November 2006 Archives

   Playing DVDs on our computers are something that we all take for granted. Sometimes it is nice to just sit back in a reclining office chair and watch a movie or even some episodes of your favorite TV show.
   Unfortunately, something this simple isn't something to be taken for granted on my computer. I did enjoy a nice time watching DVDs under the OS 10.3s. Once I upgraded to Tiger (10.4.x), though, this became a lesson in anger management.
   The problem was mainly that Apple's DVD Player became choppy and unreliable when playing a DVD, especially when viewing the DVD menus (for some reason). I eventually came to the conclusion that it had to do something with the subtitle on some of my anime DVDs. For instance, it played Escaflowne fine when I watched it dubbed (menus were still choppy). I had to fall back on the unpolished, but still useable, VLC.
   That was, of course, until I decided to upgrade to the latest version of VLC for no apparent reason. Well, it didn't even show the videos anymore. Sometimes it would let audio through but that was it. So, even VLC had failed me.
   Here I am now, unable to watch a simple DVD on my own damn computer. Figures. I do have my suspicions on what the cause could be. For Apple's DVD player, at least. I just need to find a previous version of VLC to get it working again.
   I suppose I'll eventually fix this problem, but I suppose I'll be without the convenience of watching DVDs on my computer for a while.

   Greetings reader(s). I have a new announcement for you. I have begun a project. It will be a great project filled with many wonderful things. Some may see it as useless while others may find some use out of it.
   This project that I speak of is to gather some information of the myriad of PCI-based video cards that are supported by the Mac OS (Classic or X). I may eventually try to gather pictures of all of these cards just for the hell of it. I don't really know. I'll think about it.
   I actually only started yesterday. So, the list is kind of short. Mac PCI Video Card List

   After posting that Applescript thing yesterday, I've been in a flurry of activity now scripting up some more. The good bulk of them are for things on my computer itself and not really usefull to anyone else
   This got me thinking on how long I've been using Applescript to handle various tasks here and there. I'm pretty sure I used it back in the days when I was on the Performa 460. I don't think I did anything really complex back then, though.
   I'm pretty sure Applescript is the backbone of Apple's Automator. Of course it has to be. Yes, of that I'm sure. Yea.
   I think that I was going to go into something more but I've forgotten what, as I write this.

   More later...

   Greetings again internet reader(s). How goes the weather over in your part of the internet, good? I could only hope so.
   Once again, in my quest to bring you good content, I have decided to release the source of my Applescript creation TotalSpaceUsed. Great title, huh?
   Simple, to say the least, but something. Don't go thinking this is the extent of my Applescript prowess. You should see some of the gargantuan scripts I wrote as CGIs for my MacHTTP server (Which, by the way, is still running).
   Something at least...

   Sorry if I failed to update on my usual semi-daily schedule but I've been busy with Thanksgiving yesterday and today. Mind you, I didn't really have anything ready for an update so it was probably for the best.
   I'm still working on compiling the DVD Collection thing and I'm trying to think up some other content. You need not worry 'bout it though. I'm somewhat busy gettin' it done amongst other things.

   In my ongoing quest to bring new content to the Gardens here, I've decided to put up a Fan page of my massive, relative to what it was a year ago, DVD collection.
   I did have an app on my Mac to catalog them but it wasn't really worth the bother. Especially when I could make a 1-second journey from my computer to look at my collection. But, whatever.

   Ah, today was my last day of classes before the Thanksgiving Holidays. Now I get to sit around and do nothing but with more relaxation than normal.
   I'll probably post again later with some more content.

   Greetings, loyal visitor. You may or may not have heard of Newgrounds, but I hope you have at least. Its a great place to find entertaining flash-bases cartoons or games. Sometimes you will find some real gems there.

Staggy II   The first game I will tell you about is apparently the sequel-of-sorts to Staggy I. I've never played the first one but I have to admit that the sequel is quite fun.
   In the game, a hoard of Boy Scouts have apparently invaded your forest. As a knight in black armor with a mean looking sword, there is only so much that you can do. Kill 'em.
   You basically spend the game killing various types of boy scouts with several type of weapons (My personal favorite is the chainsaw). The boy scouts eventually got the best of me and the farthest I got was to level/round 14, I think.
   Nothing like wasting several minutes.

Red   The next game up is one called simple Red. I would say that this game is quite polished compared to most I've played. Good graphics, a simple but fun concept, and no crappy-ass voice acting (luckily).
   From what I can gather, you are defending your planet from asteroid-things. You do this by deflecting them away from you with bullet-things. You can also gather up various powerups, along the way such as shields and other satellite gun installations.
   I've personally played quite a bit of this game as it is quite addictive. I hope that you find it as much fun as I did.

   Well, that wraps up this particular Flash-based game review. I'll be back again soon with another.

   Found this particulary test while bebopping around on the internet. I quite like the results.

Joe Normal 30 % Nerd, 47% Geek, 43% Dork

For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored less than half in all three, earning you the title of: Joe Normal. This is not to say that you don't have some Nerd, Geek or Dork inside of you--we all do, and you can see the percentages you have right above. This is just to say that none of those qualities stand out so much as to define you. Sure, you enjoy an episode of Star Trek now and again, and yeah, you kinda enjoyed a few classes back in the day. And, once in a while, you stumble while walking down the street even though there was nothing there to cause you to trip. But, for the most part, you look and act fairly typically, and aren't much of an outcast. I'd say there's a fair chance someone asked you to take this test. In any event, fairly normal. Congratulations! If you enjoyed this test, I would love the feedback! Also, you might want to check out some of my other tests if you're interested in any of the following: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Professional Wrestling Love & Sexuality America/Politics Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 14% on nerdiness You scored higher than 72% on geekosity You scored higher than 76% on dork points

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

   I've decided that in order to drive up my unique site traffic that I should provided useful content that brings people back again. Plus, I should update more often.
   Mind you, there are probably thousands upon thousands or even millions of other blogs out there like mine. I need something that sets mine apart from others. Should I offer pr0n? Nah, I want my readers to be higher on the intellectual ladder. Not that viewing pr0n makes you stupid. It's just that you wouldn't bother reading my crappy articles then, would you?
   Don't you worry though reader(s). I'm gearing up my content creation engine. Its a little old and probably needs a lot of work done to it, but I'm still going to use it.
   In other news, I'm almost done watching Escaflowne, thanks to Netflix. That's an anime I've being meaning to see for some time. I ever do love the internet.

   Yep, I'm still going.
   Nothing much going on aside from college work. I have been playing a lot of games lately. Some Doom 3 here, some World of Warcraft there, and a little bit of Avernum ;) in between.
   Most of my free time is actually spent playing games these days. I haven't created anything in some time. I'll try to get another great wallpaper up here soon. I need to get to work on one before I can finish it.
   Plus, I need to get some traffic going on here. I suppose that I have to have some great and updated-often content first. I'm gettin' to work, though.

   A little more than 2 years after its release, I've finally gotten around to playing some Doom 3 again.
   The last time I played it, I had a GeForce 6800 that handled it quite well. I was borrowing it from someone who was only borrowing it at the time.
   When the time came to give it back, I only had the 'ole Geforce 4 that I was using beforehand to fall back on. It seriously couldn't handle Doom 3 at all. So, I didn't play anymore.
   That was until I got an 'ole Radeon 9100 for $19 bought and shipped (Cheap is the best price next to free). Not only is it slightly faster than the Geforce 4 I was using, but it also has DirectX 8 compatible pixel shaders and such.
   It doesn't look half bad either. Of course, that is in my experience. I don't exactly know what it looks like on high-end hardware.
   Good enough for me...

   Hopefully by tonight, I should have a World of Warcraft fan page up. More specifically, I should have a 'Black Cross Guild' page up. That is where I will be showing the fantastic plans for the Hyjal server guild, the Black Cross.
   Expect it soon...