I built a budget PC for myself this week. It is something that I’ve been meaning to do for awhile, but for some reason or another never could bring myself to commit the money to because I’m such a tightwad. D=

I can’t recall the last time that I used a Nvidia card. I’ve had a preference for ATI ever since I received my first ATI card as a hand-me-down; which was by no coincidence when I also became addicted to Source games. Most Source games were (and still are) optimized for ATI, so there was a noticeable difference in benchmark performance between comparable cards. Eventually though, I just stopped upgrading (and caring) enough to keep track of those things, and exclusively bought ATI cards. My love affair with ATI became so strong that once, I even bought ram simply because it was ATI certified. Yeah, I’m such a tool. =PpP

All of this ended once ATI sold out to AMD. Driver updates became slow (which wouldn’t have been bad if they weren’t also unstable) and every Catalyst Control Center from 9.4 onward had installation problems. I used system restore more times than I can count — routinely uninstalling and then reinstalling CCC, ATI drivers, and .NET Framework whenever there was yet another broken CCC update. It became so routine that I’d check the AMD forums before each update just to see if they had been deluged with the same old complaints. As for my registry? It was like fighting a losing battle to keep it from looking like something out of Cthulu.

So far, I’ve been happy with my GTX 260 just because updating drivers hasn’t caused anything to ‘splode. =B

I had to post a picture of the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R by itself because it is without a doubt the prettiest motherboard that I have ever owned. That is probably the last adjective I would use to describe the appearance of a motherboard, but… just look at it! Have you ever seen anything so SHINY?! LOL I have no experience with Gigabyte as a brand, but their Intel-optimized boards have good ratings on Newegg, and this board had so much upgrade potential (SLI, tri-channel). It is why I compromised on GPU and ram for now.

This is like its baby picture, because I took it the first time that I powered it up! It looks like it barfed up a bunch of wires in the photo because I hadn’t bothered to organize or tie them up yet. I know that some people consider that a top priority, but I wanted to check my fan speeds and temperature in bios first just to make sure that everything was working properly and I hadn’t messed something up. =X

The V8 is so huge that I was worried I might need to remove one of my fans to make it fit (CM Scout has a 120m fan at the top), but fortunately it didn’t turn out to be a concern. I did need my Dad’s help while installing the mount though because it was difficult for me to screw it into place in the back while holding the V8 in position on the front. He kept asking if I was doing anything that could electrocute him. =P LOL Oh, and the best part was applying the thermal compound (Arctic Silver 5), since it came with a little brush! It was like giving a manicure to a processor. The last time that I installed a heatsink, I used the stock compound that came with it in a tube, which was messy and scary (since there was no applicator). But this was so easy!

Anyways, I love my Scout(s). <3

Chassis: Cooler Master Storm Scout (Medium Tower)

PSU: XFX (P1-650X-CAG9) XXX Edition (650W)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R (LGA 1366)

Processor: Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz Quad-Core (LGA 1366)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master V8

Memory: Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB (7200 RPM)

GPU: MSI Nvidia GeForce GTX 260

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

I was cleaning out one of the closets in my bedroom that I use for storing all of my PC shtuffz when I re-discovered this old thing. It is the first computer book that I ever owned, and probably the only book from my elementary school days that I still own. I have no idea how it managed to survive all these years of spring cleaning and garage sales, but flipping through it is like being transported back to 1993.

I don’t know if California was more forward-thinking about making children computer literate at that time, or if the private Catholic school that I attended just took their computer lab more seriously, but the content of this book really highlights the differences in expectations between today’s generation and my own. I was around ten-years-old when I was studying from this book as part of my curriculum and taking quizzes. Computer labs in most high schools today just teach kids how to use programs, without explaining how PCs actually work.

Now, I wouldn’t say that Can Do DOS really teaches you “how PCs work” either. =P This book was considered friendly enough to be assigned to elementary school kids, consisting of simplified explanations and large illustrations on every page. But it did teach me the fundamentals of PCs at the time (hardware, relationships) and engaged me enough to continue wanting to learn more about them as I grew up.

It also ingrained DOS into my (real) memory, which was annoying when I wanted to learn UNIX in high school.

Okay, so seriously, have you EVER seen a computer-related book with illustrations this adorable? I bet you didn’t know that Ms. DOS was the world’s first OS-tan, either! I have no idea what I was doing on the next page, but the book is full of multiplication stuff. I think I was sneakily doing my math homework during computer lab so that I could devote all my energy to playing videogames when I got home. =X

Here we have a page explaining what RAM is and how RAM works. RAM and ROM were represented by cute little alien goats, which is how I still think of them today. I also remember that I first learned what the word “sequential” meant from this page. On the right is an illustration that was controversial to some parents.

The pencil has faded, but I checked the answers on the quizzes by circling them with hearts. All of the quizzes in the book are like this. I don’t remember ever going through this kind of phase. =P Also, BUNNIES.AWW!

Finally, it may have taken 15+ years, but I finally understand this reference.

Blizzard announced last week that they would be compelling the use of RealID on their community forums. RealID uses the billing name registered to the ID key for a Blizzard game, so users wanting to post would have to do so under their full legal name. I posted some of my thoughts about this on Kotaku.

I think that she (we?) may have discovered the most awesome glitch ever!

Since this is already a YouTube post, I’d also like to share a video that some very talented people made as a tribute to Fallout 3. Thanks to Timothy Pape for forwarding this my way! (PS: NSFW and contains panties. =P)

Just to end this on a western note…

4:28 PM – Jalaman: You just need to update to SP2, looks like.
4:30 PM – Rachel: Thank you!
4:30 PM – Jalaman: Anyone would’ve done the same, ma’am.
4:31 PM – Rachel: If only more men were as gentile as you, sir!
4:31 PM – Jalaman: This is the part where I go crazy and run into her constantly to make her fall over
4:31 PM – Rachel: LMAO

Last month (April 23, 2010), Gizmodo.com blogger Jason Chen arrived home to discover R.E.A.C.T (Silicon Valley’s Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team) executing a search warrant on his premises. The search warrant was issued as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the loss and possible theft of a prototype iPhone 4G, which Jason Chen photographed, reviewed, and disassembled in two articles and a video published on April 19th (This Is Apple’s Next iPhone and The Next iPhone, Dissected).

According to the affidavit, Gizmodo purchased the iPhone prototype from Redwood City resident Brian Hogan. Hogan found the phone on the night of March 18 after it was accidentally left behind at a restaurant by Apple employee Robert “Gray” Powell. Hogan identified Powell as the phone’s owner by going through it’s contents and doing Internet searches (allegedly it was also logged in to Powell’s Facebook account). Realizing that he possessed a valuable piece of new technology, Hogan chose not to return the phone to Powell or Apple, but instead contacted numerous tech magazines and blogs in an attempt to sell the phone to the highest bidder.

On April 26th, Gizmodo published the article Police Seize Jason Chen’s Computers, including the search warrant, inventory of seized materials, and the clueless legal response of Gawker COO Gaby Darbyshire.

Do they have their C.O.O. to blame? Who Were Gizmodo’s “Legal Counsel”?

According to her impressive BlogSpot biography, Gaby Darbyshire is a member of the Bar of England and Wales. But according to the CalBar Attorney Search, she is not a member of the State Bar of California. Darbyshire’s letter was written to the lead detective in an ongoing criminal investigation involving one of her employees, Jason Chen. She identifies herself in that letter as the “legal representative of Gawker Media LLC.”, but appears to be representing both Gawker/Gizmodo and Jason Chen. Although she may not be aware of it, Darbyshire is skirting dangerously close to practicing law without a license.

In Apple Wants Its Secret iPhone Back, Gizmodo editor Brian Lam refers to Gawker Media’s in-house “legal team” when he erroneously describes how California law relating to the discovery of lost property operates. This brings into question how implicitly involved Gizmodo’s “legal team” were with the iPhone purchase and whether Gizmodo editors like Chen were relying on their legal advice.

Jason Chen’s “account of events” and Gaby Darbyshire’s letter to Detective Broad both mention an e-mail that she sent Chen which, according to Darbyshire, claims that “under both state and federal law, a search warrant may not be validly issued to confiscate the property of a journalist.” This false statement of fact by Darbyshire relies on her overly broad interpretation of §1524(g) of the California Penal Code, which I will discuss at a later time. The relevant parts of both letters are quoted below:

This brings into question the capacity in which Darbyshire was advising Chen leading up to and during the criminal investigation. Did Chen have a good faith belief that his actions were lawful based on the reasonable advice of Gawker Media “legal counsel”, or Gaby Darbyshire herself, thus negating criminal intent? Did Chen or other Gizmodo editors, such as Brian Lam, have a right to rely on Darbyshire’s advice, assuming that she gave advice? Did Darbyshire have a conflict of interest in attempting to advise Chen and other Gizmodo editors? This is a very tangled web of complicity, especially if Darbyshire was practicing law without a license.

It is also worth noting that by identifying herself as a representative of Gawker Media LLC., Darbyshire made her letter and position the same as one issued officially by Gawker. This removed any potential for deniability of Chen’s actions by Gawker and inextricably tied it to the same scrutiny as Chen/Gizmodo. It will now be difficult for Gawker to distance itself from Chen going forward in an ongoing criminal investigation.

The Overlooked Victim Did Gizmodo Libel Gray Powell?

On the same date that Jason Chen’s articles were published on Gizmodo (April 19th), Gizmodo editor Jesus Diaz published the tasteless article How Apple Lost the Next iPhone. Beginning with a large 514×586 picture of Gray Powell (accompanied by a screenshot of his Facebook profile), it details a second-hand, unsubstantiated account of the Apple engineer’s activities on the night of March 18 leading up to the loss of the iPhone prototype. The article embarrassingly portrays Powell as an inebriated and careless individual.

If Brian Hogan and Gizmodo committed a crime against Apple, was Gray Powell not also the victim of a tort?

Prior to the publication of Jesus Diaz’ article, Gray Powell was a normal resident of Silicon Valley who enjoyed a sense of privacy and maintained a respectable reputation with his employer, Apple. Unlike Brian Hogan, Gizmodo entertained no interest in protecting Powell’s identity. They instead doubled their efforts in publishing an article to “out” Powell as “that guy who lost the next generation iPhone” on the same day that Jason Chen’s articles about the iPhone 4G went online. Powell was not a public figure, and it was not in the public’s interest to have his identity revealed. It was only in Gizmodo’s interest to publish, as such a sellacious article would perpetuate the attention that the site was receiving over their coverage of the stolen iPhone 4G.

Jesus Diaz’ article on Powell received millions of hits. Could Powell have suffered actionable emotional distress as a result of its publication, as well as the actions of Brian Hogan, Jason Chen, and Gizmodo? Jesus Diaz describes Powell’s disposition in a brief phone conversation as “tired and broken.” Powell’s career with Apple was certainly placed in jeopardy while the phone was missing, and he likely endured considerable stress and worry until it was recovered. Powell’s reputation has also suffered irreparable damage due to Diaz’ article.

There is nothing to indicate that Brian Hogan, Jesus Diaz, or Gizmodo et. al., had any concern for their legal duties to Gray Powell, or the impact that their conduct might have on his career, reputation, or wellbeing.

Brian Lam’s Letter to Steve Jobs Did Gizmodo Commit Extortion?

A detail that didn’t emerge until the affidavit went public a few days ago is that Steve Jobs personally contacted Brian Lam of Gizmodo the day that Jason Chen’s articles were published (April 19), asking for the iPhone prototype to be returned. In his reply, Lam placed conditions on the iPhone’s return:

Appearing to speak on behalf of Gizmodo, Lam audaciously admits that he is motivated purely by self-promotion and will only be compelled to act in that interest when returning the iPhone prototype. To that end, he places conditions upon the phone’s return, demanding a public statement from Steve Jobs or Apple that it is “real, from apple, officially.” Lam acknowledges that he is aware it would “hurt sales to say this is the next iphone.” But such a confirmation would be a “big story”, he says, and one that Gizmodo must receive if Apple is to see the return of its property. He adds that it would “make up for giving the phone back right away”, inferring that the return of the phone would place Gizmodo at a disadvantage worthy of compensation.

Lam never displays any concern for the damages or inconvenience that Gizmodo’s continued possession or coverage of the phone may be incurring upon Apple or Gray Powell. Instead, he degenerates into communicating his own selfish desires for more favorable treatment from the company in the future, lamenting that PR had been “cold lately”, which “affected his ability to do his job right at iPad launch” and forced Gizmodo to find “stories like this one, very aggressively”. Gizmodo, he threatens, has “nothing to lose.”

I would just like to add that I find it absolutely repulsive that Lam or Gizmodo would have the gall to demand a quid pro quo at this stage, in this way. I don’t think that a jury or judge would be impressed.

Journalist’s Shield Law Gizmodo’s Red Herring Defense

O’GRADY v. Superior Court, 44 Cal. Rptr. 3d 72 – Cal: Court of Appeal, 6th Dist. 2006 was a case involving Jason O’Grady, owner and operator of “O’Grady’s PowerPage”. When O’Grady published information relating to an unreleased Apple device that was still under development, Apple attempted to subpoena him for documents relating to the identity of the person who supplied the information. O’Grady filed a motion petitioning for a protective order under the California Shield Law. While the lower court acknowledged that O’Grady was a journalist, they cautioned that “this is not the equivalent of a free pass”:

O’Grady appealed to the Superior Court, which reversed the lower court’s decision and entered a new order granting his motion for a protective order. The rationale for their disposition was based on over one hundred pages of meticulous comparison between the facts in Apple’s case and rules set forth in Mitchell v. Superior Court (1984) 37 Cal.3d 268, 208 Cal.Rptr. 152, 690 P.2d 625. Primarily, Apple was faulted for not presenting a stronger case that it had exhausted all alternative sources for obtaining the needed information:

Neither the shield law, nor the precedents in Mitchell and O’Grady, state that a “search warrant may not be validly issued to confiscate the property of a journalist.” Journalists are not immune to legal accountability under state, federal, or English common law. The dictum in O’Grady is cautious to remind us that the shield does not exist to protect journalists from investigations into crimes they have committed in the course of their work.

O’Grady did not pay his source for the information that he published about Apple. Jason Chen and Gizmodo purchased a lost/stolen iPhone, chose not to return it to the rightful owner when they knew his identity, and then disassembled it. They did this for their own popularity and profit while acutely aware of, and acting in a callous disregard to, the adverse effect such publication could have on the career of Gray Powell (Apple engineer who lost the phone) and Apple corporate (decrease in iPhone 3G sales).

O’Grady was faced with a subpoena to reveal his source. The source for the iPhone in the Gizmodo story had already been identified and served with a warrant by police before they acquired the warrant for Chen’s residence. The warrant issued on Chen’s residence was not to obtain the identity of his source, but to obtain evidence in an ongoing criminal investigation into the sale, receipt, and handling of stolen goods (iPhone). This is an incredibly important distinction, as it means that the California Shield Law does not apply. Gizmodo and Darbyshire’s insistence that it does is a weak attempt to distract attention from the scope of their crimes.

Was The Warrant Executed At The Wrong Time? More Legal Bungling by Gawker’s C.O.O.

Search warrants endorsed for daytime service must be executed between the hours of 6:00 AM and 10:00 PM. As long as the entry begins before 10:00 PM at night, it doesn’t matter if the search lasts until morning the next day. It is also highly unlikely under any circumstances to expect the immediate return of materials confiscated in an ongoing criminal investigation. But you can’t fault Darbyshire for trying.

Some observations about search warrants: A warrant is issued by a judge and constitutes an order that the police are obligated to execute. If a search warrant is invalid, evidence seized may be suppressed on a motion to suppress under Section 1538.5 of the Penal Code. A letter from the defendant’s attorney — or employer turned self-appointed representative — should have no effect on the search itself. It is unfortunate that rather than consulting an attorney, Chen appears to have relied on a worthless scrap of paper written by Darbyshire in the event that “they [police] actually did come” (Jason Chen’s account on Gizmodo).

Why didn’t Gawker simply hold onto the phone and the story until they had the time to think this through?

Last week I went to my Mom’s house for Easter.

On April 2nd or 3rd (it blends together in my mind) I answered the door to see my Dad holding Vladimir’s collar. He said that something had happened. I knew that Vladimir must be dead…

My Dad always keeps someone employed and on-hand to carry out menial labor tasks at our house and apartment buildings. The handyman that he hired for this role recently must have been raised in a barn, because he never closed doors behind him. Vladimir had gotten out 3x while I was gone because this man left our front door open. On one occasion, our neighbor brought Vladimir home before anyone knew he was gone.

That morning while this man was working in our yard, Vladimir once again walked out the front door. When the handyman saw Vladimir, he began clapping his hands at him and calling him inside. Clapping of the hands was never a “come here” cue to Vladimir. He was a racing greyhound. Clapping was a “cheering” cue to him. He would always do laps around our pool if we clapped our hands at him.

When he heard the clapping from this man, he took off… and somehow found his way into traffic.

I’ll never know Vladimir’s exact age. He was a rescued Greyhound and came from an abusive breeder. Part of his left ear was missing where his identification tag had been cruelly torn off.

I can’t really write or express my feelings about Vladimir. He was truly my BFF (Best Friend Forever). I keep thinking if only I had taken him with me to my Mom’s house, or if only I had stayed at my Dad’s house.

It is so painful.

Anyways, I figured that for April Fool’s Day, I would share some things in my life that you might not know about (old and new). There’s no “joke” or “prank”; I just consider it wacky/amusing enough to post.

Did you know that there is a secret room in my house? They were all the rage in the 70′s when my Dad rebuilt this wall and added concealing wood paneling to the doorway. It was intended to be a panic room, but has been turned into everything from a law library to a doll room over the years as it suited my parent’s needs.

When I was young and still attending private Catholic schools, it was always my house that got picked for slumber parties, because my girlfriends would love to play pranks on the girls who had never been here before. One girl would distract the “victim” with idle conversation as her back was to the wall, while the “accomplice” secretly waited on the other side for an opportunity. When the timing was right, our prankster would open the door (which silently swung inward) and grab the poor girl from behind — kicking and screaming into the room! Well, maybe not quite that dramatic, but there was definitely screaming once we turned on the lights and she saw dolls EVERYWHERE (Puppetmaster was popular at the time). XD

My local library was having a book sale recently and my Mom was really excited to go. When I saw the books, I understood why, because some of them predated my Grandma! They say that the best way to judge a generation is by its literature, and the politics of the times were definitely reflected in some of these titles.

The McCarthyist presentation of this one caught my eye. The primary motivation behind these reports were the Berkeley riots and socialist movement that swept through California in the 1960′s. This final report however wasn’t submitted until 1970; so it seems out of touch even by the standards of its own time! I find it humorous because it was the product of a state as notoriously liberal as California.

I pre-ordered Red Dead Redemption weeks ago when Rockstar announced the Best Buy War Horse. I literally made a deposit and got my receipt the day of that announcement. It was a bit of a hassle, because the clerk had to explain to me why they only accept deposits for pre-orders and not payments in full.

Then I received an e-mail from my Mom yesterday, saying that Best Buy had called several times asking for me to pick up my “Red Dead Redemption pre-order.” I was confused, since I hadn’t read anything on Kotaku about the game being released early. What could they possibly want me to pick up? As it turned out, this absolutely pointless, empty cardboard box that says “PRE ORDER ONLY – GAME NOT INCLUDED.” I seriously thought it was some kind of early April Fool’s joke, because it was really inconveniencing to go and pick up.

The clerk also refused once again to accept my payment in full for the pre-order. When I do go to pick up the actual game, I’ll have to wait in line to pay for it along with the same people who are buying it at launch. Doesn’t that totally defeat the purpose of pre-ordering? No wonder BBY keeps dropping…

I’m not ashamed to admit that for an Indie title categorized under the “Family” genre on Steam, Secret of the Magic Crystals is a very enjoyable game. The premise of raising fantasy horses is whimsical enough to appeal to my inner-child, while the strategy elements involved in their breeding and outfitting adds an element of complexity that I find engaging enough to keep me interested as an adult. I’ve clocked twenty hours into the game since receiving it as a gift from Ayakashi a few weeks ago — it is highy addictive!

I was surprised that for such a simple and multilingual title, virtually no information existed online for SotMC. GameFAQs only contains the official game description paragraph, which article stubs on game news websites merely regurgitate ad-naseum. Even the developer’s official website, which I only found by Googling their company name, doesn’t do much to promote the game. Running a basic WordPress install, it offers a minimalist game booklet for download. I found it useful as a game introduction, but still lacking as a tutorial in explaining even the more basic gameplay functions (most of which I had to discover on my own). It is a shame considering the obvious amount of thought and effort that they invested into developing the game.

I love my new horsey socks!!! >3< Aren't they adorable?! His sign says: “Will Work For Carrots!” *L*

Valve introduced a Steam UI beta recently and the prospect of eventually being forced to use it during my games is absolutely horrifying. It is like going from OPEN LOOK to Motif while breaking every GUI/window standard since 1994 (obviously, it wasn’t designed by a Californian). *L* Everything is so graphics-choked and cluttered (not to mention resource-intensive due to the Steam cloud) that the overlay now takes twice as long to open or close during a game. The more graphics-intensive the game, the more likely the overlay is to crash.

The purpose of the Steam overlay (to me) has always been communication; having a means of organizing things with your friends when you are already in a game. The browser was a welcome addition in that it provided a quick and forgettable distraction from L4D2 lobbies when you were waiting for people to join. Valve however seems to have re-evaluated the overlay’s purpose and concluded that it needs to be more browser (and distraction) oriented. They’ve provided “helpful” links to game groups and the forums in the upper-right of the overlay, since apparently we all can’t live without reading/making “+1 rep” posts during a game. If you’re the type of person to have more than one chat window open at a time, you’re likely to accidentally click one of these links while moving/closing the windows — which is as distracting as it is resource-hogging.

This all might be acceptable to me if some of the additions to the overlay were necessary improvements or beneficial to me in some way as a user, but they’re not. They do nothing to improve the appearance or functionality of the overlay and only serve to make it more unstable. Why would I need to see my most recent Achievement for a game in the overlay, when I could review that information in my Control Panel, or on my Steam Profile? Why do I need to read a three-month-old news feed for the game when I already belong to the Official Group and receive news in the form of Announcements? Why do I need to see a horizontal display of four random friends (who aren’t even playing the same game) when my vertical Friends List does a better job?

I really hope that we’ll have the option of continuing to use the old overlay once the new one is released.

I hate worrying about getting my riding boots dirty outside of the arena (leather and mud don’t mix), so I bought these wellies to wear when I’m lunging, brushing, picking, and otherwise seeing to the care of horses. I have no intention of wearing rubber boots with no grip in an English saddle; so without needing to worry about soles, I gave myself an excuse to browse Hunter’s RHS collection. I picked out this monochrome floral pattern to match my riding habit, which usually consists of dark grey or black jodhpurs in the winter. However, I forgot to pick a size larger than I normally wear (so that I could slip them off easily when muddy); so they’re tight around the calf. I already purchased a different pair to wear in the meantime, but I still haven’t decided what I want to do with these yet. It isn’t economical to return them and they’re too pretty to sell at loss. =(

Oh! I was reading about Battlefield: BC2 on Kotaku yesterday when something familiar caught my eye. XD

As stereotypical as it may sound (being an American-Italian born and raised in California), I’m something of a Spaghetti Western fan. I own every western directed by the three Sergios (Leone, Corbucci, Sollima) and have seen practically everything Italo of the genre (from serious to self-parody) that was filmed in the 1960′s. I suppose you could say that I’m as much a fan of the American western as I am of Japanese jidaigeki. =)

Whenever I watch a new trailer for Red Dead Redemption, it is like I’m seeing the greatest western ever made… into a videogame. The realistic details are what get me; like the locations I could almost swear I’ve been to in California, or the realistic lever-action on an 1894 Winchester. Most guys would probably pick up on the countless Fistful of Dollars references, or the soundtrack that sounds as if it could have been composed by Morricone himself. As for a girl like me? I’m drooling over the animation detail on the horses. Seeing them change gaits during chases will be a beautiful sight to behold and experience in videogame form!

My only concern is for the game’s timeline, which the narration sets in the “early days of the 20th century.” The “Wild West” as we envision it ended with the Mexican Revolution in 1910; which unfortunately appears to be the central focus of the game’s main storyline. This really disappoints me, as I would have liked to experience the west during its “golden age” in the 19th century, in America, with American history! I just don’t consider the Mexican Revolution to be as exciting a backdrop for a western as the American Civil War. Surely the Gold Rush would have provided an equal amount of tension (with the westward expansion of technology and law enforcement), as well as opportunity for riches and adventure? IMO, involvement in skirmishes between Confederate and Union forces should be an integral gameplay element of any game set in the Old West! But I’m no game designer, and I don’t expect Rockstar to ever disappoint. =PpP

Jalaman went to the trouble of taking some Tali screenshots for me from his PC version of Mass Effect 2. I can’t think of a sweeter way to have celebrated Valentine’s Day than with Tali + Shepard pairing! Above are four of my favorite images from the collection, but there are many more in the set that you can download HERE. I swear, I’m going to boycott Mass Effect 3 if Tali isn’t in it! My Shepard can’t explore the galaxy without her!!

“When I was a Whelp I killed four-dozen men
Ev’ry morning to help me get strong!
And now that I’m grown I kill five-dozen men
And I don’t see anything wrong!”

Because a post about RDR and ME2 isn’t random enough…

Have you ever played a videogame from your childhood and noticed, with the sobering objectivity of adulthood, that some things just don’t make any sense (not even within the game’s fictional universe)? For example, I can accept that the Reptites of 65,000,000 B.C. are sophisticated enough to construct sleep-inducing Smoke Bombs. They are a fictional race and the game sufficiently presents them to be more technologically advanced than prehistoric man. But why would a robot from 2300 A.D. be the party member most susceptible to the Sleep effect of their bombs? Does Robo have air-intake valves, or a respiratory system? Do the robots of 2300 A.D. even sleep? I am only capable of suspending so much disbelief! ww

My Dad showed up at my Mom’s yesterday with an unexpected package addressed to me from Conlan Press. Upon opening it, I practically began to hyperventilate! It was a limited edition art print of the Lady Amalthea that I had placed an order for back in 2006 or 2007. The prints sold out immediately due to unexpected fan response (only 500 of each piece existed) and unfortunately my order was placed too late. I declined a refund at the time, hoping that someone might cancel their order and I would be next in line to receive it. Eventually I forgot about the print (and refund) altogether; but it would appear that Conlan Press didn’t forget about me! Somewhere, somehow, someone’s returned or canceled print turned up, and I’m now the proud new owner.

The artwork in the print is from one of my favorite animated films: The Last Unicorn. Without going into too much detail, both the film and the novel it was based on are very special to me. I was obsessed with the film when I was younger (I watched our VHS copy to death) and fell in love with the novel once I read it as part of my assigned reading in junior high. I even devoted a website to the film when I was in high school. It is a bit embarrassing for me to look at my site now though, seeing its 800X600 design and my poor writing. =P

I have a new dollie! Her name is Moni and she is a 2003 Kinder by my favorite doll artist, Annette Himstedt. Gosh, she’s just the most darling little ginger girl I’ve ever seen with her cute freckles! X3 The hat she’s wearing is not original to her outfit (crocheted it from alpaca yarn), but I think it compliments the colors.

I don’t know if I’ve ever discussed my doll hobby on here, but I basically get it from my Mom. She’s a pretty crazy doll collector and when she still lived with my Dad, we had two bedrooms (one being a masters) where she displayed all her dolls. My Mom moved into a smaller house when they divorced, so she has much less room for her dolls now even though she continues to collect them. So, whenever she needs to make room, I offer to adopt some of them. I began taking the Himstedts originally because something about their mohair and precious faces appealed to me. Then I got into knitting because of them, wanting to make little hats and outfits, and it just took off from there! The ironic thing is that I probably play with dolls more now than I ever did when I was younger. I never owned a single Barbie because I was more interested in Transformers. =P Maybe that is why I find dolls so appealing now? Or maybe knitting for them is just easier. *L*