Cats for Gold

Here is a great new way to turn that glitter into litter.  Do you have any old gold laying around?  Simply send it in a get some cats delivered to your door! http://www.catsforgold.com

Best Video I Have Ever Seen

This is the best video I have ever seen on YouTube.  It is truly epic.  Please watch the video in its entirety with sound:

What is Google Chrome OS?

Google has open sourced its new Google OS project today.  The open source Chromium OS webpage shows some of the inital designs for the new operating system.

Today we are open-sourcing the project as Chromium OS. We are doing this early, a year before Google Chrome OS will be ready for users, because we are eager to engage with partners, the open source community and developers. As with the Google Chrome browser, development will be done in the open from this point on. Link

The Google Chrome OS, will be an, "open source operating system for people who spend most of their time on the web."  Google posted a great video explaining exactly what it is they want Google OS to be and how it will work:



From the screen shots on the project page (Link) I think the OS looks really nice. Although you still wont be able to play video games on the OS from what I understand right now (other than games that can run on a web page.) But other than that it does look like it would be able to do everything you want it to do. The video game issue is a common problem to all Linux type operating systems unless you are willing to do a lot of complicated hacking stuff to get the game to sorta run.

Google OS Interface Screenshot:

The security features of the new operating system also sound very innovative.

Unlike traditional operating systems, Chrome OS doesn't trust the applications you run. Each app is contained within a security sandbox making it harder for malware and viruses to infect your computer. Furthermore, Chrome OS barely trusts itself. Every time you restart your computer the operating system verifies the integrity of its code. If your system has been compromised, it is designed to fix itself with a reboot. While no computer can be made completely secure, we're going to make life much harder (and less profitable) for the bad guys.

This will be something all consumers should keep their eye on.  Although in discussions with co-blog contributer XL, he suggested that no other operating system will be able to thrive as long as Microsoft is around.  Although I can see a market for the Google OS on netbooks that serve as peoples mobile laptop.  In those situations you want something light and fast that stores all your information on the internet.  I bet Microsoft is concerned about that.

I have read that there is already at least one netbook scheduled to be manufactured with Google OS as its native operating system.  I would much prefer Google OS on my netbook rather than Windows 7 aka Vista re-packaged.  You want something small, lite, and fast when you are on the go, not a dead elephant.

Big Bob and his cock meat sandwich not out of job..

Barack Obama, the US president, has admitted that his administration will miss the January 2010 deadline set for closing the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba.

Obama said on Wednesday that a new deadline would not be set for the facility, which still holds more than 200 detainees, but does expect it to be shut down at some point in the new year.

[...]

The White House has said that it will continue to push for the facility's closure, and is moving to repatriate some of the detainees who have been cleared for release, while seeking countries willing to provide asylum to others.

[...]

John McCain, a Republican senator and rival for the presidency, said the decision sent "a mixed message about America's resolve in the fight against terrorism".

"We are at war, and we must bring terrorists to justice in a manner consistent with the horrific acts of war they have committed," he said. Link

 Its too bad McCain didn't win the presidency.  I would love to see him line up all the prisoners from Gitmo on a tarmac and crash a plane into them.  I assume that is what he means by punishing the detainees that havent been found guilty of anything in a manner consistent with what they are accused of doing.  I love how it sounds like Sharia law. Ah-lalalala.

On another side note, Russia has now extended its ban on capital punishment, leaving America alone in the ranks along with North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, and Texas as countries that use capital punishment. Link  Remember life is only sacred if your a fetus or a rich white guy.

Ok, enough of my bitching.  I guess its just frustrating that the politicians who are supposed to fix things are pussies who cant get anything done (like healthcare reform.)  And the politicians who fuck things up can go all gang busters and do whatever they want when they are in power.  Basically if you live in America, you are fucked.

Dragon Age Origins Review By The Escapist

Hitler finds out Michael Jackson has died

Hitler finds out about the DSi XL

Droid review

Last week I went out and bought the new Motorola Droid. I was a little skeptical because it was made by Motorola and for the last couple years they have made poor quality phones. But it seems they may have redeemed themselves with the Droid, although at first I didn't think so. When I first got the phone it was constantly freezing up, throwing errors, and restarting. I went back to the store on Monday and exchanged it for another Droid and this one has performed flawlessly. (Kudos to Verizon's service, it was a painless return process and I was in and out in under 15 minutes)

So before I get too in depth, I'll give you the TL;DR version:
Its a great phone, the screen is absolutely stunning, integration with Google services are amazing, and the voice search is the best I've ever seen. On the bad side, the camera, although 5 megapixels, is slow and a pain to use, the phone is pretty heavy (not bulky), and the lock button is annoying.

On to the in depth review:
The first think that struck me was the screen, it is gorgeous. The thing that impressed me the most was when it renders web pages there is no need to zoom. The text is crisp and clear and I have no trouble reading it. If you do have to zoom (usually to click on links that are too small) you can't use the iPhone's familiar pinch motion, you will have to double tap which may cause you accidentally click a link. As of right now the Droid does not support multitouch. The screen also has a sensor so it automatically adjusts its brightness depending on the ambient light. So it always appears very bright, even when outdoors. You really have to see the screen in action, the resolution on it is amazing for such a small device.

However, what it lacks in multitouch support, it more than makes up for it with the Google voice search that seems to be built into the OS. Need to get to Pittsburgh PA? No problem, just tap the microphone and say 'Navigate to Pittsburgh.' Want to browse to youtube.com? Beside the address bar on the browser is that microphone, and all you have to say is 'youtube dot com.' My brother was over last night and was trying to trick it. He tried such things as "shamalamadingdong" and it actually found a youtube video, and it seems to be a song from Animal House. Basically you won't need to type much on this phone. Its also interesting to point out that you cannot use voice search if you don't have service, so it seems that your voice is transmitted to Google and processed, and not processed directly on the phone.

Which brings me to the next item, the keyboard. This is probably a matter of personal taste, but I really can't figure out why the phone needed a physical keyboard. In landscape mode, the virtual keyboard actually has bigger keys and I can type much faster on it. It also has the auto correct ribbon which is basically a spellchecker. So this gets a thumbs down from me, I think this hardware was unnecessary and adds to the cost and weight of the phone. (This phone is pretty beefy, easily the heaviest phone I have held.) The other buttons on the phone are lacking as well. The volume buttons are on the right side of the phone, have become accustomed to them being on the left side. They also have some wiggle room and feel cheap. The camera button is two stage, but also has too much wiggle for my comfort. The only button that seems high quality is placed in an awkward position and that is the lock button. I wish it was placed right where the USB input was. The 4 'buttons' on the bottom of the phone are not physical buttons.

The next item on the list, is the camera. It is god-awful. Not because I think 5 megapixels is not enough. Its actually more than enough for a phone. But the camera is very slow, taking up to 5 seconds to take a picture, and another 5-15 seconds before you can try to take another picture. I found that many times it is out of focus. When it does focus, the pictures it takes are quite stunning when displayed on the screen, so it seems to be a software issue. Hopefully it will be resolved in an over-the-air update soon, but for now I would take a standard 3.2 megapixel camera over this.

Making phone calls on the phone is a breeze. You can either start the phone app, or go through your contact list. Calls sound good and I have no trouble hearing on this phone. The only complaint I have is that once you dial, the dialpad disappears so if you call your voicemail and need to put in your password there is an extra button you have to click.

Some other things of note: the app store is pretty good, and the voice search is integrated so you should have no trouble finding exactly the app you need. The battery life is decent. Over the past few days it seems to average 6-8 hours under heavy use and a full day under medium use. Whats nice is that you can use a computer's USB port to charge the phone. The USB cord actually plugs into the wall charger, its a pretty neat setup. The music player annoyed me, there is no stop button, only rewind, pause, and fast-forward. So once you start the music player, it will sit and take up system memory until you go into setup and kill the process. The ability to view running processes and kill them is a nice feature. You can also see how much of the battery is being used for what. About 70% of my battery use goes to the display. So I'm sure that if I changed a few settings I could extend the battery life, but honestly I just love the screen too much to dim it or have it time out any sooner. The integration with Google services is amazing, It receives mail from gmail, messages from google talk, and remembers my preferences in google maps. I also downloaded an app so I could write this blog from my phone.

Rage part 2

Today's games are so shitty I always hesitate when I want to buy a certain game even though the reviewers might be jizzing in their pants for it. It appears to all the reviewers have all been dumbed down a notch as well. They all act like nothing happened in this industry transformation to Mass mainstream, that or they are afraid of angering mobs of 12 year old fanboys/girls who just started playing games yesterday. After all those people seem to the target audience now. I on the other hand am not afraid of fanboys, I have been playing games since the late 80s, I have seen the top of the mountain...and it is good. So if you don't agree with me then Rage #2. Metal Gear Solid 4

The first MGS was great, it had everything. Good story, awesome characters, good stealth play, epic boss fights...you get the idea. It was a refreshing game in a stealth genre that hasn't been really explored yet at the time. Then there was the debacle known as MGS 2, the start of a movie franchise. MGS 2 had so many cut scenes and useless codex conversations it was mind numbing and thoroughly broke the pace of the game play. Also there was Raiden, for most part of the game play don't even play as the franchises hero Snake but forced to play this obnoxious, homosexual, whiny piece of shit. Just what in the sam hell possessed Hideo Kojima to do such a thing? Then again Kojima always thought of becoming a movie director rather than a game director, and his ambition/hallucination was at full fledge with the release of MGS 4. If you thought MGS 2 was bad, MGS 4 is 10 times worse. Here is exactly what happens at the beginning of the game and Im not making anything up. A long intro movie, which is nothing out of ordinary and then when I finally got hold of Snake I walked 2, count it, 2 steps toward a truck and then another long ass movie. After that I walked from one end of a corridor to another then you guessed it, movie time. In fact rest of the game takes similar pattern, you walk from one end to another it and watch a 2 hour long cut scene. I beat the game in 15 hours and I reckon I watched at least 12 hours of movies out of 15. When do you say enough is enough? Apparently that question never entered Kojima's mind when he made this game. As result the pace of the game feels very choppy and any reminging of my sanity has vaporized along the ridiculousness of the cutscenes.

What's more surprising is the amount of people ready to crown this game as the second coming of Jesus, I don't know if its because they are ignorant kids brain washed by the mainstream media or they are just fanboys since this is a PS3 exclusive, either way MGS 4 has to be one of the worst game I have ever played. Worst of all the selling point to many people was the graphics and I thought it looked less than impressive. But since its MGS people were flocking the stores confessing their homoerotic desires for Kojima, and to that it just promises us there will be more MGS coming.

/Rage.

Biggest video game flops this generation? Rage part 1

Rage. As we move into the HD era I can't help but ask myself what's wrong with the video game industry? Games today don't have nearly the same feeling as yester year, all the games looks great but plays like shit. It seems what everyone is only concerned about how good a game looks in 1080p and a good looking game is usually being hyped to no end eventhough in some cases the game play has been proven to be below average (Killzone to Killzone 2). I guess that is what I am saying, when did we care so much about the graphics that none of the other elements which make a video game what it is such as game play matter anymore? This not only extent to the ignorant consumers but also the developers themselves, to which I can understand. Developers are here to make money so they will make whatever the consumers want even if its ultra flashy 1080p game that is literally a 10 hour long movie with 2 hour of game play....hmm they wouldn't go that low would they?

Well I can talk to no end how bad of shape the industry is in but for specific examples I will look at some of the highly hyped flops this generation in my opinion. So if you don't agree then I can only kindly to tell you to

with that said I will start my top 5 shit list.

Rage #1. Halo 3

I loved the first Halo, practically bought an Xbox for it. I remember having countless hours of fun on Co-Op and multiplayer, and it was one of the few FPS that I enjoyed playing on a console. It had the perfect setting, large, outdoor, planet that felt unlike any other FPS at the time which mostly had small corridors with predetermined path. It also had a good story whether you liked it or not, and the pace was right. It was not just another run and gun but it had the characters, the suspense, the plot twist...in the end it was more than a FPS, it was something much more epic. In coming Halo 2, where they scrapped everything that made Halo stand out in the otherwise numbing FPS genre and formed another generic piece of shit. So what made them think it was a good idea to have more Halo 2 in what essentially was Halo 3? More money. The game industry is rapidly moving towards mainstream media, its no longer a niche entertainment. So like all other forms of entertainment out there, developers decided to waterdown the contents to conform the idiotic mass. Therefore we have Halo 2 and 3, and it all worked according to the plan since original Halo left a mark now anything Halo is guranteed to sell billions.


In the End Halo 3 is mere shadow of its former self, the result of this massive mainstream movement. But whos fault is this? Is it the consumers fault for buying the shitty games? Is it the developers fault for wanting a bigger market? Or is it Capitalism at work just as usual? We shall see.


/Rage.

First look: 2010 Suzuki Kizashi

I don't know about you but when I see the name Suzuki I think of ATVs and dirt bikes kids ride on but once awhile I will see a very cheap looking "mini" SUV and say what is that? That is when I remembered Suzuki also makes cars. This just show the auto market that Suzuki has in the U.S., which is almost none existent.

So Suzuki has made a name for cheap cars with good all wheel drives in the U.S. that most people won't consider, but now they are ready to move to the next level and obtain more market share with the introduction of new 2010 Kizashi. On the exterior the first thought of Kizashi is very well build with nice slick styles that one would think it came from an European maker. In fact I had to do a double take since the Kizashi look so suspiciously like the new Jetta. Under the hood the Kizashi will sport a 2.4 Liter 4 cylinder engine that puts out around 180 hp with around 180 ft/lb of torque, and this is very much competitive to what the Kizashi's competitor bring out which is the mid-size sedans. Power is teamed with either a Manual or CVT transmission with paddle shifter, and the car will continue to have the Suzuki trademark to include optional all wheel drive. Whats interesting here is according to Suzuki it won't be just any all wheel drive in fact its an intelligent 4 wheel drive which you can turn on and off like something in a 4x4 truck. This is surprising since no other cars on the market will feature it. A 6 cylinder engine is also rumored in the works that is a good news since personally I don't feel including all wheel drive with a 4 cylinder engine is a good idea.

The interior of the car is also very high class like its exterior, which is made with all the quality materials. This obviously is a big change to what Suzuki currently offers but also stays true to what they are planning for the car. It is said that Suzuki is aimed to compete with the likes of Acura TSX and Lexus IS but how exactly does it plan to achieve these goals is puzzling to me. First of all the brand image conscious consumers in the U.S. will not pay luxury price for a Suzuki, so how will they compete for that market? Will they continue to use price as their means to gather market? But then how do they hope for compete with that entry luxury car segment with sustainably lower price? In the end they still have to worry about the brand image, after all Honda and Toyota had to change names for the U.S. since no one would pay for luxury cars from them. It has worked well for them as ignorant consumers still consider Acura and Lexus something that came out of Europe, so it will be interesting how Suzuki market this car. Personally I really like this car, people might have their opinions about how Suzuki is a motorcycle maker but they don't realize that Honda started out as one too and didn't start making car till the 60 or 70s. This is a big step for Suzuki in building this very good looking nice quality car for a change but they a lot time and invest to reverse their brand image in the U.S. than simply building one nice car.

Internet Addiction

Over at Boing Boing there is a good post about internet addiction that appeared on their site today.  They talk to a psychologist at a rehab center who tells them that 20% of all addicts that check into the center are now checking in for internet addiction.  Internet addiction is sometimes a response to other mental illnesses like depression.  The biggest abusers now are World of Warcraft players and Everquest players.  Surprise, surprise huh?  A typical stay in a rehab facility is around 30-90 days and the cost can be around $1200 a day.  But some people insurance will cover part of it, of course that's only if you have good insurance.  If you are a normal person they probably won't cover a dime.  Some things to look for as warning signs of addictions are:

Are you getting in trouble at work? Is your partner leaving you? Are you forgetting to shower, eat, and pee? If so, you might want to consider getting help. "An addiction is an addiction," Young says. "It doesn't matter if it's porn or the Internet."

There is an addition test you can take HERE and you can read more about internet addiction at the website maintained by the psychologist that was interviewed for the article above, netaddiction.com.

Some of the questions from the test are real food for thought such as:

How often do you block out disturbing thoughts about your life with soothing thoughts of the Internet?

Id recommend taking the test, many questions may not apply to you but it may give you an idea what to look for if you have friends or relatives that may have a problem.

Game Review: Uncharted 2

Things are looking better and better for Sony's beloved PS3 going into this year with slew of big name titles and each has been proclaim by the next PS3 lover as the second coming of Jesus. But the truth is quality exclusives on PS3 have been few and far between, even the most hyped titles such Killzone 2 and MGS 4 turned out to be garbage. So is the PS3 ever going to live up to its hype or is the ignorant community going to keep on crowning every exclusive the next Halo killer?

Incoming Uncharted 2, one of biggest PS3 titles that I was personally looking forward to. The original Uncharted was a sleeper hit when PS3 launched, and it received alot of praises from critics for the graphics and game play. Thus it is no brainer for me to check out what the fuss is about and why idiots are suddenly calling developer Naughty Dog the best thing since slice bread.

-Story

Game follows the adventure of treasure hunter Nathan Drake as he set foot on pursuing yet another artifact. But as the adventure continues Drake soon finds out the power within the artifact as he tries to stop some evil dude who has a Russian accent and unlimited supply of soldiers trying to get his hands on it. The story is pretty straight forward with few twists that you can see from a mile away, but it also reminded good old fashion Indiana Jones which is a good thing. Drake is a likable character with his charm and sarcastic comments with other characters in the game, however cheesy it may sometime be but it does make drake and most characters in the game very life like.

-presentation

The game is very good looking, there is no doubt about it. Naughty dog has really done a good job in the visual department making this one of the best looking title on any console to date. Story is told in various forms of CGI like cut scenes, that is until you realized that the cut scenes are the in game graphics! In fact the game looks so good sometimes you just want to stop and admire the environment.

-Game Play

So this game is supposed to be like what Tomb Raider was, alot of climbing, platforming, gun plays and puzzle solving...well its both true and untrue. Yes there are alot of climbing various buildings, mountains, trees alike but they all feel very scripted hence there is no way to explore but the rocks are pointing to the direction you need to go. I feel like they could have been so much more creative in this department seeing as the amount of awesome structures Drake end up climbing. As for puzzle solving I could count the number of puzzles in one hand, which doesn't necessarily mean a bad thing if these puzzles are anywhere near to the qualities one could find in other adventure game such as Soul Reaver, except these puzzles are so uncreative, uninspired, a blind folded 2 year old could solve them. Gun play on the other hand feels very solid with third person view and cover system combined with easy melee its like copied straight out of Gears of war, which is a good thing. The gun play system also makes Uncharted 2 have a pretty entertaining multiplayer mode and that's also a good thing seeing as the game is only about 10 hours long.

-Sound

I absolutely love the music in Uncharted 2, it feels right with the type of game it is and the mood of the game. The voice acting in the game is also done superbly.

-Conclusion

Uncharted 2 is a great looking game and a fun 10 hour ride all the way to the end, but it is also a prime example of what is happening to the gaming industry today. Video games has gone main stream like all other forms of entertainment and so it has been dumb down severely for the masses. The degree of easiness in this game is just absurd, Im not asking it to go where games like Soul Reaver did with puzzles around every corner and will frustrate you to no end but adventure games like this could be so much more then just a pretty face. In the end Uncharted 2 has very flashy presentation but failed miserably with the game play that has no real substance whats so ever.

How to Rick Roll Someone

Here is a good explanational video on how to Rick Roll your friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmPmIJyi0sc

Unfortunately the embedding was disabled by the video poster, so please click on the link.

And to end the post here is a video of Peter getting Rick Rolled on Family Guy:



Enjoy!

World of Warcraft Detox Clinic

Competitive prices for the total cure!

Yawning Cat Enterprises is please to announce a new service to be provided at the beginning of 2010.  Yawning Cat Detox Clinic and Addiction Recovery Program.  The aim of this service is for concerned parents, friends, and other relatives of WoW addicts to be able have their relative or friend taken to a secure rehabilitation center in Eastern Europe or Central Asia to be cured of their WoW addiction.

We have been able to recently purchase several compounds located in the regions above from the US government at a great price.  We pass the savings on to you.  With our licensed counselor we make sure your WoW addict is cured by whatever means necessary.

Some of the techniques we used are all authorized by the US government and are not torture!  Our facilities follow all local laws and regulations.  In fact many addicts are treated more humanly than their employers would treat them should their dark addiction be discovered.

Interested parties can contact us for further information.  Space is limited and there is an overwhelming interest for this new service.  We will offer a 100% satisfaction money back guarantee that one way or another your WoW addict will never want to play WoW ever again or will be unable to ever do so again.

WoW Addicts and Cocks Machine

WoW addicts, more of a threat to America than terrorists?

I would argue, yes, WoW addicts are more of a threat to America than terrorists.  Its an addiction harder to beat that crack cocaine.  I have heard so many stories of people dropping out of college because they are so busy playing WoW.  And from my own personal experience I know of someone who no longer communicates with his friends except in unusual circumstances because he is so glued to playing WoW.  Its a sad state of affairs indeed.

The real danger comes from the games ability to rob America of its youth and to dumb them down into mindless zombies.  So in this sense, yes they are a bigger threat than a clone army of Osama bin Ladens.  Why WoW is not regulated by the government, I dont know.  Its obviously an addictive substance, in fact they have even opened de-tox clinics for gamers in South Korea.  The threat is real rather or not people choose to admit it.  I suspect that WoW increases dopamine levels in the brain to a high level just as crack does and crystal meth does.  So while at first when people play it it is fun and adventurous it soon becomes dull and repetitive.  However they cannot stop playing it because when they are not playing it there are chemical signals in the brain screaming to be fired by playing the game.  The repetitive playing of the game only re-enforces this habit and need to play it.

One reason I think people dont give two shits about WoW addicts is because they are locked up in their dark damp dungeons playing WoW by themselves.  They arnt hurting anyone.  But this sedimentary lifestyle is only going to rip money directly out of our wallets to pay for their future medical costs.  Furthermore to think of a the detrimental effects the game has on the player bring to mind serious questions of ethical behavior and intervention.

I know that I would never hire a WoW addict, in fact once I found out they played WoW I would just tell them to GTFO.

Now visit the http://www.cocksmachine.com.  I would especially intrigued by the Double Cocks.  This website is definitely a pleasant surprise, not what you would expect.