So for about 3 weeks, the thought of the Smackbook Pro come and leave my mind about once every couple hours. Today, a Mac hater (he knows I use a Mac too) that is in an IRC channel on rizon decides to link a video showing a Novell parody of the Mac vs Windows commercials seen on TV today. (The video is here if you want to watch it: http://blog.wired.com/cultofmac/2007/03/novell_launches.html) So I keep searching around the blog, since it is very Mac-orientated. A few posts about Wii controller+MacBook functionality later, I come upon a MacBook Pro controlling a Roomba (those little vacuum cleaners that don’t work well) via bluetooth. My obsession grew. I needed a Pro. I wanted to do stuff with a Sudden Motion Sensor. I read the comments, and the poster of the video said “MacBook” in one post. I thought he was just being lazy, not typing out “MacBook Pro”, but just “MacBook”.

Fortunately, the poster also put a few more links up to other programs built around the Sudden Motion Sensor. SmackBook was there (of course), and was accompanied by a MacBook Car Alarm (which you turn on via Apple Remote, then if you move it, an alarm goes off and the screen flashes) and MacSaber (the program that makes lightsaber sounds everytime you swing your MacBook around). I click on the MacSaber link, because I felt like laughing to the guy who acts out a fight scene. But he was holding a MacBook. Wait a minute. That’s not a Pro. I quickly downloaded MacSaber. I unzipped the file. I opened the program. I saw actual statistics of how my Mac was somewhat tilting. Then I picked up my MacBook and started swinging it. The sounds of a lightsaber swinging made me extremely happy. Now I have Smackbook enabled, and it’s extremely fun.

So I’m happy.

Then again, 2006 was pretty good. I found a couple bands I am now into. Senior year began, and it’s kickass so far. DS games have been pretty good, and the Wii games I’ve played have too. Got a MacBook. Got in 3/4 colleges.

2007 is looking up though. Senoir year is going to be a blast (So many free periods Q:D). College is coming up, so I can finally get away from my mother and the crappy people in Dallas. I should start learning to program. Hopefully, I’ll get my Wii, and fulfill my lifelong dream of getting/learning to play a drumset. Probably get a job and get some money rolling. And who knows, maybe get a woman who isn’t a whore. Hopefully.

To me, rap involves low to no talent. The “talker” (he/she doesn’t sing, don’t argue) just says rhyming sentences really fast, and most of the time, the lyrics involve crime or sex. I don’t see how “bustin’ a cap at the popo, fo shizzle” would get me singing along.

Next is the crap they call music. Today’s rap usually has this playing in the background: a small (5 or 6) piece drum set (the best part), a simple bass beat, clapping and/or stomping (the only song in my knowledge to pull that off is We Will Rock You), and one weird sound/instrument you wouldn’t normally hear. I could make that in GarageBand with my limited skills, and probably make $100 million in sales. But the best part is that they take all those pieces and make a four-second soundclip that plays over and over until the talker runs out of words to say. If anyone has heard Usher’s “Yeah!”, then you can sing… talk along with this video. http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/yeah.php

The only plus side I see about rap is that there are half-naked girls in the music videos. Great. More of what I can never get. And the Beastie Boys, who raps, but they don’t have the same thing playing over and over again, they do some rock, and they took over 200 different sound clips to make Paul’s Boutique. Mixing is sweet. I would probably consider the Beastie Boys to be more alternative than rap though.

In the end, rap sucks. Yep.

The PS3 isn’t making anyone happy. Quotes like “It’s no longer a console, it’s a computer” and “5 million will buy a PS3 on launch, no matter what” piss me off. A console going too far when it has Linux and a video editing program in it. We don’t need it! I bet 99.9%+ of buyers of the PS3 have both a computer and the intellect to put Linux on it, for free. WE DON’T NEED IT! Also, developers are running away at the sounds of high production costs for the Blu-ray. The Wii is using normal discs, similar to that of a DVD disc. Much cheaper. Sony just wants to gloat, “Hey! We’ve got new technology!” I don’t care.

ATRAC isn’t fun. I had a Sony MP3 player once. Returned it after a week of trying to figure out how to work the damn thing. Never did. Found out I had to convert my MP3s and WMAs to ATRAC back then. Pain in the ass.

I don’t like the looks of the PSP either. Not that many great games are out for it. The only good exclusive I see is Lumines (GTA went onto the PS2 and it’s cheaper). UMD as movies has gone down the crapper.(Hey, Benchwarmers is coming out on UMD. Any takers?) The only fun I see in the PSP is hacking the thing, which was not Sony’s intentions in the first place. “Woo! I can play Sonic on my PSP!” said one of my friends a couple months ago. I said, “Whoohoo! Illegal emulation mixed with homebrewing which Sony doesn’t want! Thanks Sony!” He shut up. Browser isn’t that great, especially with no keyboard. DS shows more promise, with the great browser that is Opera and actually writing stuff out. Sony’s not showing much love for the PSP, they are just juicing out the fact that it is a multimedia portable console. (And I am impressed. Alright not really.)

In the end, screw Sony. They don’t care about us. They care about being the strongest technology-wise.
That got out some steam.

It was Christmas 2005 and what else does my extended Italian family of 80 do but stuff themselves into a small house owned by my grandmother and exchange presents for 3 hours. (That’s right, it takes 3 hours to open presents.) But the party is 5 hours long, so I bring my GameCube to play the first 2 hours. For some reason, my grandma had her carpet floor changed to a hard smoothened tile floor. And she put in this 4 foot desk for the TV. Eeh. You can see where this goes. Put a GameCube up there with a controller cord partially lying on the ground and 7 kids under the age of 10 running around. It fell. And hard. Crap. Something happened. Now my GameCube clicks, has long loading times, and sometimes, kills the game with an “An error has occured. Please restart the system.” messages. Meh. But I still love it. Due to the pain my GameCube has indured, my friends have dubbed this the “Ghetto GameCube”. But I don’t care. It’s still my favorite system in my room (betweeen it and my PS2).

Now you’ve heard the story of the GameCube that got Beaten Up. I will share the powah. Some might say that the Xbox is the greatest multiplayer system from the 6th generation era. Disagree. I’ve been to my school’s Network Gaming Club. They have Xboxes hooked up everywhere playing 16 player Halo. Though I see some people having fun, I see some people disatisfied. These are the kids getting beaten up, due to their lack of experience. I’ve felt that pain before. First time I played Halo was between 2 of my friends who have probably had the game for three years each, and another friend who has played tha game a couple times in life. At that time, I had never touched an Xbox controller. The scores ended up something like this. 25-20-3-0, 25-21-4-0, 25-20-4–1 (I jumped off a side one time, and got negative pointage. That was probably the most fun I had.) As you can see, I sucked. Bad. The controllers weren’t that friendly to me. Now lets take that game, the best game on the Xbox according to the gaming world, and compare it to the best game on the GameCube according to the gaming world, Super Smash Bros. Melee.

This started last Sunday, World Cup day (by the way, go Italy!). After the game, 2 of my friends (who I invited over to watch the game) and I decided to play GameCube. The first game was Melee. I was the most experience, one friend played it on and off, and one friend never touched a GameCube controller in his life. (He’s a PS2 and PC player.) Though, he had fun. He thought the controls were fairly easy (after we showed him what the C-Stick can do,) and he got some kills, thanks to items like Pokeballs and Hammers. Thanks to those qualities, he wasn’t shit outta luck like I was when I first played Halo. We also played Super Mario Strikers, which his hella fun. They got their kicks out of pushing Y over and over again to head-butt the opposing team and push them into the electric fence that surrounded the playing field. They both also said it was the most comfortable controller they’ve ever played with (then went along and bashed the weirdness of the N64 controller Q:P). Due to this, I will say that the GameCube, though small in Third-Person support and low on graphics (which shouldn’t matter in a videogame anyway), is the best 6th generation system out there. Oh the powah. Oh yeah, and the entire time, they bashed the squeaking and slow load times of my GameCube. Whatever. They still loved it.

Songs I listened to while making this:
Death Cab for Cutie - State Street Residential
Ben Folds - Give Judy My Notice
Cake - Daria
Rage Against The Machine - The Ghost of Tom Joad
Nine Inch Nails - Head Like A Hole

I need a drink. Moose.

[Edit] Um… hello. I already introduced myself, so I will tell you about how I created the Davey Crockett smiley. It all happened on March night, while talking to a friend of mine on MSN (well, really Adium, but whatever). We were in our silly modes, so we were just throwing smileys at each other. After the usual :D, :), ~:D, :D~, yadayada, I had to start making up my own. After pushing several random buttons, I pushed the Q before the :). That made a Q:), otherwise known to us Texans and historians as Davey Crockett. I was like “Whoa.” and proclaimed it to the world. Well, a forum. And I have used it sense to make other memorable smileys like Q:D, Q:(, QXD, and Q:P. Um… that’s it.[/edit]