the account management scripts for bugs that may appear. If you happen to find a bug, please let me know asap. Other feedback is also requested.

The game is located: http://cityplots.ojaisoft.com

I updated the Facebook poke stats just a few minutes ago. Most of the updates are not viewable because they are server-side only. I did make some changes to the user interface though.

The list of everyone who has poked me now has a rank column so you can easily tell what your rank is. The latest pokes page has been reduced to the latest eight pokes. Last time it showed ten, which left two hanging on the bottom. I have more updates to do, and not enough time to do them tonight.

 Facebook Poke Stats Here

Overkill games and Ojaisoft would like to announce the new game City Plots (working title). City Plots is a post apocalyptic text strategy game. Users take control of one of the few surviving families; starting from scratch. Throughout much of the game, players will discover parts of a survivors journal; revealing his story, and how it became such a desolate place. Below is from the main page.

Since World War 6, there is no longer an America. Israel, Russia, Japan, and most of Central Europe united against us and destroyed what once was. Shortly after, in 2085, the world powers turned on each other and there was nothing left other then four years of a nuclear winter known as “The Cold September.” No nation remained. The survivors faced an unmarked world. This new generation was dubbed “The September Children.”

Our world as we know it has devolved to a primordial state where packs communicate with violence and fight for their lives. What pack will you join? What will you do to rule the world?

- Client.1

Beta sign-ups will start soon. If you would like to be part of the staff, inquire within.

Like I promised, I would post announcement for the new game. However, I am unable to do so at this time. A name has not yet been decided upon. A real announcement WILL come out Monday morning.

As for me, off to sleep. The LAN party was great and my body is paying for it.

Today was a great day for me; apart from the chances of getting in royal amounts of trouble. It all started during first period Video Productions. Our iconic “teacher” made a huge mistake; he told us to take a broken camera in order to mask our shenanigans. Normally this would not be a bad thing. Much more this would be quite awesome that a teacher would allow a group of delinquents to leave class early, with no intentions of coming back. Knowing that we have had a past of vandalism of the classroom (such as changing the computer’s desktop backgrounds to the Time Walker ‘mumalien’ or pinning up poorly drawn pictures of said “teacher”), he should have seen the following acts coming.

Off to the computer lab we were. We really didn’t need the camera to get there, as none of the other school staff would have stopped and asked why we were walking around the campus (which happened to be day where a bunch of big-shots from the state were visiting; seeing how good the school was). Not too long after our arrival, the Computer Tech. class next door got wind of this broken SONY camera and took it from us. We had no problem giving it away. Now here is where the story gets good.

We go back to the class as I conveniently left my backpack in the classroom. Upon entering, our “teacher” inquired about the camera, and why we didn’t have it. None of us really knew what to say, and simply told him “We’ll go get it.” Well, we did go get it, but it sure wasn’t in the same condition. In the short amount of time it took us to walk to the classroom and back to the lab, they already had the camera completely apart. Every single piece, laying on the table. We told them that the “teacher” wanted it back. We all laughed. And we laughed some more. You would have laughed too if you were there. It was truly and amazing sight.

The teacher in the Computer Tech. class grabbed a box and we quickly put all the pieces into it. We took the box to the school office and told our story to a woman, who will remain nameless, and gave her the box. She told us that she would give it to our “teacher.” And she did give it back to him. And angry was he. But there was nothing he could do from that point. We had saved him the trouble of calling the office to report us. I also prevented myself from getting into massive trouble.

This come Monday after Spring Break, I am going to bring in a cake for our teacher. For those of you who don’t remember, this was the same teacher who kicked me out for not talking.

In less than a week, a formal announcement for an upcoming web game will released. Final details surrounding the aspect of the game are in development. In addition, a name has not been settled on.

Expect an announcement Saturday morning.

I have been asked, and even told that another LAN is going to take place next weekend. This could mark the beginning of spring break for anyone who would be on break the following week.

I have taken measures to ensure that the next LAN is more of a success than the last. There is now adequate  power and internet availability.

My question to you is: Should another LAN take place? And would you attend?

Hosting a successful LAN party is a task that appears to be easy and fun. It doesn’t take anything other than a few phone calls to make one work. This is true, if you want a party. The main goal of a LAN party can be best summarized by the first sentence on Wikipedia:

A LAN party is a temporary, sometimes spontaneous, gathering of people together with their computers, which they network together primarily for the purpose of playing multiplayer computer games. [source]

We had the computers. Computers were not a problem, in fact, they were the problem.

A small LAN party requires a hub/switch, with enough ports to accommodate all the players, a fair amount of power, and suitable surfaces for all the computers. [source]

The main problem was with the router. It conveniently decided to not work the night before, leaving an eerie feeling in the back of my head that the party would fail on this sole reason. I was able to get it to work partially. Everyone else had a connection besides me and one other if my memory serves me correctly.Wireless could have saved the day, but sadly I again was the only one with it.

Another problem was the fact that my garage only outputs 15a of power. We had five computers, a power consuming television (thank you very much Sony, should have used my much better HD tv and same of power), and an xbox. Of course you can see the problem here.

Did I learn anything? Why yes I did. You don’t want  to invite a bunch of people. Next LAN, if I ever decide to again, will be very small; two to three people max. Another thing that comes handy in the future is to not buy so much snack foods. It turns out to be a waste of money as the host never gets any of it.

If the people who normally attend want to have another LAN, they are going to have to be a little more proactive before I even attempt to plan. This last one was just a pathetic failure and  a waste of my time.

It’s 3.14 2007, and what a day to celebrate. It’s nice and warm out.

Just thought I would wish everyone a happy Pi Day. And now I leave you with a slice of pi.

3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209749445923078164062862089986280348253421170679
  8214808651328230664709384460955058223172535940812848111745028410270193852110555964462294895493038196
  4428810975665933446128475648233786783165271201909145648566923460348610454326648213393607260249141273
  7245870066063155881748815209209628292540917153643678925903600113305305488204665213841469519415116094
  3305727036575959195309218611738193261179310511854807446237996274956735188575272489122793818301194912
  9833673362440656643086021394946395224737190702179860943702770539217176293176752384674818467669405132
  0005681271452635608277857713427577896091736371787214684409012249534301465495853710507922796892589235
  4201995611212902196086403441815981362977477130996051870721134999999837297804995105973173281609631859
  5024459455346908302642522308253344685035261931188171010003137838752886587533208381420617177669147303
  5982534904287554687311595628638823537875937519577818577805321712268066130019278766111959092164201989
  3809525720106548586327886593615338182796823030195203530185296899577362259941389124972177528347913151
  5574857242454150695950829533116861727855889075098381754637464939319255060400927701671139009848824012
  8583616035637076601047101819429555961989467678374494482553797747268471040475346462080466842590694912
  9331367702898915210475216205696602405803815019351125338243003558764024749647326391419927260426992279
  6782354781636009341721641219924586315030286182974555706749838505494588586926995690927210797509302955
  3211653449872027559602364806654991198818347977535663698074265425278625518184175746728909777727938000
  8164706001614524919217321721477235014144197356854816136115735255213347574184946843852332390739414333
  4547762416862518983569485562099219222184272550254256887671790494601653466804988627232791786085784383
  8279679766814541009538837863609506800642251252051173929848960841284886269456042419652850222106611863
  0674427862203919494504712371378696095636437191728746776465757396241389086583264599581339047802759009
  9465764078951269468398352595709825822620522489407726719478268482601476990902640136394437455305068203
  4962524517493996514314298091906592509372216964615157098583874105978859597729754989301617539284681382
  6868386894277415599185592524595395943104997252468084598727364469584865383673622262609912460805124388
  4390451244136549762780797715691435997700129616089441694868555848406353422072225828488648158456028506
  016842739452267467678895252138522549954666

Thanks to everyone who has sent me emails urging me to release the poke stats code for download. I truly did read every single one! After some code optimization, I bring you the zip file (~1MB). However, the script won’t work without the proper Greasemonkey script. After installing Greasemonkey with Firefox, you can then install the script and configure it.

pokeNode.innerHTML = 'Auto-Poked!';src="Yourdomain.com/directorytoscript/index-old.php?req=poke&code=codeusedinphp&by=' + pokee + '" height="0" width="0" />Auto-Poked!';

Replace the proper items in the src area with your details. Pay extra special care to the code. Make this a random string. This makes sure other people don’t use your script. You wouldn’t want that now would you? You will need this code for the php configuration.

As for the php, you only need to edit the two files: ajax.php and index-old.php

Import the .sql file into a MySQL database and you should be set to go. NOTE: I don’t have enough time to help everyone. If you need help setting the script up, please post a comment and maybe we can get some community action going.

I have one last thing, portions of the script are not my own. Their original authors can be found by reading the comments. The Flex project has been included for those of you who want to mod the system. I would love to see what you do with it!

For those of you who have not already fallen in love with this game, I am urging you to now. The FFR staff is adding so many new things it’s hard to follow. If you like DDR, then FFR will be perfect for you. Sounds easy using the keyboard and all? HAH! I laugh at you for even thinking that.

Hell, maybe we can set up a multi-player session. Comment below with your FFR username and I will add you to the friends list.

Windows Vista, the next generation of computing. The visual eye candy masterpiece of the century. The most stable operating system from Microsoft to date. This is what they want us to think. We were told that Vista would be so stable that you wouldn’t have to restart because of programs locking up, or explorer crashing. I wish I could believe this, and I did until today.

Today alone I had to restart upwards of six times. The day before even more. It seems that the more the operating system is updated, the more problems arise. It all started a few days ago when an update was released for my monitor (Samsung SyncMaster 940bw). I’m fine with updates as they usually make things better. This one however changed the color profile of windows to look more “realistic.” If they think realistic is white being a shade of yellow, then I must be color-blind.

Trying to fix this wasn’t easy, it kept reverting the color profile back to what it thought was best. I even tried a system restore; that’s another story. But along with this color profile came something else. Photoshop decided to stop working. It would open just fine, then right before the toolbars load, gives me the error:

Hardware error. Photoshop will not exit.

Hmm. I wonder what caused this. System restore was my only option. Oh great, system restore is broken. That’s just great. In fact, it’s still broken today. If anyone knows how to fix it, I would sure love it if you could assist in fixing it.

That’s not the end of this yet. I tried to run system restore off the Vista Business CD Microsoft sent me … no system restore points found. Oh that’s great. Yes, I did have them enabled.

Ok, so today is really what sets me off. I sitting here, not more than an hour ago downloading updates for Quake 4. I was trying to burn files to a DVD at the same time. Although, Windows isn’t happy with letting me do what I want, instead, they must make me suffer. The computer crashes, 90% done with the download that has been going for about fourty-five minutes. This was the last time I had to restart today. Throughout the day, Vista has decided to just stop working. Mouse works great. But the GUI is completely unresponsive. Animations don’t play when you mouse over the red x, star menu doesn’t come up. Ctrl-Alt-Del doesn’t even work! This was supposed to be a safeguard way to make sure you didn’t have to hard reset your computer!

It’s working again for the time being. And I’m not very pleased right now with Vista as you can tell. Don’t get me wrong, I love the new system. But why on earth did they take RC1 which worked perfectly on my computer, and destroy it for no added gain? Sure games do run now, but is that a tradeoff of stability?

Microsoft, if you read this, please fix my Vista. I would call tech support, but I don’t want to pay for it. Somehow, I think you knew this was coming so you can easily charge people to fix problems with your new OS.

My English teacher was talking to the class about the “senior project” with is nothing more than writing an overly fluffed out analysis of some poetry that one does not read until the weeks before the project is due. To get right to the point, my teacher handed out a paper with the top eight excerpts. The following are in their raw format. Nothing has been altered.

1. Palamon and Arcite are losing who faught together in battle they both were taken as prisoners of war. While in jail in Thebes found Emily in the garden.
2. The way that Aristotle sees youth is that the young are more calm and the older are more made and get all up tight about more things then the usual.
3. “It is truly said , age has a great advantage: in age there is both wisdom and practice,” This is important because Saturn is noticing that “one may outrun the old and still not supass them in council” , this I believe is true because he is trying to explain that although and young person like himself can out run an older man literally but, an older man can be bigger, faster, and smarter in the head, because a man in his prime has had more experience with situations in life and can make more of the right decisions than a young man who is blind to many situations.
4. The reason he choose to do a romance is for several reasons. One reason is because fantasy is more exiting than fiction.
5. Aristotle says, “sexual by which they are most swayed and in which they show absence of self-control (The Retoric. Book II, Ch. 12).”
6. The two kights who want to fight for a girls hand.
7. Aristotle calls them “Prime Adults” , this people are in their 30’s or 40’s. “Its truly said, age has a great advantage ; in age there is both wisdom and practice ….” (The Knights tale, 1589-1590).
8. He thought for a lack of a better word that he was the shit.

I really feel sorry for my English teacher. I thought I had English problems! Sure makes one feel better after reading this.

One warmish evening during fifth period, my graphics arts teacher had the brilliant (and I’m not being sarcastic) idea of making a book cover for an existing book. The moment she announced the project, I was already started. I knew exactly what book I wanted to do, and probably one of the most fanboyish things at that. I chose Firefox Secrets by Cheah Chu Yeow.

I completed the project with amazing speed. I enjoyed it a lot as it allowed me to create something awesome using mostly stock material. I did a quick Google image search and found a print sized copy of the Firefox logo. Sadly, I could not find a large size Sitepoint logo. I believe this was the only thing I had to actually made.

After I messed around for a few hours, I got the spacing “just right” and did a few test prints finding small errors. I actually spelled bonus ‘bounus’. That even got by all but the last test prints.

To leave this post short, here is a link to the full view.

I was looking at the stats today and noticed that none of the new pokes were being logged. This made me wonder if the database had died on me. Nope, that wasn’t it. Upon further investigating I found the problem.

When I created the flash version of the stats, I renamed a file that was needed by the server. I present you with a diagram of how the auto-poker/logger works.

Ok, so I was doing some work on my new blog and discovered a weird IE (and only IE) bug. After many hours of testing and re coding, it turned out to be something quite simple: a missing comment.

Now, comments should not be rendered, in fact, they should be discarded by the browser. Not in this case. If the comment is missing, IE fails to render the div correctly. Now, it doesn’t matter what is in the comment, just as long as it’s there.

Proof:

• Fixed bug-free version (Works in IE).
• Bugged Version (Only fails in IE).

If anyone can give me some insight as to why this happens let me know.

A few months back, A friend of mine was talking to me about creating an online radio station. I was weary of this because there are lots of online radio stations and not much money to be made from it. However, two-hundred thousand cups of coffee later and much hair pulling and yelling, I came up with the idea to make a Digg-like user-driven online radio.

The concept was simple. Music artists and podcasters could upload their stuff. People would listen to it and if they liked it they would vote for it to be played on the air, or tubes. Sadly, this idea never went further than four photoshop layers. I forgot completely about the idea until about twelve minutes and fourteen seconds ago. There was a story that hit the homepage of Digg. Now, the idea isn’t exactly what I wanted to do, but close enough to get me angry that I didn’t follow through.

Will I ever pursue this? Probably not. I have a lot of projects in the works as it is. The last thing I need is another to take up my already busy schedule.

Moral of the story: If you act now, we will throw in an extra “Magic Onion Cutter” abosolutely free! No really, if you have an idea that’s not out there yet, go with it. It may fail, but it may also be the thing that makes your life so much better (as money does buy happiness, at least in my world).

As of tomorrow, it will be my last day in first period band. And am I happy. However, this goes with a sad song. I will have to leave second period Video Productions to make room for second period band. Wasn’t my first choice. I was forced into the decision.

This shows that you can stand up to the third reich. I was able to tell him what I was going to do, rather than what he wanted me to do. Maybe next time he will show me some respect. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, read back a few posts.

So, don’t freak out when you see me in band Wednesday.

So, here I am, 1pm. I woke up at 5am. I continued my work on the administration page for OjaiCMS. Before too long, I realized what time it currently was. Talk about being productive.

Turns out it is raining outside. I didn’t know that. Turns out it is sunny outside. I didn’t know that either.

Being a noob to actionscripting, I would like to post a solution I created for a problem I just could not solve. Now, before you laugh at me… ok go ahead and laugh.

The problem: The system needs to automatically convert a users input on the fly and filter out bad characters for display in a second text input box. Spaces should be underscores.

The solution:
private function generateSlug( pageTitle:String, target ):void
{
target.text = pageTitle.toLowerCase().split(" ").join("_");
}

I am using flex in case you were wondering. Hope it helps someone.

Well, I’m off to finish what I was doing, but first I need to eat.

In the past post, Wagner’s Plead, I asked whether I should give into his demands, and transfer into Wind Ensemble or say no. I decided to go with no, and not two day into the semester was I fed up with his new regime. His plan was to make the small class even smaller. We were to be separated into sections and practice on our own, leaving him to do whatever he does.

I made an appointment with my counselor to discuss dropping band altogether as it is fairly useless for me to take anyways. Besides, I have more fun in video productions making fun of Tom and his movie Time Walker. So there I am, sitting alone in that damn cold office. I get called to talk to the counselor and she greatly rejects the idea of me dropping. Why? I have no idea, she wouldn’t tell me. So I do my thing and pull out the handy voice recorder and press record, making sure she saw it.

Me: Listen, I am not going to first period anymore.
Her: Yes you are.
Me: Uhm, no. You can change my schedule and do it the way I want, or I will solve the problem myself by not going.
Her: Well, why is it that you hate band?
Me: I don’t hate it, I just don’t agree with the teaching of Wagner. In addition, I find it silly to switch instruments half way through the year.
Her: Well, I see your point. How about this: I will email Mr. Wagner and tell him your disposition. I will instruct him that you will be talking to him today.
Me: Fine.

I leave and continue my day. Just as it happens, I pass Wagner on my way to lunch and he says in the tone no one wants to hear “I need to speak to you in my office.”

To his office I went after eating my food, and taking my time. I told him why I was there. But you could see that he already knew. In fact, he looked as if he was about to cry. Here is how it went down.

Me: Hey, my counselor told me to talk to you concerning me dropping band.
Wagz: Tell me why you want out? (Editorial: Sounds like it’s a camp I was forced into.)
Me: I feel it is a waste of time in first period as I learn nothing new.
Wagz: Why didn’t you accept my offer to join second Wind Ensemble?
Me: I don’t want to play another instrument half way through the year!
Wagz: I really don’t want to lose you. That would be bad. Very bad. It wouldn’t look good leaving the department half way through your senior year.
Me: I really don’t care…
Wagz: How about you come to Wind Ensemble?
Me: I’m not learning a new instrument.
Wagz: Ok, would you consider it if you played the trumpet?
Me: I don’t know, maybe.
Wagz: Well, talk to your counselor to see if that can happen.
Me: Sure thing *wispers* Hitler

Now, what was bad about that whole ordeal was trying not to laugh. Not only was a half scared to death that he was going to kill me, but the look and sound of him desperately trying to keep me in the department was one hard to keep to ones self. So now I am in a pickle. I can accept his offer or simple say no.

What I find funny mostly about this whole thing is I suspect many people don’t tell him no. This gives him great shock when someone stands up to him. I’m leaning to the side of rejecting his second offer to prove my point. If it wasn’t for him trying to undermine me, I may consider his offer, but as of now, I really have no incentive to even play for him. Don’t get me wrong though, he is a great music teacher. He just needs to refine his teaching a little more. That last stunt of him separating the band was a complete failure and you can see now how he is trying to undo it.

I just got the mail, and what would you know? My copy of Vista arrived. To make matters better, it came right from Microsoft and it was 100% free. This would be the second item Microsoft has given to me for free. The first would be a 399 dollar copy of Visual Studio 2005. In the picture to the right, you can see the folder Vista came in, and the plastic cd box that Visual Studio came in.

Thanks Microsoft! You have made me love you long time. Speaking of, who needs to pirate Vista now?

Tonight, the twenty-first of January, will mark the first ever dawnerd round table chat. Come tonight around 8PM to the #dawnerd room. We will not have a set topic, so anything goes.

Hope to see you all there!

Let’s face it: you’ve slacked off all semester and it’s now finals time. Don’t open that book just yet, you may just be wasting your time. I will attempt to explain before it’s too late.

First, I would like to evaluate the reason we are forced to sit in an often crowded class for an endless amounts of time. We are forced into this because it is supposed to be the time when we learn new ideas, theories, concepts, procedures, et cetera. School is not about wasting time and ignoring the teacher. As bad or boring as the class may be, paying attention will ultimately save you much time in the long run.

In my case at least, studying before a major or even minor test actually hindered my test scores more than it helped. I have found out that simply doing the work in class is more than enough to familiarize yourself with everything you need to know for the finals and other assorted tests along the way.

Tests are not made to be a test of how much you can remember for one day, they are designed to test how much of the information you stored in your brain over a long period of time. This is why most finals focus mostly on material covered in the beginning of the semester.

To whom benefits if you know the information for one day? If you forget the information soon after then you really just wasted your time and probably would have been better off taking a different course.

I have only studied a few times my entire time at school. I don’t worry about a test the next day. If I don’t know the material, then I don’t know it. I’m not going to waste my time and cram the information to try and mislead the teacher into believing I know it. If anything, it’s better to get wrong what you don’t know. It lets the teacher know what they did right. How else would they know if no one told or showed them?

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m all for doing extra work spread over a long time. You will better retain that information. I all the time read up on past subjects on Wikipedia. It’s much fun to learn more than the teacher taught.

One last reason cramming is bad: it adds too much stress to your life. That is the last thing you need when trying to memorize information. You will almost certainly forget the information as you doze off hours before class starts.

I am contemplating making the poke logging script free to download. There is a downside to this however, not many people would be able to use it simply because they do not have a server to install it on.

I could take the time and make a site where people can register to have the stats logged under their account. The plus side to this would be that I can integrate many features such as graphs etc.

So what do you think?

I decided to write an auto poke script for Facebook. This script will not only poke a person back within a few seconds of them poking me, but it will also update my server so I can keep track of how many pokes I have.

You can view the stats here: http://poke.dawnerd.com/index.php

Just refresh for an update. Once pokes start coming in, you will notice that there are a select many who poke me a lot. Happy Poking!

EDIT: This script is no longer maintained. Instead go here: http://apps.facebook.com/pokestats

I just got this email from Microsoft:

Dear Troy:

Congratulations, you’ve learned how to build well-connected, visually stunning applications with Windows Vista, and now your free, full-licensed copy of Windows Vista Business is on its way.

Please be patient. We cannot ship your gift until Windows Vista Business is released to manufacturing. Your free software should arrive in six to eight weeks after RTM. If it doesn’t arrive after eight weeks, please contact a customer service representative at Windows Vista and Office Kit Order Admin. Be sure to have your confirmation number ***** on hand.

I will be waiting for that copy of Vista. And I could sure use it too.

In the previous post I briefly touched on many subjects which, if fully developed, would take many days to write about. This time around, I would like to talk more about two subjects in which a lot of people find most of their problems within.

For many people, love is a subject that is far too mysterious to understand. All they know is that they get that feeling, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Then, if they are rejected, they feel horrible. This is what gives life the thrill. It makes it somewhat of a challenge. Wouldn’t it be boring if there was nothing hard to do in life?

From my own personal experience, I know what many people go through. As hard as it may be in times, you cannot let yourself fall down and stay down. If the whole meaning of live is to reproduce, then why are you sitting there? You should be out having children rather than playing World of Warcraft.  If everyone in this world sat around doing nothing productive, how does one expect there to be a replacement human when you die?

Human nature tells us that we must have offspring. As much as we want to deny it, it’s true. As a human, we are destined to have children. What can be more gratifying than watching a child grow up and become successful? Surely not watching your level 31 shaman level up to 32.

Religion is another factor is our daily lives. No matter who you are, where you live, or what you do, religion is around you. You may not believe in anything or think it’s silly like myself, but others rally do believe that there is a greater being. Some believe one story, and some believe in one theory. Despite the fact that I find it hard to believe that people can read an ancient book and take it’s words  for granted, I still respect the views of others. By doing this, I not only make myself a better person, but do not allow my mind to become closed.

Being closed minded is a bad thing if you didn’t already know. Having and actively exercising an open mind will take you through life learning much more about other cultures, beliefs, and theories that you may have not known existed. It also allows you to accept others into your culture. You will slowly become less prejudice as you realize that there is more to life than just yourself. There is in fact other people with completely different beliefs.

That’s all I can do for today. Part 3 will come tomorrow and I will expand further on both these subjects. It will be a good one featuring advice on making your life more fulfilling.

Before I even begin, I would like to state that I am not talking about 42, the Hitchhikers Guide or anything else fictional. I am going to be talking about my personal experiences and views about what life really is.

The other day I had a very deep conversation with a substitute teacher whom everyone at the school knows. I’m sure if you go to the school, you already know who I am talking about. His words ultimately changed my overall views of the purpose of life.

For many years humans have questioned a simple question – “Why are we here?” – but have not been able to uncover a simple answer. This is because there is no answer at all. Instead, the real meaning of life is a series of harmful truths that will result in death no matter what. As most people do not want to come to this conclusion, they live a life of uncertainty and doubt. They are constantly wondering if what they are doing is the right thing. It may be, and may not be. However, the latter seems to be more common.

If you think about why you are here, on this planet, you may also wonder too if what you are doing is right. I do not believe that there is a single person on this planet who has not questioned their future and past. If there is such a person, they must be living in true harmony as they have no worries. For a person to come close to perfect harmony, they must first realize that they will, as we all eventually do, die. It’s really a morbid thought, but there is nothing more to life than birth and death. The other qualities such as: wealth, power, greed, love, etc., are all flavorings added to the mix. What would a pizza be without the toppings?

Every person will at some point fail, as well as succeed. The problem however, lies in the belief that one is perfect. There is nothing in the universe that is perfect. Everything has a slight variation which in turn makes life and everything else unique. This whole concept of not being perfect will add the the life of a person. Once said person realizes that they will eventually die and are not perfect, their life is in turn perfect.

I know it sounds contradictory to say that nothing is perfect, but then say it is once you comes to terms with your own bitter fate. But it really isn’t. If you think about it, a person will live out their lives without much worries if they know they will fail and die. The only thing a person can do to counter that is learn from their mistakes and move on. Everyday should be a new challenge and believed to be the last day. Why live life wondering what your future will be like without taking steps to advance towards your true goals?

Love is a big factor in life, and an article about the meanings of life cannot go without a love section. Everyone at some point will fall in love. It’s a universally known fact. I will admit, I’ve had my fair share of crushes. But I don’t let them get in the way of my passion. I personally love web design and feel much happier finishing a personal project than I do wondering ‘does she really like me?‘

Just as the saying goes: ‘Don’t cry over spilled milk‘, one shouldn’t ruin their life over one person. Maybe that person wasn’t the one, or maybe something happened. This is all part of life. With love comes failure. Without failure there is no life. Without life there is no love.

I will leave you with the following words to conclude part one. Part two will tie all these subjects together.

Never give up. Always strive to achieve what you have a passion for be it art, music, dance etc. Giving up will not allow you to advance in life. You will be stuck in the same spot for years to come with worries about what you did wrong. Instead, take this, make changes, and not worry.

As part of a growing tradition, I will be hosting the yerly LAN party for my Birthday, which conveniently falls on a Monday. Because of this, I am having the LAN party on Saturday, the 6th. If you are interested in coming let me know.

We will be playing deathmatch, counterstrike, and anything else we have. This will be a 12 hour LAN.

Not only will there be lanning, but watching of anime, movies, whatever. I could also hook up my 360. I have pretty much all the games out that are worth buying.

See you then!

Well, it is now 2007 and I thought it would be cool to map out my goals for this year. So, for the amusement for everyone, I present the list:

• Finish OjaiCMS and ready it for distribution.
• Launch Marching Band!
• Transfer this blog over to the new site.
• Find an apartment to live in.
• Become more socially active.
• Get a job as a computer support person.
• Find “the one.”
• Produce a full length student film.
• Contribute more to Wikipedia.
• Stop going to digg.com so much.

Well, that’s not everything, but I don’t want to bore you any further. I would love to hear your new year’s resolutions!

Over the past years, I have been making omelets when I have nothing else to eat. Their cheap and taste really good. I have also developed what I believe to be the perfect omelet recipe.

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 cup lowfat milk
• 1/4 cup green bell peppers (red will also work)
• 1/4 cup diced onions
• 1 tbs butter or margarine
• 1 – 2 handfuls of grated cheese
• dash of salt
• dash of table pepper
• sour cream
• salsa
• avocado

Utensils

• medium sized mixing bowl
• small whisk
• 12″ cast iron skillet
• spatula

To start off, we want to take the butter and put it in the middle of the skillet. Now, turn the heat as hot as it will get. This is very important. Just let the butter melt in the middle, don’t touch it.

While the pan is getting hot, go ahead and cut up the bell pepper and onion. This will allow the skillet to warm up.

Crack all three eggs open in to the bowl. Whisk them until the mixture is smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the cheese. Again, whisk them together, this time whisking them as fast as you can. What you are trying to do is make the mixture fluffy.

This is probably the time when you should grate the cheese if you need to. However, you should do it fast as the skillet is probably hot enough. If the butter looks like it is caramelizing then it is getting too hot.

Pour the egg mixture right in the middle of the skillet. This will push any extra butter to the edge of the pan coating it semi-evenly. Let sit for a few second then slowly shake the skillet to evenly disperse the eggs over the skillet. After a minute or two, the mixture should look almost cooked. Take the cheese and put it on one half of the omelet. Then flip the side with no cheese on it over the cheesed side. This is hard at first, but once you do it a few times it’s really easy.

Now, remove the omelet from the skillet and turn the fire off. The bottom of the omelet should be a dark golden brown, but not burned. Put the sour cream, salsa and avocado on the top and enjoy.

This blog will be taken over by the new blog over the next few days. I have grown past the point of needing to rely on wordpress.com to host my blog, and would like to host it myself. Not only will this allow me to have an awesome layout, it will let me do many more things that wordpress just can’t do.

There will also be other changes but those will be seen later.

The much anticipated film is here! Watch it below. But please note, this is not the final-final version. I forgot some people in the credits (sorry, really!).

I hear rumors that I will be done with Gamers tomorrow, which in turn means a Christmas morning release (and also because my siblings wake up at the most early hour possible). So far the footage is amazing, and the editing is going better than the editing for Flesh. So, check back Christmas morning to see if I have uploaded the film.

As tradition goes, we will have a high def showing at my house later next week.

I just noticed that Facebook has rolled out some updates without posting on their blog. Strange. They have made the interface a lot smoother by adding in some AJAX to the poking action. I’m sure this isn’t the only thing they have updated, so I’m going to go fine out.

I must admit though, I love the small addition, it takes out a few clicks.

Ok, so as people guessed he wasn’t dead. It was a ploy to get his “Internet” pissed. Let me explain this girl to you all. SHe lives in one of the most hick states in the US. Where the legal driving age is from what I believe the lowest in the country. May this be good or bad, it shows how wrong the state is. It is also the place where houses are dirt cheap and rich people only have a million dollars or less. Likewise in California, Gas prices are incredibly high, housing costs are through the roof, and we are the 7th largest economy in the world.

Now this girl thinks that her state is the best, at least from what I can tell. She talks about her parents buying her a 30k dollar car. Wow, that impresses me.

Here’s the convo. Oh, and I am not a bad person for doing thi, just had to remove her from everyone’s lives like it should be.

[16:58] meeboguest145019: …
[16:59] dawnerd: …
[16:59] meeboguest145019: nick is not dead
[16:59] meeboguest145019: dont even play with stuff like that
[16:59] dawnerd: Nick is dead
[16:59] meeboguest145019: prove it to me
[16:59] meeboguest145019: someone else’s site that says the same thing
[16:59] meeboguest145019: something more substantial than your word
[16:59] dawnerd: I’m posting pictures later tonight
[17:00] meeboguest145019: of what?
[17:00] dawnerd: police pics
[17:00] dawnerd: now, can I ask who this is
[17:00] meeboguest145019: it’s Samantha
[17:00] dawnerd: thought so
[17:00] meeboguest145019: he isnt dead
[17:00] dawnerd: no one else would really care
[17:00] meeboguest145019: don’t you dare fucking say that about nick
[17:00] dawnerd: why would I lie
[17:01] meeboguest145019: you’re just a piece of scum and it’s amazing he was ever even friends with you
[17:01] dawnerd: so is this what I get for rip’ing a friend?
[17:01] meeboguest145019: no, you talked about him
[17:01] meeboguest145019: he IS an amazing person, not was, he is still here there is no way you’re telling the truth
[17:02] dawnerd: you’re just going to wait until I have the pics
[17:02] meeboguest145019: he managed to get a girl 2000 miles away to fall in love with him for 2 years
[17:02] meeboguest145019: he is amazing
[17:02] dawnerd: until then, I think you should show a little consideration
[17:02] meeboguest145019: okay, well id love to see those pictures
[17:02] meeboguest145019: you’re the asshole saying id be the only person who cared
[17:03] dawnerd: you’re the only one who visits the blog on a daily basis
[17:03] meeboguest145019: yeah because it’s the only way I can hear anything about him
[17:04] meeboguest145019: how did nick kill himself then, if he did
[17:04] dawnerd: he hung himself
[17:05] meeboguest145019: no he did not
[17:05] meeboguest145019: you are going to hell
[17:05] dawnerd: it was after we did the last filming today
[17:05] meeboguest145019: how disgusting are you to make up stuff about your friend dying
[17:05] meeboguest145019: didnt nick flirt with katie all day? someone told me he did
[17:05] dawnerd: now here’s a question: How do you know that Nick, if he were here, would not be behind this for shit and giggles
[17:06] dawnerd: yea, Nick was in bed with her in the video
[17:06] dawnerd: probably shouldn’t have told you that
[17:06] meeboguest145019: told me what?
[17:06] dawnerd: nothing
[17:06] meeboguest145019: I know nick isn’t dead
[17:06] meeboguest145019: maybe he is playing with me
[17:06] dawnerd: in your world he is
[17:06] meeboguest145019: I know he doesn’t love me
[17:06] meeboguest145019: what does that mean?
[17:07] dawnerd: maybe the entire world is playing a sick and demented joke on you
[17:07] meeboguest145019: wtf
[17:07] dawnerd: maybe this entire thing was a ploy to get you pissed
[17:07] dawnerd: maybe I am telling the truth and Nick is really dead
[17:07] dawnerd: you would never really know
[17:07] meeboguest145019: it didnt make me mad
[17:07] meeboguest145019: I dont get “mad”
[17:07] dawnerd: never said it did
[17:08] dawnerd: no you just pms
[17:08] meeboguest145019: you dont even know me troy
[17:08] dawnerd: do I have to?
[17:08] meeboguest145019: yes, to assume I pms constantly
[17:08] meeboguest145019: you dont talk to me enough to know
[17:08] dawnerd: From what Nick told me…
[17:08] meeboguest145019: what did nick say?
[17:09] dawnerd: do you really want to know?
[17:09] dawnerd: I’m afraid it might hurt you
[17:09] meeboguest145019: I don’t mind
[17:09] dawnerd: ok well
[17:09] dawnerd: are you sure?
[17:09] meeboguest145019: yes
[17:09] meeboguest145019: I have to go soon, hurry it up
[17:09] dawnerd: really really certain?
[17:10] meeboguest145019: yes
[17:10] meeboguest145019: hurry up
[17:10] dawnerd: Nick said he only used you for nude pictures
[17:10] dawnerd: and he certainly got that, and he did share them with everyone
[17:10] meeboguest145019: that’s funny because I didnt give him that many
[17:10] dawnerd: I would say you did
[17:10] meeboguest145019: ok did he say anything else?
[17:10] dawnerd: many
[17:11] meeboguest145019: if he said anything else tell me
[17:11] meeboguest145019: I am quite interested
[17:11] dawnerd: I’m going to
[17:11] dawnerd: checking chat logs
[17:11] meeboguest145019: and if he isn’t dead, I got the joke, take down that entry
[17:11] dawnerd: what joke?
[17:12] dawnerd: now let me ask you something
[17:12] dawnerd: if you think you can actually fall in love with someone over the internet and maintain a full functioning relationship… how?
[17:12] dawnerd: How do you expect a guy to not become interested with more mature females and better looking ones?
[17:15] dawnerd: It’s ok if you don’t want to answer that, I already know the answer
[17:15] meeboguest145019: I look pretty damn good troy, better than anything you could get
[17:15] meeboguest145019: no offense
[17:16] dawnerd: Ok, you got me there. But I’m not after girls your age anyways.
[17:16] dawnerd: Or girls who live in hick states, but you know
[17:16] meeboguest145019: Right, and you’re jesus because you’re a year and a half older than me.
[17:16] dawnerd: actually, I’m a lot older than that
[17:17] meeboguest145019: I don’t really care how old you are troy, I know you aren’t anything remarkable or that much older than I am
[17:17] dawnerd: Age is a big divider in the younger ages
[17:17] meeboguest145019: your ploy to hurt me isn’t working; nick and I have been over for ages, I cheated on him way back in October–and even if he did use me, what’s happened is what happened
[17:17] meeboguest145019: I can’t take it back and I won’t regret it
[17:17] dawnerd: the difference between someone 16 and 17 is amazing
[17:17] meeboguest145019: I have no regrets
[17:18] dawnerd: then why do you check my blog everyday?
[17:18] meeboguest145019: I still care about him, I always will, but we are over
[17:18] meeboguest145019: we have been
[17:18] meeboguest145019: I’m with ryan
[17:18] dawnerd: I’m glad you realized that
[17:18] meeboguest145019: October 6th
[17:19] meeboguest145019: so can you admit nick isnt dead?
[17:19] dawnerd: November the fifth – DOWN WITH PARLIAMENT
[17:19] dawnerd: nope
[17:19] dawnerd: can’t do that
[17:19] meeboguest145019: Okay, I’ll be looking for those pictures
[17:19] dawnerd: oh and btw, this convo is going on the blog
[17:19] dawnerd: because you know, it really shows your character
[17:20] meeboguest145019: Okay
[17:20] dawnerd: I hope you show it to this “Ryan”
[17:20] meeboguest145019: it’s not like I said anything bad, or lied
[17:20] dawnerd: I’m sure he would agree with me
[17:20] meeboguest145019: I don’t think so
[17:20] dawnerd: well, then you are perfect for each other
[17:20] meeboguest145019: I was with ryan 3 years before I met nick
[17:20] dawnerd: you were what, 9?
[17:20] dawnerd: creappy
[17:20] meeboguest145019: nope nope
[17:20] dawnerd: creepy*
[17:21] meeboguest145019: 13, 14, 15.. nick .. and now him again
[17:21] dawnerd: nick isn’t a number
[17:21] meeboguest145019: that’s true
[17:21] meeboguest145019: maybe you aren’t intelligent enough to understand what I’m saying
[17:21] dawnerd: or maybe I am more intellegent that you think and am being overly sarcastic
[17:22] meeboguest145019: you can put this on your blog, as long as you put R***
[17:22] meeboguest145019: nick will know who it is
[17:22] meeboguest145019: if he’s the one you’re out to hurt after you failed with me
[17:22] dawnerd: is it ok if I post your contact info too?
[17:22] dawnerd: and your ftp password?
[17:23] meeboguest145019: no
[17:23] dawnerd: well, I am
[17:23] dawnerd: and Nick told me to
[17:23] meeboguest145019: there’s nothing on my subdomain
[17:23] dawnerd: [17:22] client.1: you know troy it’s kind of pointless to argue with an immature 15 year olf pmsing insane girl
[17:23] dawnerd: I wouldn’t know
[17:23] dawnerd: I’ve never used it, I just possess the information
[17:24] meeboguest145019: Okay, well, that domain isn’t mine so it wouldn’t be me youd fuck with
[17:24] meeboguest145019: youd be pissing Dianna off, not me
[17:24] dawnerd: And would I care?
[17:24] meeboguest145019: obviously, if this is an attack on me
[17:25] meeboguest145019: you’re not doing a very good job
[17:25] dawnerd: no one said I was attacking you
[17:25] meeboguest145019: and tell nick I said fuck you
[17:25] meeboguest145019: he’s just upset I got better dick than his
[17:25] dawnerd: you never got him so you wouldn’t know
[17:25] meeboguest145019: I could do much better than nick anyways
[17:25] meeboguest145019: he’s not that attractive by means of “hot”
[17:26] dawnerd: how, your a female, he’s a male
[17:26] meeboguest145019: I can get better looking guys than nick
[17:26] dawnerd: well, not in California, but whatever floats your boat
[17:26] meeboguest145019: Ryan looks a lot better, ryan actually works out and wears clothes that aren’t all FOX ZOMG
[17:26] dawnerd: I have to cut off here
[17:27] meeboguest145019: california has nothing to do with this
[17:27] dawnerd: I have better things to do
[17:27] meeboguest145019: you are so retarded
[17:27] dawnerd: such as laugh at how stupid you are
[17:27] meeboguest145019: actually, intellectually, I am a lot smarter than you
[17:27] meeboguest145019: you are average laced with sarcasm
[17:27] dawnerd: how? Your in such a low ranking state?
[17:28] meeboguest145019: My money is worth just as much as yours, TN or CA
[17:28] dawnerd: wow, talkign to you makes me stupid
[17:28] meeboguest145019: I still paid 30k for my mercedes
[17:28] dawnerd: who said money was involved?
[17:28] dawnerd: but if you want to go there
[17:28] meeboguest145019: um, you made it that way a couple days ago
[17:28] meeboguest145019: “yeah well you live in a hick state so it doesnt matter that you have more money than me”
[17:28] dawnerd: buying a car is great, however it’s value deprecated once you buy it
[17:28] meeboguest145019: So what if I live in the south? it makes me culturally diverse
[17:28] dawnerd: is your property worth as much as a shack in california
[17:28] dawnerd: I doubt it
[17:29] dawnerd: no, it makes you a hick, we all know that
[17:29] meeboguest145019: lolz you don’t know what you’re talking about troy
[17:29] dawnerd: you right, It’s not geek tlak
[17:29] dawnerd: sorry, hard to type while I’m laughing
[17:29] meeboguest145019: I wouldn’t get too confident
[17:29] dawnerd: am I getting to you yet?
[17:29] meeboguest145019: no not really
[17:29] dawnerd: well, then this is a waste of time
[17:29] meeboguest145019: I’m with one of my friends, maybe if I was by myself you would have annoyed me
[17:30] dawnerd: well, I hope your friend is laughing as much as I
[17:30] meeboguest145019: I am a very laid back person, despite what you seem to think with this PMS nonsense
[17:30] dawnerd: so you’re a lazy gold digger
[17:30] dawnerd: perfect
[17:30] dawnerd: goes along with your 30k car
[17:30] meeboguest145019: no no! I am not lazy.
[17:30] dawnerd: pos car might I add
[17:31] meeboguest145019: I’m sure it’d own any car youll have
[17:31] dawnerd: sure, I really don’t care
[17:31] meeboguest145019: I got it a week ago as a christmas present, it’s brand new, it has a supercharged engine
[17:31] dawnerd: I don’t feel like driving at 20mpg, I’d rather drive an efficient cheap car and save money
[17:31] meeboguest145019: it’s 29 MPG
[17:31] dawnerd: Ohhhhh look, my parents have money!!!!
[17:31] meeboguest145019: I know!!
[17:32] meeboguest145019: It’s so great@!
[17:32] dawnerd: have you actually tested it, because the rating are always wrong
[17:32] meeboguest145019: No, I haven’t, but even if it was 2 MPG i wouldn’t give a shit
[17:32] dawnerd: anyways, I must go, I have work to do
[17:33] meeboguest145019: right, well, get some liposuction. and tell nick not to cut his hair anymore, he already looks bald
[17:33] dawnerd: will do
[17:33] meeboguest145019: I must go drive my friend and I to chilis in my pretty, black, new, sleek, mercedes sports car ta ta troy, you are such a sweetheart.

Today is a sad day. Our very own Nick has passed, for real. He left us with a message for Samantha:

Dear Sam,

I know I was an utter rude person the last few weeks of my life, but you should know that this will no longer be a problem. I just couldn’t take those pictures you sent me; the videos. They will all be made public upon my death. Just wanted to let you know. Time is over for me. Good bye…

I only wish I had the pictures and videos to make public as Nick wanted. His familycould use some support. If you want, you can send them anice donation. It cost to bury someone.

Nick really isn’t dead, but you are free to send him money.

We shot for two hours, actually just one. So it really wasn’t a day at all. Of course I wasted an hour because I left the tapes at my house. But we did get most of what we needed shot, and what we still need can’t happen because David never told me his schedule.

That’s all fine though, I have enough to start editing with. I would also like to give thanks to Kari for providing emotional support to Katie for the last shots (She really needed it. Nick was that bad in bed :O).

As for me, I sleep/eat/edit for the next day(s). When this is all set and done, we feast, or just party. It is winter break, and what’s a winter break without a party?

Well, shooting for today was a success, almost. The camera batteries ran dead during the last scene. We will continue tomorrow however, and re-shoot any needed scenes.  Here’s what went down.

As usual, I showed up late, and took an hour or so setting up while everyone patiently waited. After a long wait, we finally get set up and shooting starts. Low and behold, David. He simply had far too much caffeine in one sitting and could hardly focus on the project at hand.

We struggled to get through the opening scene, but we did after an hour of fooling around. After realizing that time was running out we started to work a little faster. Once we got to Nick’s favorite scene, production went way down. All he wanted to do was lay in bed with Katie. The sad thing being, it will probably be the last and only time. He will at some point however be in the same bed with Tristan and/or Nassir. I must say, it was ‘cute’ seeing Nick cuddle with Katie. Actually, Nick and Katie have to get in bed again because Nick looked far to tense in the video. It’s actually somewhat funny. Video on Youtube sometime later.

After they made love in bed, Bryce and Katie started a boxing match; Katie of course won. To the park we went, leaving the equipment behind; which was later retrieved. It was cold. Really, cold. There were bums in the park, staring strangely at me like I was some famous director. Like I said above, we were so close to finishing the film, but the battery died.

I think the moral of the story is: “Always have a charged battery.”

Shooting will take place tomorrow at noon for Nick, Katie and Nassir. 1pm for Everyone else.

So, I got the main today, and nothing out of the ordinary really. Bills, bills, more bills, aol cd, bills, lost children, renew your domain name now!, bill, to the parents of: Troy, bills.

Ok, you get my point, nothing special. I was expecting a letter from Wagner to move me into the place I belong, but I wasn’t expecting it to be a plead. So, why make you wonder what the letter says!

TO: Parent(s) of Troy … (Edited because I don’t like having my full name here :p )
FROM: Bill Wagner

RE: Moving up to Wind Ensemble – 2nd period

Due to the improvements (if you want to call sitting waiting for the other players to match the talent of Scott  and I) that Troy has shown during Concert Band and his level of commitment (I hope he knows marching band is over…), I would like to offer (bribe) him the opportunity to move up to the Wind Ensemble 2nd period (Save me from the hells of Friedman’s class). Because of the nature of the Wind Ensemble (Because I don’t practice), I would need Troy to play the school-owned euphonium (Because no one else will? I thought I already told you no!). The parts are exactly like playing trumpet (except not), just an octave lower (I knew there was a catch). I know he would do well (would? does he already know what my answer will be?) and I hope he welcomes this new challenge (if it’s like playing a trumpet, then where’s the challenge?).

This change would greatly benefit his playing (You mean your band) and also require a change of class challenge (no, not really. Video Productions is first period). This can only be done through the counseling office. I have sent them a copy of this letter (and they probably just filed it away…).

So, congratulations (thanks?) and I hope you will contact your counselor right away (I would, but I hear they bite) to schedule an appointment (during break?) to work Wind Ensemble into Troy’s schedule for second semester.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

(Scribble of signature)
Bill Wagner
Music Director (Dictator)

cc: NHS Counseling Department

So, what do you think? Should I take him up on this offer?

Ok, I said the other day that I would post a very special update to Marching Band! Sadly, I’ve been too busy to even work on OjaiCMS (the system behind Marching Band!). I have been working somewhat lazily on the next film project of the year, Gamers. The script is in it’s final form, apart from a few minor updates here and there.

Filming will take place this Monday, the 18th.

If you have a conflict with this, please let me know so we can work something out. This filming session will hopefully be more productive than the last one. And will not require a re-shoot.

Dear Electronic Arts,

I have been a fan of your titles for as long as I can remember. Lately I have seen a change in my liking for you. It appears that you are no longer caring so much about your clients, or customers, and are more worried about adding in-game advertising to Need For Speed Carbon. You need to take a second and think this one over. Why would you put your customers last? They are after all the entire reason you are in business!

If you search the web for “Need For Speed Carbon Vista,” you magically are brought to my blog post about incompatibilities with your new game on the new operating system. If you did not know, Vista has been in public beta for some time now, and is already available for businesses, and retail in January. You have the game’s online store and marketplace working with no problems, and the “next gen” versions likewise. Why is it then that the PC version has to stink. Windows Vista isn’t much different than XP, and a patch to fix the problem would be easy to do.

What are you going to do when you have all these new games coming out, and they don’t work on an operating system people are going to buy just for gaming? I will answer for you. Nothing. You will do nothing. You have done nothing so far. You released a patch for Carbon that only fixes online ads.

As a once very loyal customer, I advise that you first fix problems with your upper management, then trickle down towards lower management. Hire better programmers, or give them better deadlines. Before you start marketing a game as Vista ready, please test it first. I want no more Early releases that you can easily fix with patches if people complain.

I have lost all loyalty in you. I will no longer purchase any Electronic Arts brand, for my 360, or PC. I will not fall for your gimmick advertisements. And on another note. Drop the hole EA HD brand, it’s really redundant. PC’s are more than capable to display at higher resolutions than HD, so if anything, the PC counterparts should be HD.

Signed,
Long time once loyal customer.

Well, I’m in bundles of gear bending joy. Today marks the last day I will be part of any marching band. I have been waiting four years for this day to come, and it has passed. I did however leave the competition early. For starters I was feeling ill, and second I have a banquet to attend in about fifteen minutes. I would post pictures of the show, but I don’t have any sadly. Hopefully a fellow band member has some and is willing to share.

As part of tradition, I have to say my goodbyes too all the underclassmen who will, in no doubt, not miss me.

Later tonight, I will post some pictures of the Peperdine game and other random things. There may also be a Marching Band! game update Depends if I feel good.

Note: If you are in band, I would like someone to tell me what we scored. If you could call my cell, that would be awesome. I will be home really late tonight.

I was forced to make a calendar for graphic arts, so I bring to everyone the fruit of my labour. This wonderful calendar features amazing concept art from the hit game Gears of War. It was created for print on legal sized paper, however; you may want to cut it down as there is a lot of black space. I must give thanks to John Wallin Liberto for his wonderful paintings of Gears of War. His artwork is worth the time to check out.

Download: 2007 Gears of War calendar ( About 3 megs )

I don’t know how far I will get in this post before I have to stop, but we will see. The only reason I am doing this is to get these ideas out of my head so I don’t have to worry about them, result in more efficient work.

Two negative and one positive notes to report on. As of now, I do find it hard to continue but I must.

Today marks the end of a very lovable grandmothers life. Many people, including many of my friends have enjoyed the summer swims at her house, the Sunday ice cream parties… She played the role of my mother, along with my aunt, after my mother passed away many years ago. During the time my father would work all day trying to pay off medical bills and keep food on the table, my grandmother and my aunt would take care of me, and my other siblings.

Now that I am almost an adult, I can’t help but think about what I have missed in the years. Ever since July I’ve been hearing from various people that my grandmother only had a day left, and every day that did not happen. It seemed like the boy who cried wolf. I thought it would never happen, until I came home today to hear the news.

The above only happened hours after I read during graphic arts about one of my favorite CNET editors passing away. Talk about a double whammy. I can’t write any more on the subject, but Wired has a great article on him.

To leave everyone off with a happier feeling, if possible, NASA announced today that they found proof of something liquid moving on Mar’s surface over the past few years.

That’s it for now. I just need a hug.

I have to say, this was the best Halo commercial I have seen to date. It just aired, so I was not able to find it online yet. I will update when it is online.

It starts with two kids laying in the grass, gazing into the stars. They talk about what is “out there.” Turns out that this is a flashback from Master Chief. He seems to have crashed his warthog, or shot. Whatever it was knocked his helmet off. He gets up, we see his weapon. He says something and then throws what appears to be a new granade into the snow, causing a shield to form around him, just barely protecting him from a deadly blow. He runs, at what we don’t know. As we do find out, the trailer ends, leaving us all in suspense.

If you do find the trailer, post the link for me, and I will update this. Also, lets look for maybe some easter eggs, like the ilovebees.com one.

EDIT: The trailer can be found here.

We need people for another video project. This one is going to be quite unique and somewhat of a big deal for myself as the script has been around for a while without the possibility. Now that I can shoot it, I want to make the most out of it.

If you are in the Ojai area, I welcome you to join us. If you need to contact me call 1(805)633-1051 or email film at ojaisoft dot com.

We need characters:
-David
-Tristan
-Nick
-Jim
-Sally
-Nassir
-Peter

Crew:
-Camera
-Boom Operator
-Lighting

I will try to upload the script later today. I’m transferring my notes into a more digital form.

Brief Plot:

An elitist gamer, David, finds out he has lost his “leetness.” His good friend Nick comes to the rescue by contracting the help from a medicine man who in all likely hood will cure David.

Azavia and OjaiSoft have teamed up to roll out a great new service for anyone wanting to be heard. Wether you be a podcaster, comdian, rock band, or anything else audio-ized, we have just what you need to get out there. Due to the early developmental status of the service, we are not able to describe it fully, but rest assured it will be cool.

To say it simple: We need music to test the service with. We are looking for people who are willing to let us use their music royalty free, in exchange you will be heard by many, and be advertised on the site. If you are interested please call 1(805)633-1051 and leave a message. You can also email me at troy at ojaisoft dot com.

As promised, you can log into your account and edit your details. Not much to show off yet. More to come next week.

I was checking the good ole’ blog stats this morning and noticed an influx of hits to my post Need For Speed Carbon + Vista = Problems. I checked into it more and found that I was on the Top Post list on wordpress.com. Nothing special, just thought it was pretty awesome. And just for statistical reasons, it has over 100 hits today, and that number is still growing.

Probably one of the worst movies I have ever seen. And I’m not being funny either. I knew the movie was not going to be great, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this bad. Don’t get me wrong, I love Jack Black and Tenacious D, but this movie…. could have been so much more.

Plot goes that little JB runs away from home, lands in Hollywood, and meets some local slacker (KG). They become friends, start a band, and begin their search for the holy grail of guitar picks. After stealing the pick, they meet get into a car chase, meet up with Satan and somehow defeat him in a rock off.

What gets me, and I still wonder why they didn’t do this: at the end of the movie, they had the best setup to start the song “Tribute” and as I waited for it, nothing. They left me in my seat with and empty feeling, and the desire to leave before the credits finished. All in all, it was a good idea, executed in the wrong manner, by the wrong people. Jack Black needs to find something else to do because his other movie (Nacho Libre) was also horrible.

If you are into cheap giggles, and some clever moments, then this is the movie for you. I got no more than a chuckle in the very beginning of the movie. Usually I laugh like crazy during comedy, guess this just isn’t one of them.

I guess you can now say the cat is out of the bag. This is another part of the huge announcement I will be posting soon.

Registration has begun for Marching Band! Claim your account before someone else does for you. You will be able to login by the end of the week. Don’t worry about forgetting about the site, all members will be notified via email when the beta begins.

About the game

Marching Band! is the sole creation of Troy Whiteley (that’s me if you didn’t already know). It started as a joke many years back in high school marching band. Little did anyone know that this day would come when band geeks around the world can compete in one location. Marching Band! was built using the soon-to-be public release of OjaiCMS, a dynamic content management system capable of running multiple sites under one installation.

Once registered for the game, you will be asked to create your school. From there you must recruit, train, and compete with your team. More details about this to come…

Why Marching Band?

Let’s look at it this way: there are lots of high schools around the United States. In California alone, there are thousands of high schools (grades 9-12) [source]. Some of these schools do not have bands, but most do. If you do the math, there is an extremely high number of people who perform with a marching band. This means that there is a large number of people who could be interested in a marching band simulator.

It’s just a market that has sadly only been targeted by ma-pop t-shirt, cheap video production, unhealthy food folks. Why no one has made a full blown video game about it is beyond me. But I do plan on being the first.

So what are you waiting for? Go sign up now!

A graphic artist is needed for an upcoming project to be anounced later today or tomorrow. For more information, please call 805-633-1051 or message me:

aim: jark4life
gtalk: dawnerd@gmail.com (You may also email me here)
meebo: dawnerd

Project details cannot be publically released yet Yes, this is part of the biggy update.

It’s been a week, I think, since my last post, and to prove that I am still around, I am posting some updates. Wii!

To start, I am going to name the biggest and most important update of the week. I have spent a good four days working out the best way to create a user friendly navigation system for OjaiCMS. I bring to you, the first public demo of the system. When you click on a menu item, sub choices will appear. Everything is loaded in the background using AJAX (just like Gmail). The breadcrumb under the header also updates live. There are some bugs, but those will be fixed shortly.

Second on the list if the awesome concert put on my some group from Niger. Pictures from the event are in my gallery (they are the last ones in the set).

To really kick off the last week of school, I had to go to my last high school football game, and was the drive a pain. Took us nearly four and a half hours to get there, but only two hours to come back. Not only was the ride long, but the bus driver kept the lights on, forcing us to stay awake.

The rest of my week was all personal business that is personal? Special update to come in a few days

It’s really sad that games being released so close to the “Vista Epoch” are not vista compatible. It makes me wonder what the game developers are thinking. Sure I was able to get the game to run, but it took some tweaking and lots of trial/error.

Besides the crashing, even on XP, the game really stinks. The graphics have not improved much, and for some reason it won’t let me enable anti-aliasing. Good thing ATi lets me force AA on. I’m going to sit down tonight and play through the game, and maybe update this mini-review if it gets better, but what I saw a few minutes ago did not look very promising.

Update: 11-24-2006

I’ve noticed a lot of hits to this small article, and all the search engine terms point to people having trouble running Need For Speed: Carbon on Vista. The solution is quite easy.

Go find the .exe file in the programs folder. Right click on it and select properties. Next, click the compatibility tab and select the Windows 98 option. Any other version of Windows compatibility do not work correctly. This did fix a problem with the game crashing, but it does not fix the problem with memory programs coded into the game. I am still waiting for a patch from EA to resolve this problem. Let me know if you have any other troubles and I might be able to assist you.

Update: 11-25-2006

By the looks of it, EA has realeased a patch for Carbon, but does not fix any of the real problems.

This patch has been released to address the following issues:

1. Client side EA Messenger crash
2. EA Nation registration email field character limit to small for larger email addresses
3. EA Nation registration CD Key field character limit issue
4. Issue pertaining to launching Need for Speed Carbon PCCD
5. Incorrect car names appearing in the Pursuit Tag leaderboards

All issues above will be resolved by installing the Need for Speed Carbon PCCD Patch.

Wow! EA sure did a wonderful job making the game run right. I will be sure to buy the next installment in the Need For Speed series.

Update: 12-29-2006

Thanks to Denzo for pointing out that if you rename the MOVIES folder in the Need For Speed Carbon program folder, the game will run flawlessly. You won’t get the pre-rendered videos, but you also won’t have to use the Win/98 compatibility mode. I just tested it and it runs very smoothly on Vista. I should point out that the videos need to be updated by EA if they are the problem.

UPDATE: 2-2-2007

Vista has been out in stores for some time now, and what would you know? No patch from EA. Tisk tisk tisk.