Christmas is over, woot!

Not so bad this year, almost enjoyable. Things just aren't the same now that grandma moved off the farm and away from the fourwheelers...

I always get a bit bitter over christmas due to the fact I become all humble and ask for nothing before hand, but always manage to get my self worked up in expectation of something really nice, even if it's a little something. (A fun Game, cool DVD, etc.) But it never comes. The problem with our system is the name-draw one cheap gift-giving system my family has instilled over the last several years. All the working class puts their name in a hat, and the rules are: 1) Can't get your self 2)Nothing over $25 (last year it was $50.)

Problems with the system: 25 bucks makes for some lousy gifts. I see where the idea comes from, but if we're going to do christmas we might as well do it right. Ipods, Floor Standing Speakers, Lawnmowers, Super Home Saloon Hair kits for the ladies, Video game systems for the cousins, now that would be a kick ass christmass. Make the ceiling $500 and the floor $100. Hell, we're only supposed to be buying for one person, might as well treat them right, eh? I don't want any of the Mayberry's to give me any "afordabilty" bull shit either, we do pretty well for ex plain-state family farmers.

I broke the mold this year, I got Mother and went over budget. (Lost DVD set, 50 bucks) I probably would have done the same no matter who I got, but I regress.

I got a $25 giftcard for BestBuy. I was plesently surprized and spent it rather quickly online. 3 new CD's coming in the mail, I'm finaly building a collection of decent music that I didn't have to steal! Steppenwolf, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Chuck Berry on the way to fill the emtpy trays in my hand-me-down but still kick ass sony 5 disk cd player circa 1988. This home stereo thing is freaking awesome, who knew how much you missed when one settled for the tiny little speakers in the average 30in TV set. Just need some taller floor standing speakers and my stereo will rock my socks off! (Sony bookshelfs doing fine now, but I sometimes feel the urge to crank her up a bit higher!)

My laptop died completly last week just before I left town, I fedexed her this morning to Acer Repair. =(

Did I mention how insanly jelous I have become of the WinterTech crew? I mean look at this Album Cover worthy shot of bliss incarnate:

Both my laptop and my desktop are on the verge of major unrecoverable crashes. It's not odd that a system of mine should crash (I do abuse the hell out of them,) but both going down after recently being formated and re-built from almost identical causes... now that makes me start to wonder a bit. To reinstall windows on my desktop I had to yank a ram stick, but even now it randomly locks and crashes. I'm running an all night Memtest-86 to narrow it down. The laptop seems unable to hold on to the damned video drivers, randomly dropping them, or blacking out the screen all together! I'm not sure at all about this one, new to me. I'll be running memtest on her tonight as well to see what she says. I can only pray my DVD backups burn in time before she crashes for the last time.

SummerTech films are backed up on multiple DVD's and in two US states, so fear not young campers!

[edit]Update! Fixed the Laptop, bad ram stick. pulled it and stuck in one of my old 256 sticks[/edit]

So what does a guy like I do in a time of failing PCs?

1) Go to the movies (Saw King Kong twice!)
2) Play Nintendo with the bro (Super Mario Strikers = best sports game since NHL Hockey 98 for N64)
3) Play X-Box games (Ninja Gaiden still kicking my butt, but DoA Ultimate had been thoroughly owned.)
4) Shadow of the Colossus. What an awe inspiring game, a must buy for anyone who likes platformers, epic boss fights (one in the same in this game,) or just something deep, original, and breathtaking.
5) Move new washer and dryer up three freaking flights of stairs, and then find ways around actually having to use them.

So, one and a half days of work before the big break, once the laptop gets fixed up and the desktop is rock-like again, I'll be taking what I've learned of the Torque engine this month and putting it to good use. I'm witting out a design doc for a basic little GUI based machinima tool set, then taking the plunge in putting it together. Once that is done, it should all be rather drag and drop from then on. Got the green light on the TSTC motion capture facilities, once we clear the characters we just got to find someone small enough to fit in the suit. =p

Just saw a video of the 3Dmax 8 Pelting unwrap tools... makes UVW look sane for once. Never could wrap my head around it before. (pun intended.) I think an upgrade is truly needed for the first time since RC 4. *dodges orange sack full of bricks*

Plans are in motion for a big adventure outside the country in '06; More on that as the time draws near. (May not get to happen next year, I'm fairly busy these days, as you know.)

Stupid car radio is still busted, too broke and lazy to take her to someone able to fix it. Internet isn't helping me much. Makes for some interesting rides to work in the morning. Too sleepy to sing aloud to my self I begin to contemplate the inner meanings of just about everything I know, and more so for that which I do not know. I need a girlfriend.

If I could only pick 3 of the greatest films of all time, Peter Jackson's King Kong is one of them.

And a place for everything!

Machinima Live! A new Machinima podcast.

That is all.